Narrative Writing for Primary Students | Guide for Parents, Tutors & Teachers

Narrative Writing for Primary Students | Guide for Parents, Tutors & Teachers

Introduction to Narrative Writing
Narrative writing is simply storytelling – writing that conveys a made-up or real story in a structured way. In primary education, narratives are typically imaginative stories written to entertain or engage the reader. Whether it’s a fantastical fairy tale or a recount of an exciting day, narrative writing allows children to explore their creativity and voice. Australian educators consider narrative writing a key component of literacy, alongside reading and speaking, because it builds crucial skills in sequencing, description, and expression. The Australian Curriculum (ACARA) specifically classifies narratives as “imaginative texts”, whose primary purpose is to entertain or provoke thought through creative use of language and story elements. From Foundation (Prep) to Year 6, students learn to craft narratives of increasing complexity, aligned with curriculum goals.

Narrative writing isn’t just about meeting school standards – it’s also immensely beneficial for children’s development. Research shows that engaging in creative writing strengthens cognitive growth, organizational abilities, and even performance in other subjects. In other words, writing powers the brain. By inventing characters, imagining new situations, and finding words to express ideas, children exercise their imagination and problem-solving skills. Creative writing also provides an emotional outlet: kids can express feelings or scenarios they find hard to talk about, through storytelling. Literacy experts note that writing regularly can deepen a child’s understanding of language and even improve reading comprehension. The act of writing a story forces young writers to consider spelling, grammar and word choice – which in turn reinforces their reading skills as they learn how stories and sentences are constructed.

Most importantly, narrative writing empowers children to share their voice. Every child has stories to tell – from wild adventures with imaginary creatures to personal experiences reimagined with a creative twist. When we encourage them to write these stories, we validate their ideas and foster self-confidence. Professor Robyn Ewing AM from the University of Sydney observes that creative writing experiences can significantly boost children’s imagination, confidence and general writing skills over time. Storytelling is how humans connect, and when a child realises their written story can make someone laugh, gasp or think deeply, they feel the true power of narrative. As one educator put it, the ability to tell a captivating story is part of what makes us human – it’s “how we connect to each other… something to celebrate, to study, to perfect”.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to help primary-aged children (Prep to Year 6) become confident narrative writers. Each section offers age-appropriate writing advice, practical student activities, and even suggestions for printable templates (like story planners and character maps) that make the writing process more engaging. We’ll also highlight how these practices align with the Australian Curriculum and share insights from RHZ Tutoring’s approach to literacy. Whether you’re a teacher, tutor or parent, these strategies will help you nurture young storytellers in a way that is fun, encouraging, and educational. Let’s dive into the art of narrative writing and discover how to help children tell their stories with confidence and creativity.

1. Introduction to Narrative Writing

Why Narratives Matter for Kids

Narrative writing is often one of the first chances for children to bring their imagination to life on paper. Think about how naturally kids tell stories when playing (“...and then the dragon chased the knight!”) – writing a narrative is a way to capture that imaginative play in written form. This matters because it bridges spoken language and formal writing. Through storytelling, children learn to organise their thoughts, expand their vocabulary, and communicate ideas in a clear sequence (beginning, middle, end). In Australian primary schools, narrative tasks are more than just fun; they’re a core part of the English curriculum. The Australian Curriculum: English includes narratives as a text type that all students must learn to create. By Year 3, for example, students may be asked to write a narrative in the national NAPLAN exam, which alternates between narrative and persuasive writing prompts. This means from an early age, children need to feel “at home” writing stories as well as reading them.

Beyond academics, writing narratives helps children make sense of the world. When they write a story, they practice putting events in order and reasoning out cause and effect (“Why did the character do that? What happens next?”). They also practice empathy, stepping into a character’s shoes. In fact, narrative writing can build social and emotional skills: kids often pour their own feelings or dilemmas into stories, which can help adults understand them better. A shy child might write about a superhero to explore bravery, or a child struggling with change might invent a character on a journey. Through storytelling, children safely explore scenarios and emotions, gaining insight and coping skills in the process. As parents and teachers, we can learn a lot about a child’s inner world by the tales they choose to tell.

Narratives are also a great equaliser in the classroom – every child, regardless of reading level or background, has a story to share. Some might write about fantastical worlds, others about their family or culture. In a diverse country like Australia, encouraging kids to write stories (including those drawn from their cultural heritage or imagination) supports inclusion. ACARA’s cross-curriculum priorities even encourage exposure to diverse narratives (like Aboriginal Dreaming stories or Asian folktales) to broaden students’ perspectives. By letting kids write in their own “voice” about things that matter to them, we validate their experiences and promote literacy with genuine engagement.

Finally, narrative writing is fun! At RHZ Tutoring, we find that even students who are reluctant writers often get excited when it comes to creative story tasks. Unlike worksheets or factual reports, a narrative lets a child be the author of their own world. They can include silly characters, exciting adventures, or magical twists – there are no right or wrong answers in a made-up story, which can be liberating for young writers. Our tutors harness this enthusiasm by making narrative writing sessions playful. For instance, we might use storytelling games or prompts (like picking random story dice with pictures) to spark ideas and laughter. When children are having fun, they are more motivated to write and less afraid of making mistakes. In short, narratives matter because they build literacy skills in a joyful way. They turn writing from a task into an adventure – one that young learners are eager to embark on.

Narrative Writing in the Australian Curriculum

In Australia’s F–6 curriculum, narrative writing holds an important place. The curriculum refers to narratives as “imaginative texts”, highlighting that their main purpose is to entertain or engage. From the earliest years, teachers foster narrative skills through oral storytelling, reading storybooks, and having students create simple stories of their own. By Foundation/Prep, children are beginning to understand that stories have a structure and are starting to craft very short narratives (often with a lot of adult support). In fact, the Foundation and Year 1 English outcomes focus heavily on oral language and basic story comprehension – for example, children at that stage are expected to recall events from simple texts and begin to create their own short recounts of personal experiences. These could be as simple as drawing a picture and writing a caption like “I went to the park and saw a bird.” Recounts are true stories, but they lay the groundwork for imaginative narratives by teaching sequence (first, next, last) and description of events.

By Year 2, the Australian Curriculum expects students to “create short imaginative texts” with growing awareness of narrative structure and language features. This might translate to a story of a few sentences up to a short paragraph, where the child introduces a character and an event (e.g. “Once there was a puppy who got lost. He met a cat who helped him find his way home.”). The key at this stage is having a clear beginning, middle, and end. Moving into Year 3, students expand their skills by including more detail. One content descriptor says Year 3s should create imaginative texts based on characters, settings and events from their own or others’ cultures, meaning they might take inspiration from familiar stories or cultural tales and put a personal spin on them. Practically, a Year 3 student might write a half-page story with dialogue and a simple problem-solution plot.

In Years 4 and 5, narrative writing becomes more nuanced. Students learn to plan, draft and publish narratives with increasing control over text structure and grammar (as per ACELY content descriptors). They start identifying the features that make narratives effective – like character development or use of suspense – and try to incorporate these into their own writing. By Year 5, the curriculum suggests students create literary texts using realistic or fantasy settings and characters influenced by the stories they have read. This reflects an expectation that 10–11 year olds can write longer stories (multiple paragraphs to a page or two) that show imagination but also coherence. For instance, a Year 5 might write a multi-paragraph adventure where the main character overcomes obstacles, with descriptive language and perhaps a twist or moral at the end.

By Year 6, students are encouraged to experiment with narrative techniques and language features to create particular effects. They might use imagery (similes, metaphors), vary sentence length for tension, or write from different points of view. The Australian Curriculum by Year 6 envisions students who can not only write well-structured stories but also analyse how narratives work (discussing characters, plot, and narrative viewpoint in class discussions). In short, a Year 6 student should be able to craft an engaging story of several paragraphs that has a clear orientation, complication, and resolution, with some flair in language use. It’s notable that Year 5 and Year 7 are NAPLAN testing years (with Year 7 being high school), so Year 6 is a time when teachers solidify students’ narrative writing proficiency, preparing them for more advanced storytelling and analysis in secondary school.

For educators and parents, understanding these curriculum expectations helps in setting appropriate goals. If a Year 3 child’s story still reads like a list of events without a clear problem, that’s normal – they are just transitioning from simple recounts to true narrative form. By Year 6, however, you’d expect a story to have paragraphs and more developed ideas. RHZ Tutoring’s approach is always aligned with ACARA standards: our tutors introduce narrative elements in step with what children learn at school. For example, when the curriculum expects students to start using dialogue (around Year 3–4), we ensure to teach how to punctuate and start a new line for each speaker. When the curriculum emphasizes rich vocabulary and figurative language in Year 5–6, our tutors work with students to incorporate “wow words” and literary devices in their stories. By staying curriculum-aligned, we make tutoring sessions an extension (and reinforcement) of classroom learning, giving students consistency and confidence that they are meeting (or exceeding) the expected benchmarks.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that narrative writing skills also support other areas of the curriculum. ACARA’s literacy continuum shows that as children improve in narrative writing, they also improve in critical thinking (as they plan and reflect on their stories) and in understanding narrative reading texts. The general capability of Critical and Creative Thinking is naturally exercised in narrative tasks. So, helping your child with narrative writing at home is not just about getting better English grades – it’s helping them grow into a creative, articulate thinker aligned with the holistic goals of the Australian education system.

2. The Key Elements of a Good Story

Every good story – whether a simple children’s tale or a lengthy novel – shares certain key elements. Teaching children about these elements gives them a toolkit for crafting their own narratives. The main ingredients of a narrative are: characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Primary school teachers often simplify this as the classic “beginning, middle, end” structure: the beginning introduces the characters and setting, the middle presents a problem or challenge, and the end resolves the problem. Let’s break down each element in child-friendly terms and discuss how to help students develop them:

  • Characters: These are the who of the story – usually a protagonist (main character) and possibly supporting characters or a villain. Characters can be people, animals (talking animals are common in kids’ stories), or even fantasy creatures. To engage young writers, encourage them to create characters they find interesting or relatable. For a Year 1 student, a character might be as simple as “a boy named Tim” or “a friendly dragon”. By Year 5–6, characters can be more complex, with personalities, wishes, or flaws. A good exercise is to have children imagine they are the character: What does the character like or dislike? How do they feel in the story’s situation? This builds empathy and leads to more believable characters. Using a character map graphic organizer can help – children can draw their character in the center and write traits or facts around it (name, age, appearance, what problem they have, etc.). Remind students that stories often get better when readers care about the characters, so adding small details (“Lucy always wears her yellow hat”) or feelings can make a difference. That said, a good story at the primary level doesn’t need an extensive character backstory – just enough to distinguish who is who.

  • Setting: This is the where and when of the story. The setting could be a real place (e.g. a school, a backyard, the Australian bush) or a fantastical one (outer space, a fairy castle under the sea). Young children sometimes forget to mention the setting in their stories; they jump straight into action (“There was a monster…”). Encourage them to start by setting the scene: e.g. “One night in a quiet village, there was a monster...”. For early writers, we often use the prompt “Where are your characters? Is it daytime or night-time?” to elicit setting details. As they progress, students learn that setting can also set the mood – a story in a dark forest feels spooky, a story on a sunny beach feels cheerful. By upper primary, kids can experiment with using sensory language for settings (“The garden was filled with the sweet smell of jasmine and the sound of crickets”). They also learn that the setting can influence the story’s events (a story set in the desert might involve thirst as a problem, for example). Australian students are encouraged to sometimes write about local settings, which can include the unique aspects of our environment and culture – from the outback to the suburbs. Whether realistic or fantasy, getting the setting clear at the start of a narrative helps readers picture the story. One tip is to have children draw the setting before writing, or use a setting template that asks questions like “Place: ______, Time: ______, Weather: ______, Environment (what do you see/hear?): ______” to generate ideas.

  • Plot: The plot is the what happens in the story – essentially the sequence of events. For primary students, we simplify plot structure into Beginning – Middle – End (or sometimes Orientation – Complication – Resolution in teacher terminology). The beginning/orientation introduces the characters and setting, and often hints at the main situation. The middle (complication) is where something happens – usually a problem or conflict arises that the characters need to deal with. The complication could be external (e.g. the character gets lost, something valuable is stolen, a storm comes) or internal (the character feels lonely, is afraid of something, etc.). Young writers should understand that a story needs a problem or challenge to be interesting – otherwise it’s just a description. The end (resolution) is where the problem is solved (or at least addressed) and the story concludes. In a simple Year 2 narrative, plot might be: Beginning – “A girl lost her dog”; Middle – “She searched the forest and met helpful animals”; End – “She found the dog and brought it home.” Older students can create more complex plots with a series of events or obstacles, maybe even a twist. We often teach plotting with a story mountain diagram: imagine a mountain that rises to a peak and then falls down. The rise is the events building tension (middle), the peak is the climax (the most exciting point or turning point), and the fall is the resolution. Using a story mountain template visually shows kids how a story “shapes” – it should start calm, build up, and then resolve. This helps prevent the common issue of abrupt endings or meandering middles. Students can practice by mapping familiar fairy tales onto a story mountain, then applying it to their own tales.

Illustration: A “story mountain” plot structure, showing how a narrative builds up (rising action) to a climax and then resolves. Such visual templates help students plan a clear beginning, middle (problem), and ending for their stories.

  • Conflict (Problem): The conflict is essentially part of the plot, but it’s so crucial it deserves its own mention. In narrative terms, “conflict” means the main challenge or obstacle the characters face. For young children, we call it the problem in the story. Teaching kids to identify “the problem” helps ensure their story has a point of interest. Examples of simple conflicts for kids: something is lost, someone is in danger, two characters have a disagreement, a character wants something but can’t get it easily. In creative writing sessions, we sometimes prompt students by asking, “What is the problem in your story?” If they can’t answer, they might need to develop one to give the narrative direction. As students mature, conflicts can be more nuanced (friendship problems, moral dilemmas, overcoming fear). But even in Year 6, the advice is to keep the conflict clear – it’s better to fully develop one central conflict than to scatter many minor ones. Encourage students to show conflict through events and dialogue (e.g. middle: “Ali’s best friend stopped talking to him after the argument, and Ali didn’t know how to fix it…”), and remind them the story isn’t over until the conflict is somehow resolved or addressed.

  • Resolution: This is how the story ends – how the conflict is resolved or what outcome the characters reach. In children’s narratives, resolutions are typically “happy endings” or at least satisfying endings. The lost puppy is found, the friends reconcile, the dragon is defeated or maybe befriended. It’s important to teach that a narrative should conclude rather than just stopping abruptly. A good resolution ties up the main threads of the story. For example, if the problem was a monster scaring the village, the resolution might be the villagers finding a way to make the monster friendly, or the monster leaving. Even a very short story benefits from a closing line that gives a sense of completion (“And they all lived happily ever after” or even “What an adventure it had been!”). As students get older, they can experiment with creative endings – maybe a twist (Year 5/6 love surprise endings like “it was all a dream”, though we guide them to use that sparingly), or a lesson learned by the character (a moral). However, even an open-ended or twist ending should feel deliberate. One tip for older writers is to reflect back on the story’s beginning in the ending, creating a full-circle effect (e.g. if the story began with a character afraid to try something, the story might end showing how they’ve changed after the adventure). According to one ACARA work sample commentary, a strong narrative conclusion “logically resolves the narrative” – meaning the solution should make sense given what happened. We discourage deus ex machina endings (e.g. suddenly a superhero appears out of nowhere to fix everything) because they’re not set up in the story. Instead, encourage kids to have their characters solve the problem, as this makes the story more satisfying and shows character growth.

  • Theme or Message (optional): In some narratives, especially those by older primary students, there might be an underlying theme or moral. This is not explicitly required in curriculum for primary, but many kids naturally include a little lesson (“and from then on, I learned not to lie” or “they realised friendship was more important than winning”). It’s fine to let children include these messages, but we also reassure them that not every story needs a heavy moral – entertaining the reader is the main goal. If a theme emerges (like kindness, bravery, honesty), that’s a bonus.

By explicitly teaching these elements and discussing them in stories you read together, you give children a narrative framework. When planning a new story, they can “check” that they have characters, a setting, a problem, etc. A fun classroom activity is to read a well-known fairy tale or picture book and ask students to identify the key elements: Who are the characters? What is the setting? What’s the problem? How does it end? This analytical exercise reinforces their understanding of story structure. Then, when they write, they can emulate that structure.

Remember to keep it age-appropriate: a six-year-old’s “good story” might be five sentences with a clear problem and resolution, whereas a twelve-year-old’s good story will be longer and richer in detail. Both are valid for their stage. Praise children for the elements they do well (“I love your character’s name and how you described the forest setting!”) and gently guide them on the ones to improve (“Perhaps we need to add a problem – what could go wrong for your character?”). With practice, young writers will naturally start to include all these key ingredients, and that’s when their narratives really shine.

3. Planning Your Story

Great stories often begin before any actual writing – in the planning stage. For adults and children alike, taking time to plan a narrative leads to more coherent and creative writing. Young writers sometimes want to skip planning (“Can’t I just start writing?!”), but we encourage even a brief planning activity to organise their thoughts. Planning a story is a bit like drawing a treasure map before a journey: it helps you figure out where you’re going so you don’t get lost in the middle of your tale.

The Importance of Planning

Why plan? Because it’s all too easy for kids (and grown-ups!) to start an exciting story and then get stuck or go off on tangents. A simple plan gives direction. It doesn’t have to be overly detailed – even jotting down a few dot points for “beginning, middle, end” can guide a young writer. Planning also sparks creativity: it’s a chance to brainstorm different ideas, pick the best one, and imagine cool events before worrying about full sentences. In a classroom, teachers often allocate specific time for “planning” during a writing lesson. In fact, ACARA’s writing process descriptors for Year 3 and up mention planning, drafting, revising as distinct steps. When students plan, they tend to write longer and better-organised stories. Without a plan, they might hit a dead-end and conclude abruptly (“I found the treasure. The end.”) or forget to include key elements. So we emphasize to kids: “Writers always make a plan!”—just like builders use blueprints.

Planning Tools and Templates

One of the best ways to plan a narrative is by using graphic organizers – visual templates that help arrange story elements. Different tools suit different ages:

  • Story Map: A story map is often a set of boxes or sections labeled with parts of the story (Beginning, Middle, End, or sometimes “Orientation, Problem, Events, Resolution”). For younger students (Prep–Year 2), a story map can be very simple – three pictures boxes for beginning, middle, end where they draw what happens, with a line under each for a short caption. For example, a Year 1 student might draw: Box 1 – a picture of a boy with his dog (caption: “Tom has a dog.”), Box 2 – dog ran away (caption: “The dog ran away.”), Box 3 – Tom finds dog (caption: “Tom finds him at the park.”). This visual plan helps them when writing their sentences later. Many teachers use printable story map worksheets or just fold a paper into thirds labeled “First, Next, Finally.” Parents can easily do this at home with blank paper and prompts.

  • Story Mountain: As mentioned earlier, the story mountain is a fantastic planner for middle to upper primary (Years 3–6). It visually represents the narrative arc. On a story mountain template, children note the orientation (setting/characters) at the base of the mountain, then as the slope rises, they list the events in the rising action leading up to the climax (peak, where the biggest thing happens), and then on the downward slope they note the falling action and resolution. Using a story mountain helps ensure the story has pace – a clear buildup and a wrap-up. For instance, a Year 4 student planning a mystery might fill it in like: Orientation – “Introduce detective and town”; Rising action – “Several pets go missing, clues found”; Climax – “Detective finds the thief – it’s the neighbour!”; Falling action – “Confrontation scene”; Resolution – “Pets returned, everyone happy.” The template guides them to include all parts. There are many free story mountain templates available (Twinkl, Teach Starter, etc.) which you can print out. These often come with prompts on the template itself, which is helpful for kids who aren’t sure what to put. A story mountain not only organizes ideas but also explicitly teaches kids about narrative structure as they use it.

  • Mind Maps and Brainstorms: Sometimes before a structured plan, it’s good to just brainstorm ideas. Older students might make a mind map – write the main idea in the center (e.g. “Pirate Adventure”) and branch out ideas around it (pirate characters, treasures, islands, dangers, etc.). This free-thinking exercise can generate creative subplots or details. For younger ones, a simple brainstorm list of “What cool things do I want in my story?” is enough – e.g. “unicorn, rainbow, lost wand, forest”. They can later figure out how to connect those dots in the story.

  • Character and Setting Planning: As part of planning, students can also do mini-plans for character and setting. A character profile worksheet (with prompts like “Name, Age, Looks, Personality, What do they want?”) helps especially if the story is going to be longer. A setting planner might ask senses (“What can be seen/heard/felt in this place?”) to encourage descriptive ideas. While these aren’t the plot per se, thinking them through beforehand enriches the writing. For example, at RHZ Tutoring we might spend a few minutes having a student sketch their main character or pick an image from a magazine that resembles their setting – these concrete references make writing easier because the student has a mental picture to draw words from.

  • Timeline or Sequence Chart: Some students benefit from planning the sequence of events in a linear timeline, especially if the story has several events. A timeline might be just a numbered list: 1) Hero gets invitation to castle, 2) Hero travels and faces a troll, 3) Hero arrives at castle to find dragon, 4) Hero defeats dragon, 5) Celebration. This is essentially the plot points in order. It ensures the student has a logical progression and can prevent forgetting a step. It’s also useful for narratives that need historical or time order clarity (like a day in the life, or anything with multiple settings).

Choose the planning tool based on what clicks with the child. Many enjoy the visual nature of story mountains or drawing storyboards; others prefer bullet-point lists. The key is that planning should not feel like a tedious extra task – it should feel like part of the fun of creating a story. You can frame it like “Let’s invent your story before we write it, kind of like making a comic or game plan!” Often, children will come up with more imaginative scenarios in discussion or doodling than they would staring at a blank lined page. Planning is essentially pre-writing, and it can involve talking. In classrooms, teachers do “think aloud” sessions to plan stories collaboratively, modelling how to brainstorm. At home, a parent might ask guiding questions as the child sketches a plan: “And then what happens? How will it end?” By answering these, the child is building their storyline with your support.

Age-Appropriate Planning Strategies

Foundation – Year 2: Young children’s plans will be very simple and heavily supported. They might draw pictures for beginning/middle/end or use sequencing cards. For instance, some teachers give three picture cards (first a character at home, then something happens, then the character happy at end) and ask kids to arrange them – that’s an implicit planning exercise. At this age, planning is often done through talking. A parent or teacher can say, “Tell me your story out loud.” As the child says it, you can gently prompt for structure (“And who is in the story? Where are they? Uh-oh, what goes wrong? And how do they fix it?”). The oral narrative can then be transcribed or turned into written sentences. Printable templates like a basic story map or even a storytelling glove (each finger represents an element: Who, Where, What problem, How solve, End) make planning tactile and fun.

Year 3 – Year 4: At this stage, students are becoming more independent in writing and can handle more structured planning. Teach them to jot down their plan in point form or fill in a graphic organizer. This is a great age to introduce the story mountain since they can grasp the idea of rising action and a climax. Many Year 3/4 classrooms explicitly teach narrative structure with this method. An activity might be: watch a short animated film (like Pixar’s “For the Birds” or a YouTube short) and together fill in a blank story mountain for it – identifying the funny beginning, the big moment, and the end. Then have students plan their own story mountain for a new story. Also around Year 4, emphasizing paragraph planning is useful: encourage them to plan what each paragraph or section of their story will cover (e.g., Paragraph 1: intro setting and character; Para 2: problem arises; Para 3: climax event; Para 4: resolution). This prepares them for more extended writing.

Year 5 – Year 6: Older primary students might initially think planning is unnecessary (“I have it in my head!”), but it’s precisely in longer, more complex stories that planning pays off. At this level, students can handle multi-layered plans: perhaps a mind map for brainstorming ideas, then a detailed outline or storyboard for the final choice. Encourage them to consider including a plot twist or an interesting climax, and plan for it so it’s well set-up. One technique is planning backwards from the climax: ask, “What’s the most exciting moment you want in your story? Now, how will you build up to that?” Year 6 students can also use planning to ensure they are using strong vocabulary and literary devices – e.g., while planning, note an opportunity for a flashback or a spot to include a simile. Teachers sometimes provide planning checklists (“Did you decide on your setting? Who is your protagonist? What is the conflict?”) so that in their written plan, the student covers all bases. Peer discussion is also valuable: at RHZ Tutoring, we might have an older student talk through their plan with the tutor as an audience, which often reveals gaps or spurs new ideas (peer conferencing in class does similar). By Year 6, students also understand that planning is part of test strategy – for NAPLAN or any timed writing, a 5-minute plan leads to a much better narrative under pressure.

Activities for Planning

  • Story Planner Templates: Provide kids with a fun template (like a treasure map theme or a space journey planner) where they fill in blanks about their story. For example, a “story mountain” printable with cartoon graphics can be engaging to fill out. This doubles as a coloring activity if they like art. After writing, they can compare their finished story to the plan and see how it helped.

  • Mix and Match Planning: To generate story ideas, do a mix-and-match game. Create three piles of cards: Characters (e.g. a pirate, an astronaut, a school kid, a kangaroo), Settings (a haunted house, the moon, a farm, the city zoo), Problems (lost treasure, new baby sister, trapped in a storm, magic gone wrong). Have the child pick one from each pile – voila, that’s a bare-bones story premise to plan! This planning prompt often leads to hilarious combinations and motivates them to outline how such an odd story would go. (Teachers often use this for creative thinking: e.g., “Okay, we got astronaut + haunted house + lost treasure. How on earth could we make a story from that? Let’s plan it!”)

  • Storyboard: For kids who love drawing or comics, planning as a storyboard is gold. Fold paper into 4–6 squares; each square is a “scene”. The child draws the sequence of the story like a comic strip. Under each picture, they can write one sentence describing it. This acts as a plan that can then be expanded into full paragraphs. Visualizing the story this way is especially helpful for reluctant writers, because it feels like play (drawing cartoons) more than work. It’s also a sneaky way to address story order – if something doesn’t make sense, they will notice it when drawing the sequence and can rearrange frames before writing.

  • Use Real Examples: Sometimes show a simple narrative (from a book or a past student’s work) and highlight its plan. For example, read a short story and then say, “If I were to plan this story, it would be: Beginning – Sally and her cat introduced; Middle – cat runs away during storm, Sally searches; End – neighbor finds cat and returns it next day. Let’s underline those parts in the story text.” This reinforces planning as a normal part of storytelling.

At RHZ Tutoring, we often integrate planning organically. Rather than saying “We must plan first,” we might start by chatting: “So, tell me what your story might be about.” As the student excitedly describes their ideas, the tutor scribbles a quick informal outline or draws a story mountain with them. We ensure the student is involved – maybe they write down the keywords for each part. Then when writing, we point back to the plan: “Remember in your plan, you said the climax would be the dragon appearing – have we written that yet? Not yet? Okay, we know what to do next.” This teaches students that a plan isn’t a static requirement, but a useful tool they can refer to and even adjust as needed. Planning is not meant to stifle creativity – reassure children that it’s okay to change the plan if a better idea comes mid-writing. The plan is a guide, not a prison.

Ultimately, the goal is for students to internalize a planning habit. As they gain experience, they might plan mentally with quick notes or even in their imagination. But building that habit young (on paper or aloud) will make them stronger, more organised writers. The mantra is: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” – said in a friendly way for kids, “If we plan our story journey, we won’t get lost in the middle!” With a bit of preparation done, the young author is now ready to embark on writing their narrative.

4. Creating Characters Kids Will Love

Memorable stories are driven by memorable characters. Think of the children’s books or movies that kids adore – often it’s the characters (a brave hero, a funny sidekick, a mischievous animal) that stick in their minds and hearts. When teaching narrative writing, a key focus is helping children create characters that feel alive, interesting, and appropriate for the story. This not only engages the reader but also makes writing more fun for the author – it’s like having an imaginary friend whose adventure you’re telling.

Character Basics for Young Writers

For the youngest writers, characters may start out very simple: often a version of themselves (“There is a boy named Jack…”), or a favourite animal or superhero. In Prep and Year 1, it’s common to see many stories where the main character is literally the child who’s writing (“I went to the farm and I saw…” etc.) because they draw from experience. That’s perfectly fine! One way to expand their character repertoire is through reading – as they encounter different protagonists in picture books, they learn they could write about a talking pig, a fairy princess, a race car, anything. Encourage them to give their character a name (not just “the boy” or “the dog” throughout), as naming a character is the first step in making them distinct. A fun class activity is a “Character Lucky Dip”: have a bag of name cards and a bag of picture cards – a student picks one of each (“Sally” + a picture of a dragon) and voila, that’s their new character, Sally the Dragon, which they can describe or write a story about.

At this stage, focus on one or two traits: e.g., who and maybe how old or what the character likes. If a Year 1 writes “Lucy is a kind girl who loves dogs,” that gives enough to shape the narrative (we can guess Lucy might rescue a puppy if she loves dogs). Visual aids help – perhaps have them draw their character first and then label features (brown hair, big smile, etc.). A character template with a blank face or figure where they can fill in details can be useful. For example, a simple template might say “My character’s name is ___, they are a ___ (boy/girl/creature/etc.) who lives ___. They are ___ years old. One thing they love is ___.” This guides a child to think beyond just appearance.

Developing Character Profiles (Years 3-6)

By middle primary, students can handle creating more fleshed-out characters. We introduce the idea that characters have personalities and motivations – not just looks. For instance, is the character brave, shy, funny, curious? And what do they want in the story? The character’s goal often drives the plot (e.g., “Marley the magician really wants to impress his teacher, but his spells keep going wrong…”). Encourage students to give their main character at least one strength and one weakness; this makes them relatable. It could be simplistic (“strong but impatient”; “kind but forgetful”) but it helps generate story events (the impatient character might rush into trouble).

A good technique is using a Character Map or Web. Place the character’s name in the center, and around it have bubbles or branches for different aspects: appearance, actions, feelings, relationships. For example, one bubble for “What do they look like?”, another for “What are they good at?”, another for “What problem do they have?”. This brainstorming map can be done in pairs – one student asks the other questions about their character and fills it in. This imitates what authors do mentally. It also aligns with reading skills: around Year 4, students often analyze characters in their reading (e.g., character traits, how characters respond to events), and that insight feeds into writing their own.

Character Names: Choosing names can be an enjoyable part of character creation. Suggest that the name reflect something (for fun, alliteration like “Polly the Pirate” or a descriptive surname like “Mr. Wise”). In multi-cultural classrooms, kids might pick names from different backgrounds, which is great for inclusivity. Just ensure they spell the name consistently (if they call the character “Jax” on page one but “Jack” later, clarify which it is!). Sometimes we advise writing the character’s name on a sticky note and placing it on their desk while writing as a reminder.

Dialogue and Voice: By upper primary, students start differentiating characters through how they speak. This is advanced, but even giving a character a catchphrase or a way of talking (perhaps the villain always hisses “Ssssuperb,” or the friend says “Mate” often) can bring them to life. Encourage students to imagine conversations between characters out loud; they can pick up on differences (maybe one is polite, one is rude). This helps avoid all characters sounding the same in dialogue.

Making Characters Appealing to Kids

When we say “characters kids will love,” we mean both the writer and the reader should find the character engaging. Children often resonate with characters who are like them or represent who they’d like to be. That’s why many kids’ stories feature child protagonists, even if the setting is fantastical. Encourage your child/student to consider making the main character a child or child-like animal, as it can naturally shape the story to their perspective. However, also let their imagination roam – if they want to write about a ninja grandma or a talking football, why not? The key is enthusiasm; if they love their character, that energy shows in the writing.

Here are some tips to help kids create lovable (or love-to-hate) characters:

  • Relatable Traits: Even in wild adventures, giving the character a relatable emotion or challenge draws readers in. For example, a superhero who gets nervous making new friends, or a unicorn who feels different from the herd – these feelings resonate with real kids. Ask the writer, “How does your character feel in this situation?” to deepen the character beyond just actions.

  • Strength and Courage: Children often like characters who are brave or clever, because they inspire. If appropriate, help the child find a moment to show their character’s courage or smart thinking in the story. For instance, “Ella was shy, but when the time came to save her cat, she found courage.”

  • Quirks and Humor: Some of the best-loved characters have something a little funny or unique about them – maybe they always wear rainbow socks, or they speak in poems, or they have a pet frog. These details don’t need to be major plot points, but they add charm. We often encourage adding one quirky detail. If a student says “My main character is Tom, a 10-year-old boy,” we might prompt, “What makes Tom special or different? Does he have a hobby or a funny habit?” Perhaps Tom loves to collect bugs or always tells jokes when he’s nervous. Such details can even help move the story (Tom’s bug collection could be integral to the plot if, say, a giant bug monster appears – he knows how to handle it).

  • Visual Aids: Let kids use visuals when imagining characters. They can cut out magazine pictures or draw their characters in their notebook. There are even online character creators or avatar makers that might be used as a reward (design your character’s look!). In class, creating a “Wanted poster” or “character profile poster” for their character (with sections like Wanted For: [goal], Last Seen: [setting], Reward: [what they want]) is a fun pre-writing activity. It makes the character feel real and exciting to write about.

  • Character Development: For older students, introduce the concept of the character changing. It’s satisfying when by the end of the story the character has learned something or grown. In Year 6 writing, for example, a narrative might show how a bully becomes kind after experiencing friendship, or a timid kid becomes confident after an adventure. Have the student think: “What will my character learn or how will they change by the end?” This not only yields a meaningful story but also drives the narrative arc. It aligns with the idea of theme or moral for those who want to include it.

Activities to Practice Character Creation

  • Character Collage: Provide some old magazines or printed images of various people/animals. Let the child choose a picture that interests them and glue it to paper. Then have them write notes or labels around it describing that character’s name, traits, likes/dislikes, etc. Using a visual stimulus can spark ideas (e.g., a picture of a mischievous monkey might lead to the character “Cheeky Charlie who loves bananas and pranks”).

  • Role-Play Interview: Play interviewer and have the student be their character. Ask questions: “What’s your name? What do you like to do? What’s the biggest problem you’ve faced?” The student must answer in character. This is a drama-based activity that’s especially useful if a child is stuck developing the character. It makes them think from the character’s perspective. Plus it’s fun – kids often enjoy pretending to be someone else for a bit.

  • Character Trading Cards: Make “trading card” style profiles on index cards for various character ideas. One card per character, with an illustration and some stats (strengths, weaknesses, motto, friends, enemies). Students can swap these cards with each other to incorporate each other’s characters in new stories or just to practice concise characterization. Collecting these cards over the year also shows how their character creation skills evolve.

  • Reading and Reflecting: After reading a story or watching a movie, discuss characters. “Who was your favourite character and why? What made them interesting?” This reflection can make them aware of traits they might want to emulate in their own writing. For instance, if they loved Hermione from Harry Potter, they might say “because she’s smart and brave” – which could inspire them to write a smart, brave character in their own story.

At RHZ Tutoring, we often integrate our literacy instruction with such creative activities. Our tutors might spend part of a session just on character brainstorming if that’s what the student needs. We find that when a student has a character they feel excited about, the story writing flows much more easily. We also model how characters drive narratives by occasionally co-creating a character with the student and posing “What would our character do next?” during the writing process. This keeps the focus on the character’s journey rather than random events.

Above all, remind children that it’s their character – they have the power to make any kind of hero or villain they want. There’s no “wrong” character as long as they fit the story. Empower them with that creative control. If their character is a cupcake-loving dinosaur who dances ballet, fantastic – let’s figure out what adventure such a fun character might have! Young writers sometimes seek approval (“Is it okay if my character is an alien?”) – reassure them that imaginative characters are welcome. The only caution might be to limit the number of main characters in a short story – handling too many can be confusing. One to three main characters is plenty for a primary narrative.

By cultivating the skill of character creation, you’re helping children become not just writers but also observers of human (or animal) nature. They start to think about how others feel and act, which is a big leap in empathy and cognitive development. And when they see their readers (even if just Mum, Dad or a classmate) respond with “Oh, I love this character!” – it’s a proud moment that fuels their motivation to write more. So encourage them to dream up protagonists and sidekicks, give those creations depth with a few well-chosen details, and watch as their stories come alive around those characters.

5. Setting the Scene

Every story transports its reader to a somewhere – and part of a young writer’s job is to paint that “where and when” so the reader can vividly imagine it. Setting the scene means describing the story’s setting in a way that grounds the narrative and creates atmosphere. In primary school narratives, setting descriptions can range from a single line (“One sunny day at the beach…”) to a rich paragraph full of sensory details in upper years. Developing this skill helps children’s writing become more immersive and detailed.

The Role of Setting in Narratives

A well-chosen setting can almost become an additional character in the story. It influences what can happen (you can have a snowball fight in the mountains, but not in the desert), and it can reflect the mood. For example, a spooky story works well in a dark old house on a stormy night, while a cheerful adventure might be set in a colorful carnival or magical forest. Teaching kids to be intentional about their setting makes their stories more cohesive. We often ask students when planning, “Where does this story take place? How is that place important to the story?”

At a basic level, setting tells the reader where and when the story happens. “When” could be a time of day, a season, or a historical period. Young kids usually stick to present day (“today” or “One day…”), but older kids might experiment with “A long time ago” for fairy tale style, or even future settings (“In the year 2120, on Mars…”). The Australian Curriculum encourages students to explore both realistic and fantasy settings in their writing, especially by Year 5. That means a student might one day write a story set in their school playground, and another day write one in a dragon’s lair – both are valuable for flexing creativity.

Describing the Setting: Using Senses and Details

One of the best tricks for writing about settings is the five senses. Encourage children to think: What would your character see, hear, smell, feel (touch), and maybe taste in this place? Not every story needs all five, but using a couple can really bring a scene to life. For example, if the setting is a rainforest, they might describe the towering green trees (sight), the calls of birds and dripping water (sound), the damp air and squishy mud underfoot (touch), and the earthy smell after rain (smell). Such details immediately draw the reader in.

In early years, a sentence or two is enough: “The garden was quiet and the night was cold.” This gives a basic scene. By middle primary, students can be challenged to expand: how was it quiet? (no people, maybe just crickets chirping) how cold? (frost on the grass, they can see their breath). Sometimes we use a senses chart during brainstorming: a table with a column for each sense where the student jots words or phrases that could describe the setting. If they fill in even a few boxes, they have content for a descriptive paragraph.

Adjectives and Imagery: Settings are a great place for students to practice using adjectives and figurative language. Teach words for common settings – for instance, instead of always saying “big” tree, perhaps “towering” tree; not just “nice” field, maybe “lush green field”. Building a word bank by reading is useful here. When reading a story, point out any describing words: “The author said ‘the ancient castle on the lonely hill’. That paints a picture! What words could we use for our castle?” By Year 4–5, students learn about similes and metaphors. Setting description is an easy entry point for similes: “The lake was as still as glass,” or “The clouds looked like cotton”. Children often enjoy crafting these once they get the hang of it (sometimes every sentence becomes a simile – we gently guide moderation, but applaud the creativity!).

Show, Don’t Tell: This classic writing advice can be introduced in simple form. “Show, don’t tell” in a setting context means, instead of telling the reader the forest was scary, show it through details: “The forest was dark, and every snap of a twig made Nina’s heart pound.” The detail of darkness and the character’s reaction show that it’s scary. In primary terms, you might say, “Make the reader feel like they’re there.” Role play can help: “If you were in that forest, what would you notice? How would you feel?” This encourages describing the environment alongside the character’s senses.

Age-Appropriate Expectations for Setting Descriptions

Foundation – Year 2: Young kids may only write a very short setting. Often it is embedded in the first sentence: “Once upon a time in a castle,” or “I went to the park.” That’s okay. At least it gives context. You can prompt a little more detail by asking questions: “What did the park look like? Were there trees or swings?” They might then add, “The park had a lot of swings and a yellow slide.” Also, younger children’s illustrations carry a lot of the setting information. They might draw a sun, clouds, trees – you can encourage them to write one sentence about what they drew (“It was a sunny day”). At this stage, emphasize clarity over flowery detail – we mainly want to know where the story is happening. Basic weather and place are a great start (“On a rainy night at my house,” etc.). A fun classroom activity: pick a familiar place (e.g., the school library) and have kids brainstorm words about it (quiet, books, rug, computer, etc.). Then use those words to craft a couple of descriptive sentences together. This shows them how to take observations to sentences.

Year 3 – Year 4: Students start expanding descriptions. They learn to use more adjectives and to incorporate setting into the action. For instance, instead of a separate chunk about setting, they might weave it in: “Sam shivered in the cold wind atop the mountain as he looked for shelter.” This skill of integrating setting with what the character is experiencing is something to practice. Teachers might have a mini-lesson on “using sensory words” or “strong adjectives” around this age. They also learn that settings can create a mood. In class, you might see an exercise where students are given two settings to describe: one happy, one scary. They discover that word choice matters (a forest can be described as “sun-dappled and lively” or “shadowy and silent” depending on the mood needed). Encourage experimenting: “How can you make the classroom sound creepy? What about cheerful?” It’s almost like painting with words – an idea kids enjoy.

Year 5 – Year 6: Older primary writers can produce quite vivid settings. They are capable of multi-sentence or paragraph-length descriptions, though they must learn to balance it with plot (we don’t want a whole page of scenery that stalls the story). At this level, students might incorporate figurative language: personification (e.g., “The wind whispered through the pine trees”), more sophisticated similes and metaphors, or even symbolism (like describing a storm to reflect a character’s anger). Teachers often encourage using a thesaurus or word bank to avoid dull or repetitive descriptions. For instance, instead of repeating “then they went to a dark cave, it was dark inside, dark dark dark,” they can find synonyms or more specific imagery (“dim cave”, “cave engulfed in darkness”, “only a faint light flickered on the cave walls”). Year 6 narratives tend to have settings that enhance the story’s theme – e.g., a survival story might emphasize the harshness of a desert setting to increase tension.

Activities to Enrich Setting Writing

  • Five Senses Scavenger Hunt: Pick a setting (maybe one from a story the class read, or an imaginary one). Have students list one detail for each sense about that setting. If it’s an imaginary setting, they’ll use creativity; if it’s real (like “beach”), they can draw from experience. For example: Beach – Sight: golden sand and blue water; Sound: crashing waves and seagulls; Smell: salty sea air; Touch: hot sun on skin, gritty sand under feet; Taste: maybe mention the taste of salt or an ice-cream by the sea. After the hunt, they combine some of those details into a descriptive paragraph.

  • Setting Word Bank Poster: Create a poster in class with columns for different settings (city, jungle, ocean, outer space, etc.), and brainstorm descriptive words for each. Keep it on the wall for reference. When a student chooses to write a story in one of those settings, they have a ready list of vivid words. For example, under “jungle” you might list: dense, steamy, buzzing (insects), emerald (green), tangled vines, etc.

  • Artwork Inspiration: Use a vivid landscape painting or photograph as a prompt. Ask the student to describe that scene in writing. This isolates the task of setting description from having to invent plot, so they can practice just the descriptive aspect. For instance, show an image of a moonlit night over a valley and let them write a descriptive piece about it. This can then segue into a narrative: “Now that you described this spooky valley, who might be creeping through it?” Thus, setting can inspire plot.

  • Mad Libs Setting Edition: Prepare a paragraph describing a setting but remove some adjectives/nouns. Have students fill in the blanks with their own words (silly or serious) and then read the funny or interesting results. For example: “The __ forest was __ and __. In the distance, one could hear __. The air smelled of __.” They’ll see how word choices change the image. This is a playful way to reinforce using descriptive language.

  • Real-life Observation: Encourage writing about real settings to practice observation. For homework, a child could sit in their backyard or local park for 5 minutes and note down everything they sense. Back in class or with a tutor, those notes can be crafted into a rich description. This grounds them in reality and teaches attention to detail, which they can then apply even to fantastical settings.

When helping at home, parents can integrate setting awareness into daily life: “Wow, look at the sky tonight. How would you describe that color?” or “We’re walking in the forest – what do you hear? Let’s remember that for your story about camping.” Such conversations build a habit of mindful observation, the bedrock of good description.

At RHZ Tutoring, we sometimes use guided imagery exercises for setting. We might say, “Close your eyes. Imagine you are in your story’s setting. What’s the first thing you notice? What can you touch around you? What’s the weather like?” The student then opens their eyes and writes down what they envisioned. This technique is calming and helps students, especially those who struggle with coming up with details, to tap into their imagination.

One more tip: balance is key. While descriptive writing is wonderful, remind students that not every detail needs to be included. Pick the most important or interesting details that serve the story. If the narrative is about escaping a cave, describing the cave’s narrow tunnels and dripping water adds to the tension; describing the color of every stalagmite might not. A good rule of thumb: include details that either set the mood or affect the action. Leave out those that might bore the reader or slow the story too much. Through practice, children will get a feel for this.

In summary, “setting the scene” transforms a flat story into a vivid experience. With guided practice in using sensory language, strong adjectives, and imaginative details, students will learn to whisk readers off to faraway places (or make familiar places come alive anew). Whether it’s under the sea, on a spacecraft, or in their own backyard, every setting has a story to tell – and our young writers will be equipped to tell it in living color.

6. Writing a Strong Beginning

The beginning of a story is incredibly important – it’s the first impression that hooks the reader and sets up everything that follows. We often call this the “hook” or orientation. For children learning to write narratives, crafting a strong beginning means making sure the reader (even if it’s just Mum, Dad, or the teacher) wants to keep reading and also isn’t confused about the basic situation. In primary school, we teach several strategies for powerful story openings, and we emphasize including key information early on: the who, where, and hint of what’s going on.

The Purpose of the Beginning

In narrative structure terms, the beginning is the orientation – it orients the reader by introducing the main character(s) and setting, and possibly the time. It may also introduce or foreshadow the problem. A solid beginning answers the questions: “Who is this about? When/where are we? What is the situation at the start?” For example, “One sunny morning, Jess (who) was riding her bike to school (where)…” – immediately we know a character and setting. If the problem is hinted, maybe “...when she noticed a strange creature following her.” That creates intrigue.

Young writers sometimes start a story too abruptly: e.g. “There was a monster. It chased me.” As readers, we have many questions – Who is “me”? Where is this happening? Why is there a monster? So we coach them to set the scene a bit more: “I was walking home through the woods when I heard a snap of a twig. There was a monster behind me, and it started to chase me.” Now the reader is oriented: we know the character (I), location (woods), and the event that kicks off the story (monster appears). This slight expansion makes a world of difference.

Hooking the Reader’s Attention

Beyond just orientation, we want the beginning to be engaging. Students learn various “sizzling start” techniques (often that term or “hook” is used by teachers):

  • Start with Action: Jump right into something happening. Kids love this because it’s exciting. For instance, “Crash! The window shattered as Liam ducked under the table,” is a thrilling start that makes the reader wonder what’s going on. It avoids a long preamble and kicks off with energy. Just ensure that if you start in medias res (in the middle of action), you clarify soon after who/where.

  • Start with Dialogue: A dialogue opening can grab attention because it puts the reader in the middle of a scene. E.g., “Stop thief!” yelled Anna as she raced down the alley. We immediately get a sense of conflict and character. However, caution students to at least imply context with the dialogue – a random conversation with no context can confuse. The example works because it suggests Anna is chasing someone in an alley (implying setting and problem). Dialogue hooks work well from Year 3 up, when students are comfortable punctuating speech. And it definitely spices up their writing beyond the typical “One day...” beginning.

  • Start with a Question or Wonder: Sometimes opening with a question in narrative can intrigue readers. For example: “Have you ever had a day where everything seems to go wrong? Well, I hadn’t, until last Monday.” This directly addresses the reader and piques interest about what went wrong. It’s a bit more sophisticated and can be effective if not overused. It’s also a common style in kids’ magazines or books that break the fourth wall.

  • Start with an Interesting Statement: This is like an opening line that makes you go “Huh, tell me more.” For instance: “Lilly knew it was a bad idea to make a wish on a shooting star.” Or “No one in our town knew that I had a dragon in my garage.” These statements create curiosity. They often hint at the story’s key element (a dragon, a wish gone wrong) without giving it all away.

  • Start with Sound (Onomatopoeia): As part of the action, sometimes just a sound effect can hook. “Bang! The loud noise jolted me awake...” Immediately, the reader is thinking, “What was that bang?” It’s a quick way to add drama from the first word. Kids enjoy using sound words (Boom, Crash, Splash, etc.), and it engages their sense of hearing. It’s especially popular with early writers to start with “One day” or a sound; we try to elevate the “One day” to something more unique by mid-primary.

One technique taught in Australia (e.g., the Seven Steps to Writing Success program) is “Sizzling Starts” – essentially, don’t start too far back (avoid the boring build-up of waking up, having breakfast, etc., unless it’s relevant). Instead, start at an exciting point or just before the main action. We guide students to sometimes cut the first few lines of their draft if it was slow. For example, if a draft starts with “It was a nice morning. Tim got out of bed and brushed his teeth. He didn’t know an adventure was waiting...” – by the time the adventure comes, readers might be yawning. We might revise the start to: “Tim opened his front door and nearly tripped over a mysterious box on the doorstep.” That’s intriguing right from sentence one. We can always weave in morning routine details later if needed (though often they aren’t).

Including Key Information Early

While hooking the reader, a good beginning should also establish the basics: at least one main character and the setting. For younger kids, simply saying “One day, Ali and Max were playing in the backyard...” does the job. It might not be the flashiest hook, but it’s clear. And clarity is priority number one for early narrative writing. As they get older, we challenge them to embed that info creatively: maybe through dialogue (“‘Max, I bet you can’t catch me!’ Ali shouted as she darted across the backyard lawn.” – here we got names and place naturally).

Teachers often have a checklist for story starts: Does the first sentence/paragraph introduce WHO, WHERE, WHEN? If not explicitly, at least give a clue. If a student writes “I ran as fast as I could,” it’s a gripping line, but on its own it lacks context. We encourage adding something: “Midnight. I ran as fast as I could through the silent school hallways.” Now we have when (midnight), where (school hallways), who (I), plus action.

Another tip: avoid starting too slowly or too far from the main event. Kids sometimes want to explain everything from the dawn of time (“First, let me tell you all about Bob. Bob was 11 and had brown hair and lived in Melbourne. He had a dog named Rex. Bob loved soccer... [five sentences later] ...One day Bob went to the park and something amazing happened.”). We guide them to trim the preamble. It might feel natural to them to introduce thoroughly, but readers will be hooked better if something is happening early. The details about Bob can be revealed as the story unfolds. So a stronger start might be: “Bob was halfway to the park when he noticed the sky turning green.” That bizarre event (sky turning green) is the hook, and as Bob reacts, we can mention his dog Rex was with him, or whatever details matter.

Examples of Strong vs. Weak Beginnings

It’s very instructive to show examples. In a lesson, we might present a “weak” opening and a “strong” opening and discuss the difference:

  • Weak: “There was a girl named Priya. She was 10 years old. She had a cat. One day she woke up and got dressed. She went outside.” (This is okay for a Year 1 if that’s their level, but by Year 3+ it’s dull.)

  • Strong: “Priya’s cat was acting strange that morning. At exactly 7 AM, it began to speak. ‘We have to go now!’ it whispered.” (This plunges us into an interesting scenario. We know the character Priya and her cat, presumably at home in morning, but with a twist.)

Discussing why the second grabs attention (talking cat, urgency) helps kids see the value of an interesting start.

Age-appropriate Focus

Foundation – Year 2: Emphasize clarity and a hint of the story to come. Most kids this age will start with something like “One day...” or “Once upon a time...”, which is fine. You can suggest small improvements like adding an adjective or setting: “One rainy day…” or “Once upon a time in a jungle,…”. The concept of a hook might be too advanced for Foundation, but by Year 2 you can introduce the idea of starting with something happening. Perhaps, “Bang! The balloon popped and...”. Encourage them to avoid too much throat-clearing like “This is a story about...” or writing a title as the first sentence (some do that). A fun activity: have them practice starting a story three different ways and share which one the class finds most exciting. Even 7-year-olds enjoy going “Wow!” at a dramatic opener.

Year 3 – Year 4: This is where we explicitly teach hooking techniques. We challenge students not to start every story with “One day” – by Year 3 they are ready to branch out. We might list common story openers and try alternatives. Role play being the reader: “Imagine you open a book and it starts with ‘One day it was sunny and someone was at the park.’ You might say ‘So what?’ But if it starts with 'Help! I heard my little brother scream from the pond...' – would you keep reading?” They get the point. We also teach paragraphing from the start: the first paragraph is usually the orientation. Make it count. Year 4s can handle more scene-setting in their first paragraph, plus a lead-in to the problem. For instance, an orientation might be a couple of sentences of setting/character (“Sara and Ben paddled their canoe down the winding river in the late afternoon sun.”) and then the hook (“They didn’t notice the dark storm clouds gathering behind them.”). Already the reader anticipates trouble – a storm maybe. That’s a solid narrative introduction for this level.

Year 5 – Year 6: Upper primary students refine their openings to be both hooking and sophisticated. They might even experiment with starting in the middle of action and then flashing back (though that structure is complex, some try it). They also learn about narrative viewpoint, so deciding whether to start with “I” (first person) or third person, etc., is part of their craft. We encourage strong openings that also suit the story’s tone – a mystery story might start with an eerie detail or question, an adventure with immediate action or danger, a humorous story with a funny line or exaggeration (“Jack was in trouble. Again. If trouble were a sport, he’d have a trophy shelf full of medals.”). Year 6 teachers often advise students to avoid cliche openings like “Hi, my name is ___ and I’m going to tell you a story...” – because by then, they can do much better. In fact, by Year 6, students may consciously craft the first sentence as a “grabber” much like real authors do (some even start with onomatopoeia or dialogue by habit now, to stand out).

Activities for Strong Beginnings

  • Hook Gallery Walk: Write out a bunch of story opening lines (some great, some boring) on strips of paper. Include some student-created ones if possible. Stick them around the room. Have students walk around reading them, and place a sticker or mark next to the ones that grab them the most. Then discuss which got the most votes and why. This helps them internalize what makes a good hook.

  • Opening Line Rewrite: Take a mundane opening (perhaps from one of their drafts or a generic “One day Sam woke up...”). Challenge students in pairs or individually to rewrite that opening in a more intriguing way, using one of the strategies (action, dialogue, etc.). Share the new versions – it’s fun to see the creativity (one group might do an action version, another a dialogue version of the same scenario).

  • Story Starters Brainstorm: Have students brainstorm possible opening lines for different story prompts. For example, prompt: “A mysterious package arrives.” Collectively, they might come up with: “I found a box on my doorstep with my name on it – but I wasn’t expecting any mail.” or ““Open it... if you dare,” read the note on the strange package.” Write them on the board to show multiple ways to start the same story and discuss which make you want to read on.

  • Mix and Match Who/Where hooks: To emphasize including who and where in an interesting way, play a game where you have to include a character name and setting and a hook. E.g., roll dice for a random character and setting (like “an astronaut” + “in a rainforest”) and as a class think of a cool opening: maybe “Commander Zoe had trained for space, not for the Amazon jungle – yet here she was, parachuting through the canopy after her ship’s emergency landing.” It’s a fun creativity game that practices packing info and interest into one sentence or two.

Remember that a strong beginning doesn’t have to mean immediately high-stakes or explosive action; it can also be intriguing or witty or emotionally engaging. The goal is to prompt the question in the reader’s mind: “What happens next?” If the first few lines achieve that, they’re successful.

At RHZ Tutoring, we coach students on beginnings by often reading their beginning aloud to them (or have them read it aloud) and asking, “Would you keep reading this if it were a book?” Honest reflection sometimes makes them realize it could be punchier. Then we brainstorm together how to improve it, often modeling one or two possibilities. We also keep a little “bag of tricks” list the student can refer to: e.g., Start with sound, Start with dialogue, Start with action, Start with setting description (if it’s really interesting). If one approach isn’t fitting, try another.

Finally, it’s vital to remind kids: you can always revise your beginning after writing the whole story. Many authors circle back and rewrite openings once they know how their story turned out. So there’s no pressure to make the first line perfect on the first try. Write something to get going, then refine it. Often a brilliant hook idea might come after the story is drafted. Teaching this takes away the fear of starting. As one strategy, some teachers even have students write the body of the story first, then craft the introduction last, ensuring it fits well. That might be advanced, but it shows that beginnings are malleable.

In essence, writing a strong beginning is about grabbing attention and laying the groundwork. With practice, students will start automatically thinking, “How can I start this in a cool way?” and that initial creativity boost can carry them through the rest of the narrative with confidence and excitement.

7. Building the Middle of the Story

The middle of a narrative is where the main action unfolds – it’s the journey from the introduction of the problem to the climax of the story. This section (often called the “complication” or “rising action”) is crucial for maintaining interest. Many young writers find beginnings and endings more straightforward, but struggle with the middle: either too short (solving the problem too quickly) or wandering off-track. Building the middle means developing the plot in a structured, engaging way, with enough events and details to keep the reader hooked until the end.

What Happens in the Middle?

In story structure terms, the middle covers the series of events triggered by the problem and leading up to the story’s most intense point (climax). It typically involves the main character facing challenges or attempting solutions that might fail at first. In a classic “quest” narrative, the middle would be all the adventures and obstacles on the way. In a mystery, it’s the investigation with red herrings and clues. In a personal narrative, it’s the rising tension of an experience (like getting more lost before being found).

For primary students, we often explain the middle as “the exciting part” or “the big events of the story”. It’s helpful to break it into a few key events rather than one blur. A common guideline is to have at least 3 events or attempts in the middle for a satisfying arc (this isn’t a strict rule, but a helpful scaffold). For example, if the problem is “lost in the forest,” the middle might include: (1) The character tries one path and it leads to a dead end (maybe a blocked river), (2) They encounter a helpful animal or find a clue (like footprints) that guides them, but then (3) It starts raining, adding difficulty, and finally (climax) they see the way out or someone finds them. Those are distinct phases to keep the middle dynamic.

Keeping the Middle Interesting and Structured

One risk in the middle is that the story can “sag” – either nothing happens (the story resolves too easily), or too many unrelated things happen (making it feel random or confusing). We teach a few strategies to avoid these issues:

  • Cause and Effect Chain: Ensure each event leads to the next. The middle shouldn’t feel like a series of unrelated incidents; each one should spring from the previous. For instance: cause – “Ben tries to climb the wall” leads to effect – “He falls and injures his ankle, which means…” next event – “He has to find another way out.” This logical flow keeps the narrative tight. We sometimes diagram this as a flowchart or simply ask, “Why does this happen? How does it connect to what happened before?” If a student has an event that’s just thrown in (like suddenly aliens land in the middle of a realistic story with no foreshadowing), we point out it feels disconnected. Either cut it or set it up earlier. Teaching linking words also helps (e.g., so, then, because, but). A Year 2 might write: “It started raining so we ran to find shelter but we got lost then we found a cave.” Those connecting words show the chain.

  • Raising the Stakes: The middle should escalate the tension. Things often get worse before they get better in a story. In teaching, we might refer to a tension graph or the story mountain idea: the middle is an upward slope. If the first attempt to solve the problem fails, the problem might even become bigger or more complex. For example, a character tries to apologize to a friend (to solve a conflict), but the friend misunderstands and gets even angrier – now the situation is worse. This makes the eventual resolution more satisfying and keeps readers engaged (“Oh no, how will they fix this now?”). Ask the writer: “How can we make the problem a bit trickier or throw an obstacle in the character’s way?” In younger grades, this could be as simple as adding, “But then… [something unexpected] happened.” The unexpected twist in the middle perks up interest.

  • Include Interaction and Conflict: A middle is lively when it has interaction – between characters (dialogue, confrontation, teamwork) or between character and environment. Encourage showing how the main character deals with each event. Are they arguing with a friend? Solving a puzzle? Running from danger? Dialogue is a great tool in the middle to break up long action sequences and give depth (e.g., two characters might argue about the best way to solve the problem, adding emotional conflict in addition to the external one). Also, if the story has a villain or antagonist, the middle is where that opposition really plays out – perhaps a chase, a battle of wits, or a challenge issued by the antagonist.

  • Use of Paragraphs for Events: By mid-primary, students are learning to paragraph, and a general practice is to start a new paragraph for a change in time, place, or event. We tell Year 3+ students, “Each major event in your middle could be a new paragraph.” For instance, paragraph 2 might be “First attempt – failed,” paragraph 3 “Second attempt or complication – things get worse,” etc. This helps them plan and also helps the reader follow the progression clearly. It also ensures they flesh out each part with some detail instead of rushing straight to the end.

  • Descriptive and Sensory Details: While action drives the middle, we remind students not to write a bare-bones “and then... and then...” sequence without any description. Encourage them to slow down at key moments to describe what characters feel or see. For instance, during a tense moment, what is the character thinking? Is their heart pounding? Do they notice the dark shadows lengthening (setting detail to mirror tension)? These embellishments make the middle richer. However, they should be relevant – describing scenery is fine, but ideally tie it to mood or action (like describing the thunder and lightning as the hero climbs the tower, which emphasizes drama).

Maintaining Momentum vs. Going Off-Track

Students sometimes introduce random new characters or subplots in the middle that don’t tie back in, maybe because they’re spontaneously creative or trying to pad out the story. We applaud creativity but guide them to ask, “Does this help the main character solve the main problem, or is it a separate story?” If separate, maybe save it for another story. For instance, if mid-story the character finds a cute puppy and plays with it for two paragraphs but this has nothing to do with the quest they were on, it might derail the narrative flow. We might say, “This part with the puppy is adorable, but how does it connect to our hero finding the lost treasure? Maybe if the puppy later helps sniff out the treasure, it’s relevant. Otherwise, maybe shorten that part or keep focus.”

Teaching the concept of a “thread” or focus can help: the middle should follow the thread of the main conflict. Tangents can lose readers. That said, sometimes a short side incident can add color or character development, which is fine if time allows. Just ensure it loops back.

Climax – The Turning Point

The latter part of the middle essentially includes the climax – the biggest moment of tension. It’s usually still considered part of the middle (some think of it as the bridge to the end). For educational purposes, we often talk about the climax when discussing story mountains (peak of the mountain). The climax is typically the moment where the character faces the problem head-on, or everything comes to a head. In a fairy tale, it’s when Cinderella’s slipper fits, or when Red Riding Hood and the wolf encounter each other. In student writing, the climax could be the highest drama: the monster corners the hero, the mystery is suddenly revealed, the two friends have a huge confrontation, etc.

We encourage students to identify what the climax of their story is (if they can’t, it may mean the story lacked a clear peak and is too flat). Often the climax will be near the end of the middle or at the transition to the end. After the climax, things usually resolve relatively quickly. In teaching, we might even mark a point in their outline as “climax – where the problem is the hardest or the character has to make a big choice.”

For example, if a story is about winning a school soccer match (problem: the team is losing confidence after trailing in score), the climax might be that final penalty shootout with scores tied – high tension moment. All the middle content (practicing, small victories, maybe an injury, etc.) leads up to that. The resolution will be winning (or losing gracefully) after the penalty. Ensuring that the middle builds to that penalty moment (maybe each goal, each challenge increases excitement) is what we aim to do.

Activities for Developing the Middle

  • Story Mountains / Plot Diagrams: As already discussed, plotting events on a mountain helps students plan a substantial middle. Have them label at least 2-3 steps on the rising slope, not just jump from base to peak. We sometimes specifically say “come up with 3 events or complications” and if they struggle, brainstorm as a group. If a student only has “They got lost, then they were found”, ask “What happened while they were lost? Something must have happened during that time.” Maybe they heard a scary noise (event1), they tried one path (event2) and it was wrong, etc.

  • Fill in the Blanks (Sequence Chain): Provide a simple scaffold: Beginning: ___, Then ___, Next ___, After that ___, Finally ___. The blanks in the middle are for the sequence of events. This helps younger writers conceptualize needing a “Next” and “After that” before “Finally”. For example: Beginning: “Tom’s dog ran away.” Then: “Tom looked in the backyard.” Next: “He followed paw prints to the park.” After that: “It got dark and Tom was scared.” Finally: “He heard a bark and found his dog stuck in a fence.” This exercise concretely shows a middle with multiple steps.

  • Write the Next Part (collaborative storytelling): You can play a round-robin where one student writes a beginning scenario and passes it to another to write what happens next, then another for what happens after, etc., then another wraps it up. This group storytelling is fun and demonstrates how a story can progress through several events. It also surfaces creative ideas for middles (kids often add wild adventures in these games).

  • Comic Strip / Storyboard the Middle: If a student has trouble fleshing out the middle, sometimes drawing it in frames helps. Make 3–4 boxes labeled First, Next, Then, Last (for the main part of story, excluding intro and conclusion). Have them sketch each major event. The act of drawing often slows them down to think what visually happens in each step, which they can then describe in writing.

  • Use of Dialogue: Practice writing a scene of dialogue that could take place in the middle, such as two characters debating a plan or a hero confronting the villain. This exercise emphasizes character interaction, which can be a highlight of the middle. It’s also a chance to teach correct punctuation in context. Students find that adding a spoken exchange in the middle of an action sequence can highlight emotions and break monotony of “and then...”.

  • “Luckily / Unluckily” Game: This is a fun oral or written activity to emphasize ups and downs in the middle. One person says a story line, then alternate: “Luckily,...” then “Unluckily,...” For example: “The pirates searched for treasure. Luckily, they found a map. Unluckily, the map was in pieces. Luckily, they managed to piece it together. Unluckily, it led them into a swamp full of alligators. Luckily, one pirate knew how to calm alligators...” and so on. This exaggerates the concept of rising and falling action, and kids enjoy the collaborative challenge. It can give them ideas to incorporate smaller ups and downs in their narrative middle (a helpful find followed by a setback etc.).

Age differentiation

Foundation – Year 2: Middles will be very short at these ages, and that’s okay. A typical Year 1 story might be: Beginning (1-2 sentences), one Middle event (1 sentence), End (1 sentence). They might not be ready to carry complex sequences. The teacher’s goal here is to nudge them to include at least a little complication. For example, many Year 1s write something like: “There was a princess. She lost her doll. She found it. The end.” It’s a complete narrative albeit minimal. You might encourage them to add one event in the middle: “She looked in the garden” or “She asked a bird to help.” But we don’t expect elaborate rising action yet. Simple temporal connectives (first, then, next) are taught and used. And often they’ll mirror structure from stories read to them (like fairy tales often have a clear three-part sequence they can mimic). At this age, clarity that something happens before resolution is the focus – i.e., teach that we don’t jump from problem straight to solution; usually the character does something in between.

Year 3 – Year 4: Students are now expected to write longer middles with more detail. They should be using paragraphs (or at least multiple sentences) to develop the story. This is when we heavily use the story mountain concept and emphasize multiple events. Year 3s and 4s also do NAPLAN in Year 3 and Year 5, where narrative tasks are given – markers often look for a developed complication. So teachers train them: “Don’t end the story at the first sign of trouble; show how it unfolds.” We also introduce richer language for sequencing (meanwhile, suddenly, later that day, etc.) to make the narrative flow smoother.

Year 5 – Year 6: These students should be able to craft a middle with complexity: perhaps subplots or multiple attempts to solve the problem. They can handle shifting pacing – maybe a slow suspense build, then a fast action scene, etc. We talk about techniques like cliffhangers at chapter breaks (if they’re writing something episodic) or how to maintain suspense. Also, at this stage, focusing on cohesion in the middle is key – using pronouns, references, and transitions so that the narrative doesn’t feel jumpy. For example, using phrases like “After hours of searching,...”, “Little did they know, ...”, or “Just when they thought it couldn’t get worse, ...” to smoothly guide the reader. By Year 6, students are also better at elaborating on each event – not just saying what happened, but describing it vividly and sometimes reflecting on it (internal monologue). They might also juggle multiple characters in the middle (like an ensemble going through different experiences, then converging – though that is advanced). Ensuring they bring all threads back together by the climax is something to guide if they attempt that.

At all levels, it’s useful to have students evaluate their own or peers’ middles by asking: “Is it exciting? Does everything here relate to the main problem? Did I solve the problem too quickly? Did I drag something too long?” With guided self-questioning, they learn to calibrate the middle’s length and content.

In our tutoring sessions at RHZ, if a student tends to rush the middle, we might explicitly say, “Let’s slow down and zoom in on this part. Describe it to me as if I’m watching a movie of your story – what’s happening, moment by moment?” We often scribe as they talk it out in more detail, then show them, “See, you had more to say – you can turn those ideas into sentences.” For those who write meandering middles, we help outline the core events and trim the extras: maybe use a highlighter to mark the main plot points and suggest omitting the unhighlighted bits in revision.

Building a robust middle is where a lot of the creative problem-solving in writing happens. Kids get to invent obstacles and solutions, which is hugely beneficial for their imagination and resilience – they learn that in stories (and maybe by extension, in life) problems might not resolve immediately; you might have to try different approaches. And because they have fun coming up with dramatic events or funny mishaps, the middle is often their favorite part to write once they get the hang of it. With structure and support, the middle can truly become the heart of their narrative that keeps readers eagerly turning pages.

8. Crafting a Powerful Ending

If the beginning hooks the reader and the middle brings the excitement, the ending is what leaves a lasting impression. A powerful ending gives a story its sense of completeness and often its meaning. In narrative writing, teaching students how to resolve the story satisfyingly (and not just stop abruptly) is crucial. We sometimes call the ending the “resolution” or “conclusion”, and in primary narratives it usually ties up the main problem and shows how things turned out for the characters.

What Makes a Good Ending?

A good ending will resolve the main conflict – meaning the problem introduced is solved (or at least addressed in some way). It doesn’t have to be a “happy” ending every time (though many children prefer it to be), but it should feel logical and appropriate. ACARA’s work samples often note whether a student’s narrative “concludes logically, resolving the narrative” – in other words, the solution should make sense given the story’s events. For example, if the story was about finding a lost dog, the ending might be reuniting with the dog (problem solved) or perhaps learning to cope without it (if doing a sad ending, which is rare in primary but not impossible). What wouldn’t be satisfying is an ending that ignores the dog entirely (like suddenly the kid wins the lottery and the story ends – that would leave the reader thinking “But what about the dog?”).

A strong ending often has these qualities:

  • Clarity: It’s clear how the story wraps up. The reader isn’t left confused about what happened. If there was a mystery, the solution is revealed. If there was a journey, we know if they reached the destination.

  • Brevity with Impact: Primary students learn not to drag the ending too long. Typically after the climax, the resolution comes quickly (maybe a few sentences or a final short paragraph). But those last lines should be impactful or meaningful. It might be a final funny twist, a heartfelt statement, or a lesson learned.

  • Reflection or Moral (if appropriate): Especially in fables or personal narratives, sometimes the character or narrator states what they learned (“And Tim realized that honesty is the best policy.”). Australian Curriculum doesn’t mandate a “moral”, but young kids often like to put one, and culturally we have plenty of moral stories. We encourage a subtle approach for older kids: maybe show the character changed or hint at the theme, rather than spelling it out explicitly (e.g., show Tim apologizing for lying, rather than writing the proverb). But for Year 3 and below, a moral sentence is fine if it helps them conclude.

  • Full Circle: An elegant technique is ending by referencing something from the beginning. This isn’t required, but it gives a sense of closure. For instance, if the story began with “Mia was afraid of the dark,” perhaps it ends with “Mia turned off the lights with a smile – she wasn’t afraid anymore.” This symmetry is satisfying and shows growth.

  • Emotional Resolution: If the story involved feelings (fear, excitement, conflict between friends), the ending should address those. E.g., if two friends fought (conflict), the ending might show them making up or at least understanding each other better (resolution of emotional arc). If the story was scary, the ending might show relief and safety restored.

Types of Endings

We can teach kids a few common ways to end narratives:

  • Resolved Ending: Most common – the problem is solved in a straightforward way. Example: “They finally found the treasure and sailed home rich and happy.”

  • Surprise/Twist Ending: The ending has an unexpected twist. Kids love these, though they need to be careful to still make it plausible. A classic (albeit overused) twist is “It was all a dream!” Many children try this. We usually advise against it (unless it’s done very cleverly) because it can feel like a cop-out – the story events didn’t really matter if it was just a dream. Instead, we suggest twists that don’t negate the whole story. For example, a twist could be revealing a character’s secret identity at the end (like “the helpful guide was actually the lost king in disguise”), or a small ironic twist (“It turned out the mysterious ghost was actually the cat all along”). Twists should still connect to clues given.

  • Cliffhanger Ending: Rarely used in a single narrative assignment (unless the prompt invites it), but sometimes a student might end on a thrilling open note, like “And the door creaked open... – The End?” Cliffhangers are more for serial stories. Teachers often want a resolved ending in assignments, but it can be a creative choice. If a child does a cliffhanger intentionally (e.g., a horror story ending with the monster’s eyes opening again unbeknownst to the heroes), we might accept it as stylistic. But we ensure they understand that’s different from an accidentally unfinished story.

  • Moral/Reflective Ending: As mentioned, explicitly stating the lesson or reflecting on the experience: “I will never underestimate my little sister again after she saved the day.” This can be sweet and shows the character’s growth or the story’s point. It’s perfectly fine, especially in personal narratives or fables.

  • Circular Ending: Ending with a similar line or idea as the beginning. This can be humorous or poignant. For younger kids, a very simple circular ending might be repeating the opening line (maybe with a small change). For example, begin: “It was the worst day ever,” end: “Actually, it turned out not to be the worst day after all.”

  • Future Glimpse Ending: This might be more advanced – hinting what happens next or how the future looks for the characters. “Years later, Sam still remembered the dragon friend he made that day whenever he looked at the scar on his arm.” This gives a sense of lasting impact of the story’s events.

Avoiding Weak Endings

Students sometimes end stories in weak ways:

  • Abrupt Stop: They write “Then I woke up. The end.” or just “Then we went home. The end.” because they ran out of time or ideas. We call this a fizzle ending. It leaves the reader unsatisfied (like the story got cut off). We coach them to always try to at least explain how the problem was resolved or how the character feels at the end.

  • Deus ex Machina: A fancy term but relevant – an ending where something completely out-of-the-blue solves everything (like “and then a superhero came and fixed it all” when that superhero wasn’t in the story before). Kids do this when they’ve written themselves into a corner or are hurrying. We encourage them to let the main character be involved in the resolution. It’s fine if help comes (maybe Dad helps find the dog), but ideally set that up or at least make it logical (Dad was searching too, etc.). And often they can rewrite a bit of the middle to foreshadow the help (e.g., mention Dad earlier).

  • No Resolution: Sometimes kids end without solving the problem: “The pirates were still lost at sea. The end.” This can actually be okay if it’s intended as a tragic or cliffhanger ending (maybe they want to convey hopelessness). But more often it’s because they didn’t know how to solve it. We usually ask, “Do you want the reader to feel sad or worried at the end? If not, maybe think of a way to rescue them.” If they intentionally want a somber ending (older kids might attempt a bittersweet ending), we ensure they at least conclude it in a way that feels like an ending: maybe “And so, the pirates remained lost, their fates unknown under the endless sky.” That feels more like a concluding note than just stopping mid-problem.

To teach this, we can share examples of unsatisfying vs. satisfying endings for a sample story, and discuss feelings as a reader.

Activities for Ending Development

  • Ending Match-Up: Give students a story opening and middle summary, and have multiple possible endings (on slips) to choose which is best and why. For instance, scenario: “A knight is trying to slay a dragon that's terrorizing the town.” Possible endings: (a) The knight slays the dragon and is hero (resolved, expected ending), (b) The knight finds the dragon crying and helps it, discovering it was just hurt (creative resolution), (c) The knight gives up and goes home (weak non-resolution), (d) The knight wakes up and it was a dream (cliche twist). Discuss which ending feels most satisfying or interesting and fits the story logically.

  • Finish the Story Exercises: Provide a prompt or have kids exchange stories that are written up to the climax, then write each other’s endings. This focuses their attention on crafting a resolution without worrying about the beginning/middle. It’s also fun to see different ending ideas for the same story – highlights creativity.

  • Reflect and Project: Ask students to add a sentence to their ending reflecting on the story or projecting into the future. Many might not do this naturally. For example, after the action is resolved, add “From that day on,...” or “They knew life would never be the same because...”. This encourages a more thoughtful concluding statement beyond just action stopping. It can add depth.

  • Rate the Ending: Use stories they know (fairy tales, films) and talk about the endings. Are they happy, sad, open? Do they feel good? For example, discuss “The Ugly Duckling” ending or a Pixar short film’s ending. This builds understanding of what endings can do emotionally. You might even show them an alternate ending idea and see which they prefer.

  • Ending Word/Phrase Bank: Provide some sentence stems or conclusion words: Finally... In the end... Ultimately... Younger students benefit from these to signal the story is closing. Also, words like “happily ever after” or “to this day” can prompt how to phrase an ending. A list on the board could be: "In the end, ___", "All in all, ___", "At last, ___", "Never again would [character] ___".

Alignment with Curriculum

From a curriculum standpoint, by Year 2, students are expected to provide some sort of conclusion in their imaginative texts (the CCSS example given is “provide a sense of closure” for 2nd grade). Australian teachers likewise nudge students to finish stories properly by that level. By Year 6, they expect a well-crafted ending that might have an insight or reflect the story’s themes (since ACELT1800 mentions experimenting with structure and its effects – a good ending is part of that). We incorporate these expectations by gradually increasing sophistication: early on, “wrap it up nicely,” later, “make it meaningful.”

Encouraging Creativity but Coherence

We remind students they can be creative with endings, but it should feel coherent with the rest of the story. If they want a shock or twist, it should not break the story’s own rules (e.g., if it wasn’t a fantasy story, suddenly adding magic at the end to fix things might jar the reader, unless subtly foreshadowed). One way to check coherence: after writing, have them read the story and ask, “Does the ending feel like it belongs?” Also, “Would you change anything earlier to make the ending better?” This teaches revision – maybe they realize they should hint at something earlier to set up the ending (like mention a secondary character who later helps, or a clue).

At RHZ Tutoring, we sometimes practice writing multiple endings for the same story to examine effect. For instance, if a student wrote an ending that was a quick fix, we’ll say, “Let’s brainstorm a different ending. What if the character didn’t succeed? What if someone else helped? What if the solution caused a new funny problem?” Not that they’ll use all, but seeing alternatives broadens their idea of possibilities. Ultimately we guide them to choose the most satisfying one.

Another approach is using checklists: many teachers give a narrative writing checklist that includes “My story has an ending that solves the problem” and “My story ending makes sense.” Students can self-check those items.

The Emotional Note

For an ending to be powerful, consider the emotion. Did we want the reader to be happy, relieved, amused, moved? Encourage students to think about the feeling they want at the end:

  • If it’s a funny story, maybe end on a joke or humorous twist.

  • If it’s adventurous, end with excitement or a sigh of relief.

  • If it’s heartwarming, end with a gentle line that gives “aww” feeling.

  • If it’s spooky, maybe end with a tiny lingering mystery (like a last spooky detail) or relief of escape.

We teach them that the tone of the ending should match the story. A serious story probably shouldn’t have a goofy ending and vice versa – unless deliberately doing a genre-mash comedic twist.

In sum, crafting a powerful ending is about delivering on the promise of the narrative. Young writers learn that an ending is their final chance to impact the reader – so we encourage them to make it count. Whether it’s neat and tidy or leaves us thinking, as long as it provides closure and relates to the story, they’ve done well. With practice, they start to take pride in writing endings that earn smiles and nods from their audience (be it a teacher, parent, or peer), which is a wonderful confidence boost and a sign of narrative maturity.

9. Using Language That Shines

One of the joys of narrative writing is playing with language – choosing just the right words and phrases to make the story vivid and engaging. "Language that shines" refers to using descriptive, lively, and precise language so that the writing stands out. This includes everything from strong verbs and specific nouns to literary devices like similes or alliteration. For primary school kids, developing this skill turns basic sentences into exciting ones and simple stories into memorable adventures. It’s essentially about style and voice.

Descriptive Language and “Show, Don’t Tell”

Students are often encouraged to “show, not tell” in their writing. This means instead of telling the reader a fact (“Sam was scared”), show it through descriptive language or actions (“Sam’s hands trembled and his heart beat like a drum inside his chest”). By showing, we engage the reader’s senses and emotions more directly.

We teach kids to incorporate sensory details: what do things look, sound, smell, feel (touch), or taste like? This overlaps with setting description, but also applies to characters and actions. For example, don't just say “they had fun”; show it: “They were laughing so hard their bellies ached and tears ran down their cheeks.” That paints a clear picture of joy.

Adjectives and adverbs are basic tools for description, but we encourage using them thoughtfully. Rather than “very nice” or “really big”, find a stronger single word if possible (“kind-hearted”, “gigantic”). A word like “furious” is more vivid than “very angry”. We might have a “boring word” vs “sparkling word” chart. Common boring words: big, small, good, bad, said, ran, happy, sad. Kids brainstorm or are given alternatives: enormous/huge (for big), tiny/minuscule (for small), excellent/wonderful (for good), dreadful/awful (for bad), exclaimed/whispered (instead of said), sprinted/dashed (for ran), joyful (for happy), miserable (for sad). Using specific vocabulary makes writing more precise and interesting.

Strong verbs are especially powerful. Verbs carry action and mood. For instance, compare: “The dog went across the road” vs “The dog trotted across the road” vs “The dog skulked across the road”. Each verb gives a different impression. We often do activities like verb lists for walking: walk, stride, tiptoe, march, creep, etc., to show how each has a slightly different vibe. Encouraging varied word choice (not using “went” or “said” over and over) is part of this. Year 3–4 kids often learn to use said alternatives in dialogue for effect (though we caution not to overdo fancy tags – but at this stage it's okay if they experiment).

Precise nouns are also part of rich language. Instead of “bird”, maybe “eagle” if that’s what it is; instead of “snack”, say “Vegemite sandwich” to give a detail. Specificity can bring a story to life because it conjures a clear image or cultural context. For example, saying the character’s shoes are “mud-caked gumboots” is more vivid than just “boots”.

Figurative Language: Similes, Metaphors, Personification, etc.

By upper primary, students get introduced to similes (comparing using like/as) and metaphors (direct comparisons). These are wonderful tools for creative description. Kids usually find similes easier. We encourage them to create similes that make sense and aren’t clichés. Early attempts might be amusing or over-the-top, but practicing them builds skill. For example, “He was as brave as a lion” is fine but common; maybe they can think of something more unique to the story: “He was as brave as a surfer riding a huge wave” (especially apt if story set in Australia, a surfing country!). Or “The water was like ice” vs “The water was as cold as the Antarctic ocean in winter” – the second gives a stronger image.

Metaphors are trickier for younger kids, but by Year 6 some can handle them: e.g., “The playground was a battlefield at recess.” It’s okay if they mainly use similes; at this stage any figurative language enhances the narrative. We often explicitly teach these devices with fun exercises (like simile competitions: describe something boring in as silly a way as possible with simile).

Personification (giving objects or nature human traits) also can make their writing shine. Example: “The wind whispered through the trees” or “The old floorboards complained with every step.” Kids find these fun once they understand it. It also encourages them to think creatively about sounds and movements.

Alliteration (repeating starting sounds) and onomatopoeia (sound words) are more sound devices that kids love to use. Alliteration can add a poetic feel or be used in titles (like “Zany Zoo” or “Tim’s Terrific Trip” – they might use it inadvertently in naming). Onomatopoeia, as discussed, helps engage senses in action scenes: Bang, crash, swish, crunch. Including these in narratives (especially comics or adventurous scenes) adds flavor. We see a lot of this in students’ writing when they get excited about adding sound effects, and that's great as long as it’s purposeful.

Sentence Variety and Phrasing

Language that shines is not just about fancy words; it’s also about smooth sentences and rhythm. By mid-primary, we encourage varying sentence length and structure:

  • Use some short sentences for impact (“It was dark. Completely dark.”).

  • Use longer, descriptive sentences to paint pictures or convey complexity (“They wandered through the ancient forest, stepping over tangled roots and pushing aside curtains of moss that swayed in the breeze.”).
    A mix is best – too many short choppy ones can read robotically, too many long can be hard to follow.

Teaching simple complex sentences (with conjunctions like because, although, which) allows more detail. E.g., instead of “It was raining. They were cold.”, use “It was raining, and they were cold” or better “It was raining, which made them shiver with cold.” This also ties into grammar teaching (like using relative clauses, etc.). We want narratives to flow and not feel like a list of “Then... Then... Then...”. Words like after, when, while, as help combine actions smoothly (“While they waited, Tom nervously tapped his foot.”).

We often highlight transition words/phrases that add sparkle beyond “and then”: Suddenly, Without warning, Meanwhile, In a flash, After a moment, Eventually, At last, etc. These guide the reader through the narrative and also avoid repetition of the same connective.

Additionally, dialogue incorporated properly is part of shining language in a story, because people speaking can break monotony and show character. We ensure kids format it right (new speaker new line, use of quotation marks, punctuation inside quotes in most cases, etc. – part of grammar but also style). A well-placed line of dialogue can be very effective, e.g., one short spoken line could carry emotional weight or humor.

Word Play and Voice

We encourage students to find their voice – which might include humor, exaggeration (hyperbole), or interesting word choices. Some kids naturally write with humor, making funny comparisons or witty asides. We nurture that because it shows command of tone. If a student writes something like “My brother is as annoying as a mosquito in your ear at night,” that's brilliant voice shining through, and we’d praise it and maybe encourage more of that style if appropriate.

Idioms or colloquial language can also appear – e.g., an Aussie student might write “He was stuffed after running so much” meaning very tired; that’s Aussie voice. We validate use of local dialect or culture references (like mention of “footy” for football, or “Macca’s” for McDonald’s) as long as the context is clear, because it can make the narrative authentic. It’s language that shines in being genuine and culturally rich.

Vocabulary Building

A big part of using rich language is simply having a rich vocabulary. So reading widely and doing vocabulary exercises contribute. In class or tutoring, we might do thematic vocabulary banks (like words related to “scary” – eerie, spooky, ominous, chilling, terrifying). Or have a “word of the day” to incorporate in a story for fun. We also might have a “Dead Words” tombstone on the wall where overused words (nice, said, went, etc.) are “buried” and alternatives listed.

However, we caution against thesaurus misuse – sometimes kids replace a word with something too advanced or wrong context because they think longer = better. We stress choosing the right word, not just the fanciest. It’s about clarity and effect. For example, “consumed an apple” is technically using a fancier word than “ate an apple,” but “ate” is just fine and often preferable. So we talk about connotations and natural language.

Editing for Dull Language

During revision, one focus is to spot dull or repetitive language. We encourage students to underline “boring” words in their draft and brainstorm replacements. Or if a descriptive opportunity was missed, add an adjective or simile. Also check for repeated sentence starts (“He... He... Then... He...”) and vary them (“Later, ..., The boy..., Feeling tired, he...”).

We use peer feedback like “My favorite phrase you used was ___” to highlight effective language, and “Maybe you could describe ___ more” for places that could shine more.

Age expectations

Foundation – Year 2: These kids are just building basic sentence skills, but we still start with sensory words and adjectives. For example, in Year 1: teach what a describing word is, play games like “describe the monster” and encourage “big, hairy monster” instead of just “monster”. They might use simple similes (“as fast as a cheetah”) taught in Year 2. Repetition of words is common, so gently introducing synonyms (“said angrily” vs “shouted”) begins here. A lot of shining language at this stage is oral – teachers might say “Oooh, that was a loud bang, wasn’t it? Maybe write ‘There was a loud bang’ instead of just ‘bang’.” Modeling is key. Year 2 students should start using at least some interesting vocabulary beyond very basic words (noting Twinkl’s Year 6 descriptor mentions imagery, etc., but even Year 2 have content about choosing vocab appropriate to audience and purpose).

Year 3 – Year 4: This is where we see a big leap. They learn about thesauruses, synonyms, more formal simile teaching. ACARA content for Year 3/4 often includes learning about adverbs, specific vocabulary for character and setting, using noun groups with adjectives, etc. We expect their writing to have some “wow words.” Teachers often have an anchor chart called “Banish Boring Words” or “Tier 2 Vocabulary” to encourage this. By Year 4, some figurative language might appear and deliberate attempts at “show, not tell” as it’s taught explicitly. We also teach more sentence combining and varied starters (e.g. starting with an -ing word: “Running down the hill, he tripped.”) – that’s language craft that shines and is typically taught around Year 4.

Year 5 – Year 6: Students refine style. They should be using a good range of descriptive words naturally, and can experiment with imagery and even mood-setting through language. They might use metaphors (“The city was a jungle”) and personification as they’ve seen in literature. Their narrative writing might start to reflect a bit of individual voice; one might be more humorous, another very dramatic, another richly poetic – and that’s great. We encourage that diversity. Year 6 could be taught about voice – how maybe using first person vs third person changes language (first person might be more conversational or emotional; third person might allow more narrative description). They learn to consider audience – maybe writing spookily for a spooky story, or choosing words for comedic effect in a funny story. Also, by this age, we urge them to cut out unnecessary words to tighten prose (part of editing: e.g., instead of “Then he decided that he would start to run” better “Then he sprinted off.” Crisp and vivid.)

Tools and Techniques

  • Read Aloud and Listen: We suggest reading their narrative out loud to themselves or a friend; often, dull or repetitive parts become evident when heard, and shining parts stand out. They can actually hear if it “shines” or not – interesting phrasing tends to be a delight to read, whereas monotony drones.

  • Literature Examples: Use excerpts from children’s books that have great descriptions and ask students to identify what words or phrases make it so good. E.g., pick a Roald Dahl or Jackie French passage (both known for rich language) and highlight verbs or adjectives. Then try to emulate a similar style on a new topic.

  • Writing Mini-Lessons: Focused short lessons on things like “Using the 5 senses,” “Writing great similes,” “Replacing ‘said’ with action beats,” etc., as Cult of Pedagogy’s mini-lesson list suggests. Then incorporate into their ongoing story.

  • Personal Word Bank: Some kids keep a little notebook of interesting words they come across to use in writing (some schools call it a Writer’s Notebook or word collector). They can refer to it if stuck (“Hmm I need a word for ‘scared’ – let me check my list: terrified! yes.”). This practice was even noted in the ACARA sample as a good student strategy.

In guiding students, we maintain that language is the paint of their story, adding color and texture. We cheer when they use a particularly vivid phrase (“Wow, ‘the stars winked in the sky’ – I love how you did that!”) to reinforce that it’s a good thing to do. Conversely, if a section is bland, we might say, “This part is clear, but how can we make it more exciting for the reader? What could we describe or what stronger words could we use?” Often they have ideas once prompted.

Finally, we remind them that not every single word needs to be fancy. It’s fine to use simple words when appropriate; variety and clarity are more important than purple prose. The goal is a balance – lots of sparkle, but not at the cost of readability. We sometimes use the metaphor of cooking: bland writing is like unseasoned food, but if you dump too much spice (big words everywhere), it can be overpowering. Just the right amount of “spice” (vivid language) makes the story delicious to read.

By progressively polishing their word choice and style, students transform their narratives from basic to brilliant. This skill also carries beyond story writing – into any writing where engaging the reader matters. And it can be truly fun – kids often feel proud and excited when they produce a sentence that makes others go “Nice!” This positive feedback loop encourages them to keep expanding their language skills, making them more powerful communicators overall.

10. Grammar and Punctuation in Narratives

Good grammar and punctuation are the foundation that makes a story readable and professional. While creative writing is about ideas and style, accuracy in grammar and correct punctuation ensure those ideas are communicated clearly. For primary students, mastering grammar and punctuation is an ongoing process, but narrative writing offers a context to apply these skills in meaningful ways. In this section, we cover key grammar/punctuation points relevant to narratives and tips to help kids use them correctly.

Sentences: Capital Letters and Full Stops (and More)

From the earliest years, children learn that every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (period), question mark, or exclamation mark. In storytelling, this rule is crucial so readers can tell where one thought ends and the next begins. We emphasize:

  • Begin each sentence (and any proper noun like names) with a capital.

  • End statements with a full stop, questions with a question mark, and exclamations or strong interjections with an exclamation mark (used sparingly, ideally).

Young kids often write run-on sentences or forget full stops, so we practice identifying sentences. A trick: have them read aloud and pause where they think a sentence ends; see if the punctuation matches. Also, using short sentences intentionally can emphasize a point – but they should first master correctness.

Tense Consistency

Narratives can be written in past or present tense. Most traditional stories use past tense (“Once upon a time, there was a dragon who lived in a cave.”). Some modern stories use present for immediacy (“I am walking through the forest when I hear a sound.”). We teach students to choose a tense and stick to it throughout, unless there’s a clear reason to switch (like a flashback, which is advanced).

Common error: sliding from past to present unintentionally. E.g., “He ran through the woods and then he sees a house.” We would correct that to either “ran... saw” (past throughout) or “runs... sees” (present throughout). Consistency avoids confusing the timeline. If a student naturally writes in past (which they often do), encourage them to keep it that way.

Pronouns and Clarity

Using pronouns (he, she, it, they) is necessary to avoid repeating names too much. But pronouns must clearly refer to the right noun. One issue in children’s writing: ambiguous pronouns. E.g., “John told Mike that he won the prize.” (Who won, John or Mike?) In context it might be clear or not. We teach them to be mindful – maybe use the name again if there’s confusion, or rephrase (“Mike learned that John won the prize”).

Also, making sure pronouns agree in number/gender. If talking about one person, use “he/she/his/her”; if plural, use “they/their”. Younger kids sometimes mismatch (“The girls put on its shoes” should be “their shoes”). We correct these gently and explain why.

For narratives, maintaining the point of view via pronouns is important: first person (“I, me, my”) vs third person (“he/she, they”). If they start in first person, don't slip into third accidentally. We highlight consistency in viewpoint as part of grammar (and style).

Dialogue Punctuation

One of the trickiest but most rewarding punctuation lessons in narrative is how to correctly punctuate dialogue:

  • Use quotation marks (in Australia, typically double quotes “ ” or single ' ' consistently) around spoken words.

  • Put punctuation inside the quotes if it’s part of what’s spoken, and use commas to separate the dialogue from the dialogue tag.

  • Capitalize the first word inside the quote.

  • New paragraph for each new speaker.

For example:
“Stop right there!” yelled the guard.
The child might try: “Stop right there.” yelled the guard. (We’d fix the period to an exclamation and use a comma if needed, plus explain the tagging.)

We often explicitly teach:
“Hello,” said Tom.
If the tag (said Tom) comes after, use a comma (or ? ! as needed) in quotes, then lower-case said (because it’s continuation of sentence).
If tag comes first: Tom said, “Hello.” (comma after said, then open quotes, capitalize Hello, full stop inside, close quotes).
If the dialogue is a standalone without tag: “Hello.” (just that, maybe if it’s obvious who’s talking or doesn’t need attribution, or if it’s a shout like Stop! as its own line).

This is a lot for kids to remember, but by Year 4, many are learning these conventions, and by Year 5–6 they should handle them often correctly. We use color-coding or writing sample dialogues on the board to show how it’s done. Practice with comic strips (turning comics into written dialogue) can help.

Also, note: punctuating questions and exclamations inside quotes:
“Where are you going?” asked Mum. (Question mark stays inside, no extra comma needed).
“Watch out!” screamed Ali. (Exclamation inside, then tag with no comma obviously).

And if a dialogue tag interrupts:
“Wait,” she said, “don’t open that door.”
This is advanced but some do it in narrative (maybe not until Year 6 or beyond). We focus on basic attributions first.

Paragraphing and Indentation

Paragraphing is partly formatting, partly grammar in terms of organization. In narrative, key rule: new paragraph for a change of speaker in dialogue (as mentioned), also generally new paragraph for a new scene, time, or idea. By Year 3, students begin using paragraphs (perhaps with teacher guidance like one for beginning, one or two for middle events, one for end). By Year 4, they should be organizing paragraphs on their own a bit. We remind them that big blocks of text are hard to read, so paragraph breaks help readers and signal shifts. For dialogue-heavy sections, sometimes we see one line paragraphs - that's okay due to the dialogue rule.

We also teach indenting the first line of a paragraph (depending on how they format, in handwriting maybe, or skipping lines between paragraphs). In published work we show how there's either an indent or space separating paragraphs.

Other Punctuation: Commas, Apostrophes, etc.

Commas have multiple uses:

  • Separating items in lists (in stories, e.g., describing with multiple adjectives: “It was a dark, cold, miserable night.” Need commas between adjectives). We caution not to put a comma between just two adjectives and noun incorrectly (“an old, house” is wrong, should be “an old house” no comma).

  • After introductory phrases: “At last, they arrived.” or “Slowly, the door opened.” This adds sophistication. Year 5–6 may do this.

  • Commas in dialogue as discussed.

  • Commas to join clauses with conjunctions: we teach compound sentences (with FANBOYS) often don’t need comma if short, but can use if independent clauses are longer. Many primary teachers just teach: if you use “and” to join two sentences, put a comma before it sometimes to avoid run-ons. Honestly, a lot of comma nuance is beyond primary. We at least want them not to write comma splices or giant run-ons. So we focus on using full stops to break overly long sentences, and using conjunctions properly.

  • Commas for clarity: e.g., direct address (“Let’s eat, Grandma” vs “Let’s eat Grandma” – fun example of why comma matters!). We show them these humorous cases to underscore importance.

Apostrophes: Two main uses in their writing:

  • Contractions (it’s, don’t, I’m, we’re, etc.). They often use these in dialogue or informal narration. Ensure they place the apostrophe correctly (“dont” vs “don’t”). Many kids confuse its/it’s. We try to drill: it’s = it is, its = belonging to it. E.g., “The dog wagged its tail” no apostrophe because tail belongs to it, whereas “It’s late” means “It is late.” This one is tricky even for older kids. We provide sentences to practice.

  • Possessives: “Jake’s bike” (apostrophe before s for singular owner), “the puppies’ bowl” (plural possessive, taught maybe around Year 4–5). At least singular possessives should be known by Year 3–4. Watch out for they’re/their/there confusion: we explicitly differentiate meaning (they’re = they are, their = belonging to them, there = place). Frequent reminders and practice needed.

Exclamation marks: Kids love them, sometimes too much!!!! We teach them an exclamation mark shows strong emotion or shouting. Use them, but sparingly – not every sentence. In a story, maybe for a shout or big surprise. If they pepper them everywhere, it loses impact (and can feel juvenile in writing style). We often say “use one exclamation point at a time, and not too many overall”. Also teach that in narrative writing, you don’t need to add “!” to show excitement if your words already show it (like “He slammed the door” is clearly dramatic without needing “!” necessarily).

Question marks: besides actual questions, rhetorical questions can be used in narrative (especially first person narrator thinking). That’s fine if they do it; just ensure they put “?” not “.” in those cases.

Capitalization beyond sentence starts: Proper nouns. Make sure names of people, places, days, etc. are capitalized. In excitement, kids sometimes capitalize a WHOLE WORD to indicate shouting – that’s a stylistic choice; one could instead use italics if typing, or just rely on punctuation and dialogue tag. But occasionally capitalizing something for effect can be acceptable in creative writing (like “NEVER!” she screamed – some might do that). We usually teach more conventional emphasis (e.g., via italics or wording) but it’s not a big deal in a single instance.

Spelling: While not punctuation/grammar, it’s a mechanical skill that matters for clarity. We encourage trying best spelling, using phonics knowledge, and then checking key words (especially common words, and interesting words they might copy from a source). In final drafts, correct spelling of high-frequency words is expected. Spelling invented or wrong doesn’t ruin a story’s creativity, but too many errors can make it hard to read or appear messy. So part of editing is running through and fixing spelling errors they know or can find in a dictionary. Tools: word walls in class, personal dictionaries, spell check if on computer (with learning aspect, not just auto-correct). Teachers often have personal spelling goal lists for each child.

Editing and Proofreading Strategies

We teach students to proofread their work. Some steps:

  • Read slowly and look for punctuation at end of sentences – did you put them? If you run out of breath reading a sentence, maybe it’s too long or needs a period.

  • Use your finger or cover text to isolate each sentence or line and check capitalization.

  • Circle or highlight where dialogue is, check quotes and commas.

  • Read backwards for spelling (some do that, reading last word to first, to focus on words individually).

  • Peer editing: sometimes a classmate can catch errors you miss (like “I notice you wrote ‘the girl picked up they ball’ – should it be ‘their ball’?”).

  • Check with a checklist: many teachers give an editing checklist including items like:

    • All sentences start with a capital?

    • Full stops/question/exclamation at ends?

    • Dialogue has quotes and new lines?

    • Commas used in lists?

    • Spelling of common words (the, said, because, etc.) correct?

    • Proper nouns capitalized?

    • Consistent tense?

    • etc.
      Students go through and tick off.

We also emphasize that good grammar/punctuation makes the story more enjoyable to read. For example, dialogue without proper formatting is confusing – the reader can’t tell who’s talking. Or a giant block of text with no paragraphs is daunting to read. So it’s an aspect of caring for your reader, not just arbitrary rules.

RHZ Tutoring and teachers often integrate grammar mini-lessons into writing practice. For instance, if a student’s draft shows many run-ons, we do a quick lesson on how to break them or use conjunctions properly. If we notice lack of description, that ties to teaching adjectives/adverbs. In narratives, grammar is not taught in isolation but applied directly: e.g., “We want to say two actions in one sentence, let’s use a conjunction like ‘and’ or a transition like ‘then’ to glue them correctly, rather than a comma splice or run-on.” Or if a student writes “He done it,” that’s a grammar issue (past tense of do is did), so we correct and also remind of irregular verbs.

Different year levels have specific grammar focuses:

  • Year 1–2: basic sentence structure, simple past/present, plural s, basic pronouns, join ideas with and.

  • Year 3–4: more complex sentences (maybe introducing when, because, if clauses), proper punctuation of contractions, more dialogue usage, ensuring subject-verb agreement (singular vs plural).

  • Year 5–6: relative clauses (who, which), more advanced punctuation like commas to separate clauses, maybe even semicolons or colons introduced by Year 6 (some curricula do, but they might not master them yet). But certainly more nuance like using commas to set off clauses, using dash or ellipsis for effect (for trailing off or dramatic pause – e.g., “But when she opened the door... there was nothing.” Many kids like using ellipsis for suspense).

Yes, ellipsis (...) usage might come up, especially in suspenseful narrative. We can allow it if not overused, and just ensure they know to use three dots, not a random amount, typically. It’s a stylistic punctuation often used in dialogue or thoughts trailing off. Also, dashes (—) might be a bit much for primary to use, but maybe in Year 6 to show interruption or a sudden break.

In summary, while grammar and punctuation might seem like the “boring” part of writing to some kids, we show them it’s the toolset that makes their awesome story ideas understandable and impactful. We can frame it like, “You came up with a fantastic story; now let’s polish it so that a reader can enjoy it without stumbling.” Good conventions make them look smart and their work shine. And when publishing (even just putting on the wall or making a class book), they usually take pride in it being correct.

We do reassure that in a first draft, it’s okay if not everything is perfect – creativity can flow. But during revision, they should put on their “grammar detective” hat and fix things. Over time, many conventions become habit so they don’t have to think about them as much, leaving brain-space to focus on the content.

Thus, grammar and punctuation in narratives are not about stifling creativity but enabling it – they provide structure and clarity that let the creative parts truly sparkle. Good writing = good ideas + good mechanics. We want our young storytellers to have both.

11. Visual Aids and Storytelling

Visual aids can play a powerful role in narrative writing, especially for children. Young learners are often very visual in their thinking – they draw pictures to go with their stories, imagine scenes vividly, and respond well to images as prompts. Using visual aids in storytelling means incorporating drawings, storyboards, graphic organizers, or objects to help plan and enrich narratives. It’s also about encouraging children to visualize their story as they write. In this section, we’ll explore how visuals and storytelling intersect, and how parents and teachers can leverage that.

Drawing and Illustration as Part of Writing

For early writers (Foundation to Year 2), drawing is a natural part of storytelling. They often draw a picture first and then write a sentence or two about it. In fact, the Australian Curriculum in early years encourages using drawing to plan and enhance texts. We should absolutely continue to let them do this – it’s not “just art”, it’s a form of planning and composing a narrative. The picture can contain details that they might not yet know how to express in words, and discussing the picture can lead to richer writing.

Illustrating a story can also happen after writing as a rewarding final step. Many children love to create a cover for their story or draw their favorite scene. This celebrates their work and also can reinforce comprehension of what they wrote (they have to reflect “What did I say happened? How do I show that in a picture?”).

Activities:

  • Draw Before You Write: Give time for kids to draw their characters or setting. For instance, “Draw your main character and where they live.” Then prompt writing: “Now write a few sentences about them.” This can break writer’s block, especially for reluctant writers or those with still-developing writing stamina. The drawing engages them and gives concrete ideas to describe (like if they drew the character with a red cape, they’ll mention the cape in writing).

  • Comic Strips and Graphic Narratives: As mentioned earlier, storyboards or comic-strip style planning let kids sketch the sequence of events. Even older primary kids enjoy making comics. It’s a form of narrative in itself, but also can be a precursor to writing paragraphs. Tools like storyboards (with boxes to draw and lines to write captions) combine both modes. Some students who are not keen on writing a full page will enthusiastically create a comic that effectively tells a complex story with fewer words; from there, we can encourage them to add more text or turn it into a written story.

Story Maps and Graphic Organizers: We already covered “story mountain” templates in planning (Section 3). Those are visual diagrams that map story structure. Other visual organizers include:

  • Story webs (mind maps connecting ideas),

  • Character webs (like a bubble chart of traits and relationships),

  • Plot timeline charts,

  • Setting sensory charts,

  • Problem/solution T-charts for simple narratives.
    Using these charts helps visual thinkers organize content.

Props and Physical Visuals for Storytelling

Storytelling isn’t only on paper – using props, toys, or pictures can spark narratives.

  • Story Picture Prompts: Show a detailed picture (from a book, or a random interesting image) and ask the child to tell or write a story about what’s happening in the picture. Many children’s writing competitions or class exercises use picture prompts. Kids respond with creativity: they infer who the characters might be, what the setting is, etc., from visual cues. There’s often a lot of detail in a picture that they can incorporate. This builds inference skills too. As an example, an illustration of a pirate ship in a storm could lead to a thrilling sea story when words might not have come alone. Teachers sometimes have a “mystery image” displayed and everyone writes a quick narrative based on it.

  • Storytelling Dice/Cubes: These are physical dice with pictures (like a dragon, a castle, a happy face, etc. on each face). A child can roll them and whatever images land face-up must be included in the story. It becomes a fun game, good for oral storytelling as well. As RHZ's storytelling article noted, such tools like story stones or picture cards prompt endless variations. For example, draw stones from a bag: you got an image of a key, a cat, and a moon – make a story with those.

  • Puppets and Dolls: Acting out a story with simple puppets or dolls can help children develop narrative ideas. Even older kids sometimes benefit from a bit of role-play, especially if struggling to generate dialogue – they can pretend to be the characters and speak, then write down what they said. This merges oral storytelling and writing, and the physical puppet gives them a focus. In class, puppet shows are often a preliterate form of narrative for younger ones, but one can also use them as a planning stage for writing in Year 1-2 (tell the puppet story, then write it).

  • Costumes or Props: If writing a historical narrative or something, a small prop (like a feather pen to pretend, or a special hat) might get them into character. While not always feasible, occasionally bringing an object related to a story topic can spark descriptive writing (e.g., a seashell to inspire a beach story – they can touch, see, smell it and incorporate that sensory detail).

Multimedia Storytelling

In today’s world, visual storytelling can go beyond drawings:

  • Digital Storytelling: Students can create digital stories with apps that let them draw or even animate scenes. Some schools use tools like stop-motion animation or simple slideshow stories with images and captions. This blends visual creativity with writing skills. For example, making a PowerPoint story: each slide has an image (drawn or photos) and a part of the story text. It’s a step towards multimedia skills and can motivate tech-savvy kids or those who love art.

  • Videos and Dramatization: While writing is the end goal here, sometimes letting kids film a short movie or drama based on their story can reinforce narrative elements. Writing a script for a play is a narrative skill too (with visual and spoken component). That might be an extension in upper primary where groups adapt their written stories into a skit, designing simple sets or props. They see how what's written translates to performance (and may revise their writing to improve the story).

Visual Aids for Struggling Writers

For students who struggle with writing, visuals can reduce anxiety and act as scaffolding:

  • Picture Sequencing: Give a series of images that form a sequence and have the student put them in order and then write a sentence for each. This helps them create a coherent narrative without having to come up with all ideas from scratch.

  • Mind Mapping Software or Graphic Organiser Sheets: Some children who have trouble organizing thoughts benefit from clearly laid out boxes to fill (like "Beginning: who/where", "Middle: problem events", "End: resolution"). These are visual frameworks that guide their writing.

  • Visual Vocabulary: If a child has trouble finding words, sometimes drawing it first or seeing a picture helps them recall or learn the word. Word walls with pictures (for younger kids) reinforce understanding (e.g., a picture of a "castle" next to the word castle can help them use that word correctly).

  • Comics for Reluctant Writers: Some students balk at writing paragraphs but will eagerly produce a comic strip narrative with dialogue in speech bubbles. Accepting that as a form of storytelling and then gently encouraging adding narrative text around it can ease them into full writing. They may not even realize how much storytelling skill they’re practicing because it feels like art/fun.

Combining Visuals and Text in Final Products

Celebrating student writing can involve visuals:

  • Make a storybook: Have them add illustrations to each page of their story and bind it like a picture book. This makes it feel legit and cherished. Many kids write more carefully (and are willing to revise/edit) when they know it will be "published" with drawings and shown to others.

  • Bulletin Board Display: Perhaps show both the story and accompanying artwork side by side so viewers can appreciate both. (We usually encourage them to do the writing first, then final draft and then illustrate, to ensure focus on writing quality – but some might sketch outlines first then refine after writing).

  • Graphic Novels: As they get older, some may genuinely be interested in creating graphic novels. That’s a legitimate narrative form. If they do so, we still can talk about narrative elements (character, plot structure) and also how much of story can be told in pictures vs needing narration. It's a creative choice.

Visualisation as a Mental Tool

Even without actual drawings, we encourage students to visualize as they write. Tips:

  • "Close your eyes and imagine the scene you're writing. What do you see? Write that." This is internal use of visuals.

  • "Pretend you're watching this as a movie in your head, describe it like a movie."

  • For character feelings: "Picture the character's face and body language when he's scared; describe what that looks like."

This mental imagery approach ties into the earlier "show don't tell" – if they can picture it, they can often find a way to describe it.

Aligning with Curriculum – Multimodal texts

ACARA emphasizes multimodal literacy: combining written, visual, oral modes. So using visuals in narrative tasks actually addresses curriculum goals of interpreting and creating multimodal texts. It acknowledges that storytelling isn't just about pen and paper words; it's images, sounds, etc. Many cross-curricular links appear too: e.g., in The Arts, creating a visual narrative can overlap with English.

RHZ Tutoring might mention using visual aids as part of their approach for engagement (though I don’t have a direct reference, it’s a common tutoring strategy). For instance, with younger kids, tutors might doodle while brainstorming a story to help the child articulate ideas. Or use online images to spark a conversation that leads to a writing prompt. So we could say, "At RHZ Tutoring, we often incorporate visual elements – like story picture prompts or having students draw scenes – to stimulate ideas and clarify narrative structure."

It’s important to also mention not all kids love drawing. For those who do, leverage it; for those who don’t, we won’t force elaborate illustrations, but maybe other visuals like using printed pictures or mind maps might suit them.

Finally, there's an emotional benefit: visuals make storytelling lively and can boost a child’s confidence. A child who sees a detailed picture they've drawn of their fantasy world will often be motivated to explain it in writing. And conversely, writing a great story then drawing it out is validating – it shows how real and cool their story is.

In summary, visual aids + storytelling = a dynamic duo. They enrich the planning process, help clarify thoughts, make writing accessible, and produce more engaging stories. We encourage educators and parents to blend these mediums. After all, many beloved storybooks for children are a combination of text and illustration – kids innately understand stories that way. By mimicking that creation process, we equip them to be better storytellers and also enjoy the process more.

12. From Draft to Final Piece

Writing is a process, and narrative writing especially benefits from drafting and revising. Rarely is a first draft the best a story can be – and that’s okay. We want children to understand that good writing involves revisiting and polishing their work. In this section, we guide how to help students move from a rough draft to a finished piece they’re proud of.

Embracing the Drafting Process

First, we encourage students to get their ideas down in a first draft without worrying too much about perfection. This frees up creativity. They can write their story knowing they’ll have a chance to fix things later. We often call the first attempt a “sloppy copy” or “rough draft” to indicate it’s just the starting point. The key is to get the narrative flow – beginning, middle, end – on paper.

It can be helpful to have a break between drafting and revising (even overnight or a day later). Coming back with fresh eyes helps them see issues or have new ideas.

Revising for Content (Big Picture)

Once a draft is down, the next step is revision. This focuses on improving the content and structure, not just grammar (that comes a bit later). We ask the writer to think about:

  • Does the story make sense? (If not, what parts are confusing and need clarification or rewriting?)

  • Is the story interesting throughout? Perhaps the beginning could be more gripping (maybe add a hook or some detail), or the middle needs more events, or the ending could be stronger (as we discussed in sections 6-8).

  • Are the characters and setting described enough? (Not necessarily paragraphs of description, but enough for reader to picture them.)

  • Is there any part that feels out of place or unnecessary? (They might find they wrote an extra tangent that doesn’t add to the story, and choose to cut or alter it.)

  • Could we add something to enhance the story? Maybe a bit of dialogue here, an extra obstacle in the middle, or a detail that foreshadows the ending.

We often have students do ARMS: Add, Remove, Move, Substitute – as revision strategies:

  • Add details, adjectives, or a sentence if something is missing.

  • Remove repetitive or boring bits.

  • Move parts around if needed (e.g., sometimes a student realizes the story would be better if events were in a different order).

  • Substitute weak words for stronger ones (tie-in with Section 9 on language shining).

Teachers can guide revision with comments: e.g., “Can you describe how your character felt here?” or “This part happened very fast – maybe add a sentence or two to slow down and build suspense.” In RHZ tutoring, the tutor might ask probing questions: “What did you want the reader to imagine there? How can we make that clearer?”

One thing to instill is that cutting some writing can be positive. Kids often are reluctant to delete their words, but we show how trimming a redundant sentence can make a paragraph stronger. Sometimes we keep a separate sheet for “removed sentences” so they feel it’s not lost, just set aside. (Like “Park these ideas here; maybe they can go into another story or later, but they don’t fit here.”)

Editing for Conventions

After revising the content, we move to editing, focusing on grammar, spelling, punctuation. This is where the points from Section 10 are applied. Ideally, one tackles big content stuff before nitty-gritty, because no point perfecting sentences that might get cut or changed.

We use checklists, as mentioned, to systematically go through common errors:

  • Capitals where needed?

  • Punctuation at sentence ends?

  • Dialogue punctuation correct?

  • Spelling errors underlined and fixed?

For spelling, we encourage using resources:

  • Word wall or personal dictionary for common words they should know (like because, friend, said).

  • Spell checker if on a computer, but caution to double-check suggestions because spell-check might not catch homophones or might suggest wrong word if the context isn’t clear.

  • Peer or adult help for tough words – it’s fine at this stage to ask how to spell something (it’s a learning opportunity), or use a dictionary if they know how, but in primary often a quick check with teacher/tutor is fine.

  • If a word is tricky but not vital, maybe choose a simpler word they know (though we like them expanding vocabulary, so better to learn the word).

Neatness and format also come into finalizing. If it’s handwritten, we might have them write a final copy in their best handwriting (some classes call it a “published copy”). That practice, while time-consuming, gives a sense of accomplishment – it looks like a real book or piece of work worthy of an audience. It also is a chance to correct mistakes that were in draft by consciously writing them correctly in final.

If typed, formatting might include choosing a readable font, a title in bold or larger font, maybe adding an image.

The Role of Feedback

Moving from draft to final is aided by feedback:

  • Self-feedback: As described, giving them checklists or guiding questions to critique their own work. Teaching them to read it as if they are the reader not the writer can help (not easy for kids, but prompts like “If you were someone else reading this, would you understand everything?”).

  • Peer feedback: Classmates can share stories and give compliments (“I loved the part where...”) and suggestions (“I was a bit confused when..., maybe you could add something there.”). Students often pick up on things the writer missed. Peer editing also fosters a collaborative learning environment. We set some rules: be kind, specific, and constructive. Possibly structured like “Two Stars and a Wish” (two things they did well, one thing to improve).

  • Teacher/Tutor feedback: This can be through written comments on the draft or one-on-one conferencing. Conferences are great: the teacher asks the student to read a part aloud and they discuss improvements. Tutors can do line-by-line edits together, explaining reasons (“We’ll put a full stop here because it’s two ideas.”). The adult perspective ensures they catch bigger issues a peer might not. However, balance is key – we don’t want to override the student’s voice. So we suggest changes and ask what they think. If a student strongly wants to keep something odd but creative, maybe let them if it’s not wrong per se. The final piece should still feel like it’s their story.

Iterative Drafts

In higher primary, sometimes multiple drafts occur (like first draft, second draft after peer review, then final after teacher review). It depends on time and importance of assignment. For major projects, yes, do multiple revisions. For quick writes, maybe just one revision and final.

At least one revision round is beneficial because it teaches that improvement is possible and expected. We emphasize that all professional authors revise their work many times (some kids think pros write perfect novels in one go – definitely not!). Sharing “before and after” excerpts from known books or authors’ quotes about editing can motivate.

Publishing and Celebrating the Final Piece

After the sweat of revising and editing, it’s important to celebrate the final product.

  • Author’s Chair: let the child read their story aloud to the class or family. Applause after.

  • Class Book: compile stories into a class anthology, even if just stapled together or in a binder in the reading corner. Kids feel proud seeing their story among others.

  • Bulletin Board: display them (with illustrations) in the hallway or classroom for others to see.

  • Sharing with intended audience: If a kid wrote a story intended for their younger sibling, arrange for them to read it to that sibling. If they wrote a story about their dog, maybe “read” it to the dog even (fun, for show).

  • Digital publishing: maybe type and print nice copies, or post on a class blog or school website (with permission).
    The idea is final pieces deserve an audience beyond the teacher’s red pen.

One thing: when preparing the final piece, some minor errors might slip by; we fix what we can but at some point the final piece is done. We don’t want to over-correct to the point a child feels their work is all mistakes. So for public sharing, teacher might quietly ensure no glaring issues. But we mostly focus on content and improvement, not perfection. As they move through primary, we expect more correctness, but we always consider developmental stage (e.g., a Year 2 final piece might still have some spelling mistakes of harder words and that’s acceptable).

Time Management

We also teach kids how to allocate time to these stages, especially in test situations like NAPLAN: for example, if you have 40 minutes, maybe 5 min plan, 25 min write, 5-10 min revise/edit. Or in homework, break it into "Day 1: draft, Day 2: revise, Day 3: final copy." This prevents last-minute one-and-done submissions. In class, sometimes teachers do writing workshops over a week: Monday plan, Tues draft, Wed revise, Thurs edit, Fri publish. That structure helps them appreciate each step.

Emotional Aspect

Some children at first may resist revising because they think their first effort is already great or they’re just “done.” We have to gently show the value: maybe show how one sentence became much better after adding a detail, ask them how it improved the story. Comparing draft vs final also gives a confidence boost – “Look how much your writing grew!”

We also highlight that making mistakes initially is not bad; it’s part of learning. A rough draft can be rough – no shame, since you’re going to fix it. Creating a classroom/tutoring culture where feedback is normal and positive helps. If a child is sensitive, we frame suggestions as questions or possibilities, not criticisms. For example, “I wonder what would happen if you described the scary monster in more detail here?” rather than “You didn’t describe the monster.”

For peer review, early training on giving and receiving feedback is crucial. Kids need to know it’s to help each other, not to tease. And similarly, when someone points something out about your story, it's to help, not to hurt. Role-play or sentence starters for peer feedback can guide them.

At RHZ Tutoring, likely tutors help with the editing stage a lot, teaching grammar and punctuation in the context of the student’s own writing which is highly effective (relevant to them at that moment). The tutor can ensure the final piece is well edited while also making it a learning experience. They might say, "Let's check your capitalization together" and have the student find and fix issues with guidance, promoting independence gradually.

By guiding students from draft to final, we instill in them not just better writing skills for that piece, but a habit of reflection and improvement they can apply to all writing tasks. They learn that writing is a craft – you mold and shape it. Many become proud of their ability to self-correct, saying things like "I caught a mistake and fixed it!" which is wonderful. Over time, their first drafts also improve because they internalize lessons from prior edits (e.g., they start automatically using more punctuation or better word choices the first time around, from remembering what they had to fix last time).

In sum, moving from draft to final piece is a journey where the story gets fine-tuned, and the writer grows. We encourage and guide at each step, but ensure the student’s voice remains central. The final narrative should still feel like it’s their story – just the best version of it. When they see that final polished story and compare it to the initial idea, they realize their own capability and that effort pays off. This is a key part of writing education, setting them up for future academic and creative writing tasks with confidence and skill.

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