Year 6 · English · Writing for different purposes · Lesson 2

Writing a story

Writing a story: five-stage structure, hooking openings, show-don't-tell, dialogue punctuation, paragraphing and endings, with an original model opening.

13-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

Plan a five-stage story
Write a hooking opening
Show rather than tell feelings
Punctuate dialogue correctly

The method

Plan stages.
Hook.
Show, don't tell.
Strong ending.

Key words: narrative, opening, hook, show don't tell, dialogue, resolution.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

Name the first stage of a story.

Step 1: O...

Answer: opening

Question 2

What happens in the build-up?

Step 1: Starts

Answer: something starts to happen

Question 3

What is the ‘problem’ stage?

Step 1: Conflict

Answer: the main conflict or danger