A story competition

Objective & content

This writing sheet teaches pupils to write a short story from a given first line (I was walking... when I saw..., It was getting dark, While Mum was giving..., So I..., For an hour, nothing happened, Then..., Twenty minutes later..., direct speech, a clear ending). Pupils read Sam's story for a school competition, take its phrases and write their own. By the end, they can write a story of 150 to 180 words with the past continuous and the past simple, a moment of suspense and an ending.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 has Sam's story, with a photo of a dog at a rainy window. The competition gives the first line: "I was walking home from school when I saw something strange in the park." Sam finds a young dog shaking alone under a tree, with no name on its collar. As it gets dark and starts to rain, Sam carries the dog home in a scarf and posts a photo on the town's lost pets page, half hoping that nobody calls. At nine o'clock a girl calls in tears: the dog is Pepper, who ran away that morning. Twenty minutes later she and her dad are at the door, and the girl, Amira, turns out to go to Sam's school. Pupils answer six questions with three options each, then read the useful phrases, set out in the order of a story (first line, set the scene, what happened, suspense, speech, end). Page 2 starts with four sentences where pupils choose the past continuous or the past simple. Then pupils choose a first line from a card ("When I opened the door, I couldn't believe my eyes", "The bus stopped in the middle of nowhere", "While we were camping, we heard a noise outside the tent", "It was the last day of the holidays when the letter arrived", each with two questions to get started) and write the story, then tick the checklist. The answer key gives a model story from the bus card.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Write Sam's first line on the board and ask "What did Sam see? Guess!"
2. (10 min) Read the story aloud; pupils answer the questions.
3. (5 min) Read the useful phrases with the class; pupils underline every was ...ing in the story.
4. (5 min) Page 2: pupils complete the sentences.
5. (20 min) Pupils choose a first line, write their story and tick the checklist.
6. (5 min) Pupils read their story to a group, stopping before the end; the group guesses what happens.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils answer the two questions on their card first, then turn the answers into the story.

[A] Pupils add a twist at the end.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 and 2 per pupil. Page 3 is the answer key, the model story and the teacher notes: keep it. Pupils need the past simple and the past continuous with while and when. To take it further, the class holds its own story competition and votes for the winner.