Below is the list of the narrative class writing projects we provide on our website and to our Writing For Pleasure affiliate schools.
You can see how children are introduced to early picturebook making in the EYFS (Young & Ferguson 2022). This includes writing stories and personal narratives with a focus on people and places. Within these projects, children also learn common narrative plot patterns.
From here, when in KS1, children continue their book-making apprenticeship by producing narrative picturebooks and ‘chapter books’ (Young & Ferguson 2022). They are also introduced to Fables, Fairytales as genres. We believe this gives them a solid foundation in plot – ready to be developed further once they go into KS2.
In Year Three, children are expected to write Fairytales and Fables. Again, the focus of these projects is on plot and understanding different emotional story arcs. Next, in Year Four, children learn to write Character-Driven and Setting-Focused Short Stories. Here they learn a host of important narrative craft moves. In Year Five, they build on this knowledge and experience to write Developed Short Stories and Graphic Novels. This is an opportunity to embed their understanding of setting, character and atmosphere. During Year Six, children use all that they’ve learnt to write a collection of Flash-Fiction pieces. This collection will showcase their abilities to attend to settings, characters and atmosphere.
Finally, it’s important to point out the progression of personal narrative writing through the medium of memoir. The idea of memoir writing is subtly introduced in the EYFS via the Story About Me and True Story projects. Once children arrive into KS1, they have regular opportunities to produce Memoir picture and ‘chapter’ books. This apprenticeship continues into KS2. Across KS2, children learn that they can use the same literary craft moves they are learning in their story projects to enhance their memoirs. Year Six becomes a time for celebration. Children are encouraged to gather together their memoirs from the previous six years to inform their Anthology Of Life poetry and Autobiographies.
We believe that this progression provides ample opportunity for children to achieve the STA teacher assessment writing statements. For more information on this, please follow these links LINK and LINK.
For a more detailed explanation of how children’s narrative writing progresses, consider downloading our Writing Development Scales And Assessment Toolkit.
Suggested class writing projects
For more information on these specific Class Writing Projects, click the link next to the project title.
EYFS
A book about a place [LINK]
Children like to tell people who don’t know about the important places in their life and what happens there. Making a picture book about a place gives them an early notion of including and focusing on a setting for their stories and memoirs. This project can actually be done a number of times throughout the year with a different focus each time. For example: an information text explaining all the different things that can be seen at a certain place, a memoir text about a favourite place and what they did there, and finally, a story with a strong setting where something happens!
I wish… books [LINK]
Sometimes we like to use writing as a means for ‘social dreaming’. Our writing can sometimes be whimsical, aspirational and help us consider an imagined future. Children love to write in this way too and so this project gives them an opportunity to do just that.
Pattern books [LINK]
Pattern books teach children about what makes a great picture book. Children enjoy patterns, rhythm and surprises in their books and this project helps them to make their own. It also helps children write with confidence as each page will begin in the same way. For example, I’m scared of… or I’m happy when… These books also allow children to make books which are a mixture of information sharing and personal narrative.
There is unlimited scope for the different openings children can come up with and so lots of different types of pattern books can be made. Therefore this project can be returned to throughout the year and can actually be a series of individual writing projects. The concept is simple. For example:
I can… I saw a… When I’m older… I go… I like to eat… Sharks can…
Someone at home books [LINK]
Children generally love bringing their out-of-school experiences into the classroom – it’s a way of sharing who they are and keeping a link between home and school. There is a lot of scope for making a picturebook about a family or friend. For one thing, it’s easy to write about what you know, and, for another, there are so many possibilities of sharing little stories and even facts about someone they know outside of school. Children like seeing and hearing books about their peers’ chosen people, and they will also want to share their book with their own family or friends.
They can write about a family member, friend or another familiar adult that they like. For example, their karate teacher. These will usually be personal narratives. However, they can sometimes be read as non-fiction texts too.
Animal stories [LINK]
Animals have always been popular as characters in picture books for small children, and are much loved in the media programmes aimed at today’s young audiences. They have a huge emotional appeal for children: they can be endearing, they can be funny and they can be vulnerable. They can be given human qualities, making it easy to identify with them and feel that they are friends. So it is no surprise that young writers will want to make animal picture books themselves. Hence this project.
We recommend inviting children to create a series of picture books which follow a format of Lucy The Lonely Cat or Craig The Flying Crocodile. This is an easy way for children to identify their character and their predicament whilst still giving them enough scope to develop their own story.
My friend… books [LINK]
Friends are a very important part of children’s lives, so making a book about a friend will be something they will really enjoy doing and sharing with the community of writers in their classroom. There are so many opportunities here – to entertain, be funny or sad, make a record of something that happened that they don’t want to forget, and reflect on friendship itself. What could be better than to make something which can be given to a friend as a gift, in token of the friendship? This is writing that brings people together.
A journey story [LINK]
This narrative project helps children realise that stories have settings and that characters can travel across the pages of their picturebook. This means a character can find themselves in a different place on each page, or else they develop an understanding that they can write about the same setting across pages. As such, this project helps children develop beyond making ‘list books’ and marks a significant developmental shift in their book making abilities.
A story about… book [LINK]
Children love telling others stories or facts about the people they know and like outside school. They may have overheard or been told a funny or a serious anecdote about someone, or perhaps remember something they did together, and this is a great opportunity to entertain or inform others about it, make a record of something to look back on, and maybe also to express affection for someone important to them. Alternatively, this is an opportunity for children to write their own ‘fan fiction’ by taking a character from popular culture and using them in their own story. This helps introduce children to the idea of intertextuality (that your stories can be based on others you know or like).
Making a book about someone who belongs to the wider circle of family friends and acquaintances offers children extra possibilities for making links between home and school and for writing about what they know. Their book may contain elements of both personal narrative (memoir) and information.
Once upon a time books [LINK]
This class writing project shows children that they can share heartfelt moments from their lives or from the lives of people they know. These can be funny, sad, happy, strange, surprising, or maybe even scary. The best true stories are little vignettes of things that occur which they think their peers will relate to. Writing a true story helps children understand the power of writing as a reflective tool; sharing them makes them into a social resource which creates empathy and brings the whole community together. They show us how others see and experience the world, and help us appreciate all the things we have in common.
Children are natural memoirists. They possess a fund of ready material for writing, and of course, like all of us, they love embellishing their stories with details that don’t always tell the whole truth. In memoir as a genre, they can be playful and experimental, and try out many of the things they love about writing.
Character-driven stories [LINK]
Stories contain characters and the best stories concentrate on their characters. Writers share their characters’ feelings and reactions as they travel through their story. This writing project helps teach this valuable lesson in a developmentally appropriate way. What are your class’ favourite books? What are their favourite films or TV programmes? Who are their favourite characters? Who do they love? Who do they really really hate? Who do they wish was their friend? Who would they like to write a story about most?
A story about me [LINK]
This class writing project shows children that they can share heartfelt moments from their lives – funny, sad, happy, strange, surprising, or maybe even scary. The best Story About Me books are little vignettes of things that occur in their everyday lives to which their peers might all relate. These, of course, are often the things that matter. Writing a memoir helps children understand the power of writing as a reflective tool; sharing them makes them into a social resource which creates empathy and brings the whole community together. They show us how others see and experience the world, and help us appreciate all the things we have in common.
Memoir is a kind of storytelling, and children are natural memoirists. They possess a fund of ready material for writing, and of course, like all of us, they love embellishing their stories with details that don’t always tell the whole truth. In memoir as a genre, they can be playful and experimental, and try out many of the things they love about writing.
True stories [LINK]
This class writing project shows children that they can share heartfelt moments from their lives or from the lives of people they know. These can be funny, sad, happy, strange, surprising, or maybe even scary. The best true stories are little vignettes of things that occur which they think their peers will relate to. Writing a true story helps children understand the power of writing as a reflective tool; sharing them makes them into a social resource which creates empathy and brings the whole community together. They show us how others see and experience the world, and help us appreciate all the things we have in common.
Children are natural memoirists. They possess a fund of ready material for writing, and of course, like all of us, they love embellishing their stories with details that don’t always tell the whole truth. In memoir as a genre, they can be playful and experimental, and try out many of the things they love about writing.
KS1
Story books [LINK]
Making picturebooks is the most obvious writing project of them all. It’s a familiar and much loved genre. Children will already know a lot about picturebooks and how they work from their years of book-making in Nursery and Reception. They give children freedom to write as little or as much on a page as they like. One word or a whole paragraph. The format lends itself to writing a new idea on each page – an early form of paragraphing. They are an artefact to be picked up, handled, passed round, displayed, treasured, taken home and given as a gift. They ensure children see themselves as real writers because they are making books just like the authors they love.
Memoir books [LINK]
Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here – Sue Monk Kidd
Simple recounts tell what is remembered but not perhaps why it is remembered. They are preoccupied with ‘information’. This class writing project is different. It shows children that they can share heartfelt moments from their lives – funny, sad, happy, strange, surprising, or maybe scary. The best memoirs are little vignettes of things that occur in everyday life to which we can all relate. These, of course, are often the things that matter. Writing a memoir helps children understand the power of writing as a reflective tool; sharing them makes them into a social resource which creates empathy and brings the whole community together. They show us how others see and experience the world, and help us appreciate all the things we have in common.
Memoir is a kind of storytelling, and children are natural memoirists. They possess a fund of ready material for writing, and of course, like all of us, they love embellishing their stories with details that don’t always tell the whole truth. In memoir as a genre, they can be playful and experimental, and try out many of the things they love about writing.
I loved your book, here’s mine… [LINK]
In every story there hides a hundred other stories
If we want reading to raise the quality of children’s writing, we should give them the choice over the books they might want to take from in their writing. It’s important that we teach writing and reading in a connected way and so show children how all writers will use their favourite literature and other reading to influence their writing. When writers do this, it’s called intertextuality.
Intertextuality is the idea that writing (and therefore writers) will be influenced or inspired by things read, watched or heard. We must first let our young apprentice writers know that this is an utterly natural thing for writers to do and then encourage them to do it for themselves.
Children don’t only show their comprehension when they write in response to the books they’re reading; they give something of themselves to the text too. A fair exchange of ideas is made between the reader and what’s read. When this happens, we believe it’s evidence of children achieving the greater-depth standard.
Let’s make a picturebook series [LINK]
Making a picturebook series as a joint project is a great way of building a community of writers. As you’ll see from the mentor texts we provide as part of this project’s Genre Booklet, we decided to make our own series based on Meg & Mog. A much loved favourite amongst KS1 children. You’ll need to do the same with your class. Decide what favourite characters from your class library the children would like to create their own picture book about.
There are lots of options here. The whole class can contribute a book to a single series. For example, all the children in your class could write their own Meg & Mog books. Alternatively, you could let the children decide for themselves. In the process, they could work in their groups. For example, some children might write their own Elmer The Elephant series while others decide to make their own picture books using Max from Where The Wild Things Are.
Let’s make a chapter book series [LINK]
Making chapter books is something children naturally want to do as they develop as writers. They want to write the same things they enjoy reading. This project was originally planned to suit the needs of one little boy who wished to make his own chapter book. It worked beautifully. The children in the class understood that a ‘chapter book’ gave them the freedom to write as little or as much on a page as they liked. Some children write single words while others write whole paragraphs. Indeed, a chapter book in our classroom could be a single page long!
What the children enjoyed most, and what made it a ‘chapter book’ in their eyes, was the fact that they made their books portrait. The format for this project lends itself to writing a new idea on each page – an early form of paragraphing. Chapter books are also an artefact to be picked up, handled, passed round, displayed, treasured, taken home and given as a gift. Finally it ensures children see themselves as real writers because they are making real books just like the authors they love.
Making a chapter book series as a joint project is a great way of building a community of writers. As you’ll see from the mentor texts we provide as part of this project’s Genre Booklet, we decided to make our own series based on Frog & Toad. A much loved favourite amongst KS1 children. You’ll need to do the same with your class. Decide what favourite characters from your class library the children would like to use for their chapter books. There are lots of options here. The whole class can contribute a book to a single series. For example, all the children in your class could write their own Frog & Toad books. Alternatively, you could let the children decide for themselves. In the process, they could work in their groups. For example, some children might write their own Worst Witch series while others decide to make their own chapter books using Captain Underpants.
Fables [KS1 – LINK]
If you read the fables… you will know something about the person who writes them, and I like that. Secondly, they will not be about individuals; they will be about community. Thirdly, they’re all about moralising. Fourthly, the way they express themselves takes its tone from the oral tradition – Jim Crace
We often tell each other cautionary tales of mishaps, near misses and comeuppances where we have had to learn a lesson the hard way. Perhaps, like me, you learnt that you really should not play with scissors after you accidentally almost cut your friend’s finger off! We might also remember our grandparents, parents, teachers and people in authority telling us stern warning stories. Children can’t escape fables!
Historically though, fables have been the main way of socialising children into the norms of society. Some of those stories are new and original, while others have been told and loved by people across the ages. Many tales are still told and retold today because of their universal messages and because they are short, snappy and easy to remember.
Writing fables with children gives them the opportunity to communicate a message or moral in an entertaining way, building narratives from their own experience of being told what to do (and what not to do) and how to behave with and around others. They can then share these fables with their friends, younger children or even foolish parents! Furthermore, children get to express a little bit of themselves in their stories. Writing fables, alongside our Fairytale writing project, gives children in KS1 a strong basis for future story writing.
You might want your class to look at how fables are part of their lives. When do they hear fables, and from whom – their grandparents, parents, teachers or friends? Do they tell cautionary tales to the people they know? Allow children to identify the elements that make fables so popular and discuss where they can be found within our lives today.
Fairytales [KS1 – LINK]
Fairytales were not my escape from reality as a child; rather, they were my reality – for mine was a world in which good and evil were not abstract concepts, and like fairytale heroines, no magic would save me unless I had the wit and heart and courage to use it wisely – Terri Windling
Fairytales and folktales have a high status in literature for children. They are a part of cultural heritage; they express and transmit the values and wisdom of a community; they appeal strongly to the imagination and include familiar, much-loved stories that sprang out of an oral story-telling tradition.
There are various interpretations of what fairytales might mean, why they were composed and how they could be related to a child’s psychological development. These interpretations range from psychoanalytical (the subconscious), to historical and material (folk tales: stories for and about peasants), to political (feminism, class, power structures).
Writing a fairytale is likely to give the children in your class pleasure and enjoyment because they will be confident with the familiar characters, strong narrative shapes, language patterns and structures. They may also enjoy creating the sense of moral justice with which so many fairytales end. Also, of course, the possibility of subverting the genre or writing from the perspective of another character means that there are many opportunities for a writer to entertain and be humorous, ironic and surprising. Just as Shakespeare is continually reinvented for modern times, the same is true of fairytales.
KS2
Memoir [Year Three – LINK Year Four – LINK Year Five – LINK]
Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here – Sue Monk Kidd
Simple recounts tell what is remembered but not perhaps why it is remembered. They are preoccupied with ‘information’. This class writing project is different. It shows children that they can share heartfelt moments from their lives – funny, sad, happy, strange, surprising, or maybe scary. The best memoirs are little vignettes of things that occur in everyday life to which we can all relate. These, of course, are often the things that matter. Writing a memoir helps children understand the power of writing as a reflective tool; sharing them makes them into a social resource which creates empathy and brings the whole community together. They show us how others see and experience the world, and help us appreciate all the things we have in common.
Memoir is a kind of storytelling, and children are natural memoirists. They possess a fund of ready material for writing, and of course, like all of us, they love embellishing their stories with details that don’t always tell the whole truth. In memoir as a genre, they can be playful and experimental, and try out many of the things they love about writing.
Finally, there is no doubt that what children learn in this project they will use in their fictional story writing. Real moments from our lives can be reimagined and transformed to create other worlds. Maybe all fiction comes out of memoir – the remembered personal narratives we tell ourselves and others.
Fables [KS2 – LINK]
If you read the fables… you will know something about the person who writes them, and I like that. Secondly, they will not be about individuals; they will be about community. Thirdly, they’re all about moralising. Fourthly, the way they express themselves takes its tone from the oral tradition – Jim Crace
We often tell each other cautionary tales of mishaps, near misses and comeuppances where we have had to learn a lesson the hard way. Perhaps, like me, you learnt that you really should not play with scissors after you accidentally almost cut your friend’s finger off! We might also remember our grandparents, parents, teachers and people in authority telling us stern warning stories. Children can’t escape fables!
Historically though, fables have been the main way of socialising children into the norms of society. Some of those stories are new and original, while others have been told and loved by people across the ages. Many tales are still told and retold today because of their universal messages and because they are short, snappy and easy to remember.
Writing fables with children gives them the opportunity to communicate a message or moral in an entertaining way, building narratives from their own experience of being told what to do (and what not to do) and how to behave with and around others. They can then share these fables with their friends, younger children or even foolish parents! Furthermore, children get to express a little bit of themselves in their stories. Writing fables, alongside our Fairytale writing project, gives children in KS2 a strong basis for future story writing.
You might want your class to look at how fables are part of their lives. When do they hear fables, and from whom – their grandparents, parents, teachers or friends? Do they tell cautionary tales to the people they know? Allow children to identify the elements that make fables so popular and discuss where they can be found within our lives today.
Fairytales [KS2 – LINK]
Fairytales were not my escape from reality as a child; rather, they were my reality – for mine was a world in which good and evil were not abstract concepts, and like fairytale heroines, no magic would save me unless I had the wit and heart and courage to use it wisely – Terri Windling
Fairytales and folktales have a high status in literature for children. They are a part of cultural heritage; they express and transmit the values and wisdom of a community; they appeal strongly to the imagination and include familiar, much-loved stories that sprang out of an oral story-telling tradition.
There are various interpretations of what fairytales might mean, why they were composed and how they could be related to a child’s psychological development. These interpretations range from psychoanalytical (the subconscious), to historical and material (folk tales: stories for and about peasants), to political (feminism, class, power structures).
Writing a fairytale is likely to give the children in your class pleasure and enjoyment because they will be confident with the familiar characters, strong narrative shapes, language patterns and structures. They may also enjoy creating the sense of moral justice with which so many fairytales end. Also, of course, the possibility of subverting the genre or writing from the perspective of another character means that there are many opportunities for a writer to entertain and be humorous, ironic and surprising. Just as Shakespeare is continually reinvented for modern times, the same is true of fairytales.
Character-driven short stories [LINK]
You must learn to be three people at once: writer, character, and reader – Nancy Kress
We tell stories all the time and so it is natural for apprentice writers to want to write them. Children at this age can, however, have the misconception that engaging stories are simply based on action and plot alone. Our writing projects for Year Four show children how writers think carefully and deeply about their characters – and also about their settings. One should develop children’s ability to write stories which focus on creating a vivid setting, while this one focuses on character-driven stories. When children get to Year Five, they will be able to combine what they have learnt in our developed short story project.
In this project, children will learn that settings can be treated as additional ‘characters’ and take on human traits and emotions. They will learn how characters can be developed through sensory description and dialogue, but that there is much more to it than this. For example, they will learn that writers associate their character with a specific emotion or quality. The children can also use what they have learnt about comparison, simile, metaphor and symbolism in our poetry projects to develop their characters further.
Setting-focused short stories [LINK]
One of the biggest mistakes writers make in developing their story is neglecting the importance of setting. Character, plot, and dialogue are all essential to story progression; however, so is setting. It serves a purpose far beyond a backdrop for the action. Setting can frame mood, meaning, and thematic connotations – Haley Newlin
We tell stories all the time and so it is natural for apprentice writers to want to write them. Children at this age can, however, have the misconception that engaging stories are simply based on action and plot alone. Our writing projects for Year Four show children how writers think carefully and deeply about their characters – and also about their settings. One should develop children’s ability to write stories which are character-driven, while this one focuses on creating a vivid setting. When children get to Year Five, they will be able to combine what they have learnt in our Developed Short Story project.
In this project, children will learn that settings can be treated as additional ‘characters’ and take on human traits and emotions – this is known in writing circles as ‘pathetic fallacy’. Seeing settings as characters influences how they are described and how they behave.
Additionally, children will learn that setting descriptions can be based on how the setting is observed through a character’s eyes at the time. For example, two people may well describe the same place in very different ways depending on their mood, morality or intentions.
Finally, this writing project builds on what the children have learnt in Year 3 and prepares them for what they will tackle in Years 5 and 6. You will also see techniques learnt in this project influencing their other writing, including Memoir and Sensory Poetry.
Developed short stories [LINK]
Writing stories is a kind of magic – Cornelia Funke
In Year Three, children will have experimented with Fairytales, Fables and the typical story arcs that writers employ. Last year, they will have written stories with a greater focus on character development and creating vivid settings. The role of this writing project is to build on those experiences and give children an opportunity to bring together and develop all they have learnt so far.
Graphic novels [LINK]
When you hold a graphic novel in your hands, you’re holding artist blood made ink – Molly Chabapple
Traditionally, graphic novels have been politically charged and have now become a vital part of contemporary culture. Many of the books children love have taken on the multimodal nature of graphic novels. Children are reading them and also watching them come alive on the big screen.
This project is all about narrative writing. Historically, the narrative themes that tend to inspire graphic novels have included good versus evil, strengths and weaknesses, revenge, betrayal, haunting back-stories, understanding one’s self and saving the people and the things we love. They are universal themes which have been sources of great writing for centuries.
What will be new and interesting for you and your class is the concept of using pictures to do some of the story-telling for you. You will begin to appreciate how much readers enjoy learning about characters through the images that graphic novelists create. Graphic novelists consider their characters with real care and attention, just as more traditional narrative writers do. The hope is that, as a result of undertaking this writing project, children will consider their characters in more detail in their future narrative writing too.
Flash-Fiction [LINK]
I would suggest that any aspiring writer begin with short stories. These days, I meet far too many young writers who try to start off with a novel right off, or a trilogy, or even a nine-book series. That’s like starting in at rock climbing by tackling Mt. Everest. Short stories help you learn your craft – George R.R. Martin
Sometimes called ‘micro-fiction’ or ‘sudden fiction’, flash fiction isn’t just a very short story, it’s a flash moment – part of a much larger untold story, where much is left unexplained.
It is typically no longer than 1000 words, but can be as short as 100 words (when it’s called a ‘drabble’) or even 20–50 words (a ‘dribble’). Flash fiction challenges children to move forward in their narrative writing from Years 3-5 where they are asked to write short stories, to become more discerning with words and to infuse their pieces with aspects of poetry. Indeed, flash-fiction can be seen as an extension of free-verse poetry.
Children tend to enjoy writing flash-fiction, as it encourages them to come away from the habit of writing at length and to think more carefully about how they can say the things they wish to say. Flash-fiction shows children that their narrative writing in the past may have sometimes ‘lost its way’ by becoming rambling and disorganised. The hope with this writing project is that it has a lasting positive effect on their future story writing. Writers have to be disciplined at the revision stage, deleting rather than adding, and being honest with themselves as to whether that particular adjective or adverb is really vital to the piece. Flash-fiction will become a genre enjoyed by the children in your class and is a pleasure to hear read aloud.