Story startersAges 4–6
What Hatches Out?
A bird has found a giant egg. Draw what hatches out of it and say what happens next.
Story sheet · Story starters · Ages 8–11
Dear Diary
Write a diary entry as your character, about the strangest day of their life, with a picture of them writing it.
- Ages
- Ages 8–11 (grades 3–5)
- Time
- about 30 minutes
- Part of a story
- Story starters
- Kids practice
- point of view, first-person voice, recount writing
What kids do
“You are not you today. You are your character, and you had a VERY strange day.”
- Draw your character writing in their diary
- Dear Diary, today…
- Signed,
- Date:
How to run it
- Model the voice: “Dear Diary, you will NOT believe what happened at breakfast.”
- Remind kids to use I, me and my.
- Teddy bears, toys and pets make funny diarists.
Talk about it
- How does your character feel about what happened?
- What would another character write about the same day?
- What did your character leave out of the diary?
Take it further
Write the next day’s entry, when things get even stranger.
Draw first, then write
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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