Story startersAges 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.
Story sheet · Endings and twists · Ages 8–11
Choose Your Path Story
Write a story where the reader decides what happens: one start, two choices and four different endings.
- Ages
- Ages 8–11 (grades 3–5)
- Time
- about 40 minutes
- Part of a story
- Endings and twists
- Kids practice
- branching plots, cause and effect, planning for a reader
What kids do
“In this story the READER chooses. Give them two paths, then two more.”
- Plan your paths
- My favorite ending, and how the reader gets there:
How to run it
- Explain the idea with a quick example: “Open the door? Go to box A. Run away? Go to box B.”
- Each box gets a tiny drawing and a sentence or two.
- Swap with a partner and read each other’s stories, choosing as you go.
Talk about it
- Which choice was the hardest for your reader?
- Is one ending the “right” one?
- How did you make both choices tempting?
Take it further
Write the full story on index cards, one card per box, with “go to card…” at the bottom.
Draw first, then write
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
More story sheets
Story startersAges 8–11
Story Mountain
Plan a whole story as a mountain: the beginning, the build-up, the big problem at the top, the fix and the ending.
Endings and twistsAges 6–8
Twist Ending
The story is started for you. Draw and write a surprise ending nobody saw coming.
Endings and twistsAges 8–11
Three Ways to End It
Write a happy ending, a funny ending and a surprise ending for the same story, then pick the winner.
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