Story startersAges 6–8
Uh-Oh! Problem Planner
Plan a story around a problem: who is in it, where they are, what goes wrong and how it gets fixed.
Story sheet · Story starters · Ages 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.
- Ages
- Ages 8–11 (grades 3–5)
- Time
- about 35 minutes
- Part of a story
- Story starters
- Kids practice
- story structure, rising action and climax, strong openings
What kids do
“Every story climbs to a big moment, then comes back down. Plan your climb.”
- Draw and label each part of the story
- My first sentence (make the reader want more):
How to run it
- Draw a mountain on the board and walk a story up and down it.
- Kids sketch each part in a box, then add a few words underneath.
- Spend the most time on the first sentence: it is the hook.
Talk about it
- Where is the most exciting part of your story?
- What changes between the beginning and the ending?
- Which first sentence in class made you want to keep reading?
Take it further
Write the story, one paragraph for each part of the mountain.
Draw first, then write
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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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.
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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