Places and mapsAges 8–11
Story Map
Draw the map of your story world, mark the danger and the secret spot, then plan the route from start to finish.
Story sheet · Characters · Ages 8–11
Villain Planner
Every good story needs trouble. Design a villain with a lair, a plan and one big weakness.
- Ages
- Ages 8–11 (grades 3–5)
- Time
- about 30 minutes
- Part of a story
- Characters
- Kids practice
- conflict, motive, planning a plot
What kids do
“Make your villain fun to read about, not just mean.”
- Draw your villain
- Villain facts
- The evil plan:
- Why are they doing it? (Maybe they just want a friend…)
How to run it
- Talk about villains kids like reading about. They are usually funny, clever or a bit sad.
- The weakness should be something the hero can use later.
- Keep it gentle: villains can be grumpy goblins and sneaky cats.
Talk about it
- What makes a villain fun instead of scary?
- How could the hero find out the weakness?
- Could this villain ever turn good?
Take it further
Write the villain’s side of the story, as a diary entry.
Draw first, then write
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
More story sheets
Comic stripsAges 8–11
The Silent Comic
Draw a four-panel comic with no words at all, then write the story it tells underneath.
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 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.
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12 printable story writing pages (comic strips, a character file, a villain planner, a story map, a choose-your-path planner and an author certificate) sent with your welcome email. After that, new free pages and book news.