Drafting Your Narrative

Overview

This lesson focuses on creating a clear first draft of a short narrative using students’ planned characters and setting from earlier lessons. It builds the ability to choose language features and literary devices for particular effects, then set up an editing-ready version for the next lesson.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• create a first draft narrative with a beginning, middle and end
• use dialogue to reveal character and move the plot forward
• experiment with language features and literary devices to create tone and meaning
• draft with purpose, aiming for their intended reader response (e.g. suspense, wonder, humour)

Success criteria

Students can:

• write a narrative that includes setting details and a clear problem or goal
• use dialogue tags and punctuation so speech is easy to follow
• include at least two language/device choices (e.g. sensory imagery, purposeful sentence patterns, figurative language)
• show draft structure by using paragraphs or clear scene breaks

Curriculum links

• English Literature: create and edit literary texts that experiment with language features and literary devices for particular purposes and effects
• English Literature: analyse how language features such as sentence patterns create tone, and literary devices such as imagery create meaning and effect
• English Literacy: plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts by selecting text structures, language features and literary devices for purpose and audience
• English Language: explain how texts are structured depending on purpose, including narrative structure choices that support the story goal

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–3 min · Starter: story purpose prompt. Teacher displays the class goal on the board: “Draft the story so the reader feels ___.” Students choose one tone/response (e.g. tense, uneasy, hopeful) and write one sentence explaining how they want the reader to feel.

2. 3–7 min · Model: a strong opening. Teacher shows a short example paragraph (teacher-made, 6–8 sentences) with setting + character + tension. Students quickly identify: setting clue, character action, and one language/device choice that signals tone.

3. 7–9 min · Plan-to-draft checklist. Teacher guides a checklist aligned to their prior planning: beginning (introduce), middle (complication + turning point), end (resolution). Students open their planning sheet and highlight: setting details, the main goal/problem, and 2 key dialogue moments.

4. 9–20 min · Draft writing (teacher supported). Teacher circulates and uses prompts for clarity and effect, such as: “What does the reader notice first?”, “How does your dialogue change what the character does next?” Students draft their narrative first draft, aiming for about 300–450 words (adjust if needed for confidence/pace).

5. 20–26 min · Add dialogue and imagery pass. Teacher gives a focused reminder: dialogue should advance the plot and imagery should help readers “see and feel” the setting. Students do a second pass to (a) insert or strengthen dialogue at two planned points, and (b) add at least one sensory detail (sight/sound/smell/touch) in the setting or action.

6. 26–30 min · Quick self-check + submit. Teacher provides a short rubric-style self-check with four questions: structure present, dialogue clear, at least two device/language choices, tone matches intention. Students complete the checklist and set their draft aside for next-lesson editing.

Resources

• students’ completed character and setting planning sheets from earlier lessons
• narrative draft template (3 sections: Beginning / Middle / End) or lined pages
• teacher-made model opening text (printed or on the board)
• highlighters or digital equivalent for marking: dialogue moments, key tone cues, imagery
• pen/pencil, notebooks, or writing document on a device
• self-check checklist (one page)

Assessment

• Teacher observation during drafting: notes on clarity of structure, dialogue effectiveness, and device choices.
• In-lesson formative check: student identification of opening elements in the model (beginning signals, setting clue, tone cue).
• Exit check: student completes the four-question self-check; teacher reviews quickly for next-step guidance.

Differentiation

• Support:
• provide sentence starters for each section (Beginning: “When ___, ___.” Middle: “But then ___.” End: “In the end, ___.”)
• offer a “dialogue sandwich” scaffold (speaker action → quoted dialogue → reaction/response)
• allow a short checklist plan to be kept visible while writing.
• Extension:
• challenge students to add one additional device for effect (e.g. comparison using “like/as”, purposeful repetition, or a change in sentence length to build tension).
• SEN/EAL considerations:
• allow oral rehearsal of dialogue choices before writing (one sentence for each character)
• reduce drafting load by targeting specific word counts per section (e.g. 90 words beginning, 170 middle, 90 end) while keeping the narrative arc intact.