Story Writing Workshop

Overview

In this lesson (9 of 15), students write the first draft of their wombat-inspired story. They use what they discussed about plot, characters and setting from earlier lessons, and apply the familiar story structure they practised.

Learning intentions

WALT: Write a creative draft.

• Students will write a simple story with a clear beginning, problem and ending.
• Students will include a character and a setting from their planning.
• Students will use grammatically correct simple sentences and end punctuation.
• Students will use some story vocabulary (from the unit word bank) in their draft.

Success criteria

• I can write a draft of my wombat-inspired story.
• I can include my character, setting and main events in order.
• I can use full stops and capital letters in my sentences.
• I can reread my draft and make small changes (or do a peer check later).

Curriculum links

• AC9E1LE03: Students discuss plot, character and setting, which are features of stories.
• AC9E1LE05: Students orally retell or adapt a familiar story using plot and characters, and language features through role-play, writing, drawing or digital tools.
• AC9E1LY06: Students create and re-read to edit short written texts using grammatically correct simple sentences, sentence boundary punctuation, and correct spelling of some one- and two-syllable words.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook & recall Teacher shows the unit planning page (character + setting + story map) and points to “Beginning, Problem, Resolution” icons. Students quickly repeat key words: character, setting, beginning, problem, ending (choral response).

2. 5–12 min · Explicit model (how to draft) Teacher models writing 3 short sections on a shared chart:

• Beginning: introduces wombat character and where/when
• Problem: a trouble happens
• Ending: what the wombat does to fix it Teacher thinks aloud: “I start with a capital letter, I end with a full stop, and I read it back to check my words.” Students use finger tracking to follow along, then orally suggest one sentence for each section.

3. 12–22 min · Independent drafting (first attempt) Teacher sets up stations: lined paper or storybook template with sentence starters for struggling writers. Students write their first draft using their story plan. Teacher circulates and prompts with question stems: “Who is your character?”, “Where does it happen?”, “What goes wrong?”, “How do we solve it?”

4. 22–27 min · Teacher conferencing (targeted) Teacher calls small groups:

• Group A (support): completes 1–2 sentences with sentence starters
• Group B (on track): adds details to one event
• Group C (extension): adds an extra “because” or “then” sentence to build plot Students continue drafting while the teacher works with each group.

5. 27–33 min · Dyslexia-friendly access (writing choices) Teacher reminds students: “You can write, draw labels, or dictate to an aide.” Students choose one of the options (at least one option must be available for each student):

• Dictate sentences to an aide/teacher while others draft
• Use picture cues and label events with short sentences
• Use a speech-to-text tool where available and appropriate

6. 33–40 min · Rapid reread & mini-edit Teacher gives a “checklist on a card”:

• Did I use capital letters and full stops?
• Did I reread to make sense?
• Did I include beginning, problem and ending? Students read their draft (or their recorded version) and circle one thing to improve.

7. 40–45 min · Share & collect Teacher invites 3–4 students to read one sentence or show one page of their draft (voluntary). Students hand in their draft or place it in “Draft 1” folder for the next peer-revision lesson.

Resources

• Story map planning page from previous lessons
• Lined paper and a “Beginning–Problem–Ending” template
• Wombat story word bank (e.g. excited, worried, helped, hid, found)
• Sentence starters and visual cue cards
• Shared chart for modelled writing
• Clipboards and pencils/colour pencils
• Dyslexia-friendly option: teacher/aide audio recording device or simple dictation sheet
• Optional speech-to-text tool (only if school-approved and available)

Assessment

• Teacher observation during drafting: checks use of story structure (beginning/problem/ending) and sentence boundary punctuation.
• Conferencing notes: whether students include character + setting and can write simple sentences.
• Quick check at the end: students complete a one-question reflection orally or with a simple tick (“I have a beginning, problem and ending.”)

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters, a partially completed template (one sentence per section), and extra visuals for setting (e.g. “forest/underground/near creek” cards).
• Support for fine-motor or EAL: allow dictation to an aide, drawing event pictures, and using labels that become sentences.
• On track: prompt for one extra detail (time/place or character feeling) while maintaining simple sentence control.
• Extension: require an additional plot step (e.g. “Then… because…”) and one descriptive word (adjective/adverb) to add interest; also encourage stronger ending with a clear solution.

Extension (optional)

• Advanced writers revise their last sentence to show the result clearly (e.g. “So the wombat felt… and the problem was solved.”) before peer revision next lesson.