Draft the Whole Story

Overview

In this seventh lesson of Little Stories, Big Laughs, students independently draft a short, structured narrative from a plan. They move from oral rehearsal to writing, drawing or dictating, with support matched to their needs.

Learning intentions

• WALT organise a story with a beginning, problem, ordered events and ending.
• WALT form clear sentences that make sense to a reader.
• WALT use our plan to draft a complete story.
• WALT reread and improve our writing.

Success criteria

• I can introduce a character and setting.
• I can include a problem and events in the correct order.
• I can write, draw or dictate an ending that solves or responds to the problem.
• I can use finger spaces, capital letters and full stops where appropriate.

Curriculum links

• Creating written texts: developing and organising ideas for a clear purpose and audience.
• Using language features: forming sentences and using punctuation, vocabulary and detail to make meaning.
• Oral language: rehearsing ideas, listening to others and explaining choices.
• Te ao Māori and wider curriculum connections: valuing students’ own experiences, imagination, stories and ways of communicating.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Reconnect and hook Display the lesson goal and show a simple four-part story path in the story structure and hook slides. Ask: “What makes a story feel finished?” Invite students to briefly retell the plan they created in the previous lesson to a partner, using the words beginning, problem, events and ending.

2. 5–13 minutes – I do: model drafting Model turning a brief plan into a paragraph, thinking aloud as you write: “My sentence needs a capital letter… I will choose hurried instead of went… I need to tell what happened next.” Use the teacher modelling slides to display the plan and model text. Deliberately demonstrate rereading, adding a full stop and checking that each sentence makes sense.

3. 13–19 minutes – We do: build the checklist Co-construct a child-friendly checklist and record it on the shared success-checklist slide. Suggested points: character and setting, problem, ordered events, ending, clear sentences, spaces and punctuation. Read the model paragraph together, then ask students to orally rehearse a new sample paragraph with a partner. Prompt with: “First… Then… After that… Finally…”

4. 19–22 minutes – Explain independent drafting Distribute the four-part story drafting sheet. Explain that students may write, draw and label, or dictate their story to an adult; their ideas and story structure are the priority. Point out the four-part scaffold, high-frequency word bank and sentence starters. Remind students to use their own plan rather than copy the model.

5. 22–36 minutes – You do: draft and conference Students independently draft their complete story while the teacher circulates for short conferences. First ask the student to orally tell the story, then prompt one next step: “What is the problem?” “What happens next?” or “How will it end?” Encourage writers to reread each sentence. Students ready for extension add descriptive detail about a character, place or feeling and include purposeful dialogue using speech marks if they can manage this accurately.

6. 36–40 minutes – Share and reflect Invite two or three students to share a favourite sentence or explain how their story’s problem was resolved. Return to the reflection and plenary slide and ask students to show a thumb, gesture or verbal response for: “I have a beginning,” “I have a problem and ordered events,” and “I have an ending.” Collect drafts for feedback and explain that the next lesson will focus on revising, editing and publishing.

Resources

• the complete story-drafting slide deck
• the four-part story drafting sheet
• Students’ story plans from the previous lesson
• Pencils, erasers, coloured pencils and writing paper
• Teacher model plan and completed sample paragraph
• High-frequency word bank and sentence starters
• Whiteboard or display screen
• Optional device or quiet space for student dictation

Assessment

• Observe oral retells and use conferences to check whether each student can identify the beginning, problem, ordered events and ending.
• Collect the draft and check for a complete narrative sequence, understandable sentences and developing control of spaces, capitals and full stops.
• Record one teaching point for each student to use in the final revising and publishing lesson.

Differentiation

• Support: work with a small group using the four-part scaffold; scribe student ideas, accept drawing with labels or oral dictation, and provide sentence starters such as “One day…”, “But then…” and “At last…”.
• Support: reduce the writing load by focusing on one or two sentences for each story part, while maintaining the expectation of a complete oral story.
• EAL/SEN: rehearse orally with a peer or adult, use picture cues and gestures, provide extra processing time, and read instructions aloud one step at a time.
• Extension: add precise describing words, feelings, cause-and-effect links or purposeful dialogue, then reread to check that each addition helps the reader understand the story.