My Weekend Story

Overview

Students orally rehearse and write a short recount about one event from their weekend. They will sequence ideas, write sentences with a beginning, middle and end, and use familiar high-frequency words with teacher support.

Learning intentions

• WALT talk about one thing that happened during our weekend.
• WALT put events in the order they happened.
• WALT write one or more sentences to tell our weekend story.
• WALT use spaces, a capital letter and a full stop.

Success criteria

• I can tell my weekend event in order.
• I can draw or write what happened first, next and last.
• I can write a sentence that makes sense.
• I can check for a capital letter, spaces and a full stop.

Curriculum links

• English — Composition: writing one or more sentences about a single event or loosely linked events in the order in which they occurred.
• English — Composition: describing something that really happened orally, pictorially or through teacher scribing.
• English — Comprehension: recognising that stories and recounts have a beginning, middle and end, with characters, settings and action.
• English — Reading: using phonics and knowledge of high-frequency words to decode and read less regular words.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and oral hook. Open with the weekend photo hook and invite students to quietly think of one thing they did; students share with a partner using “I…” or point to a picture if they prefer. Avoid requiring children to disclose family, religious or cultural activities, and offer “I stayed home” or an invented weekend event as alternatives.

2. 5–12 min · Model a recount. Show the first, next and last sequence and model a simple three-part recount: “First, I went to the park. Next, I played on the swings. Last, I went home.” Teacher draws three quick pictures and reads each sentence aloud, explaining that the event is told in the order it happened. Students help identify first, next and last, then orally retell the model with actions.

3. 12–18 min · Shared language rehearsal. Display the sentence-building prompts and rehearse the prompts “First…”, “Next…”, “Last…” and “I felt…”. Students think-pair-share one weekend event, while the teacher listens for a clear sequence and supports vocabulary by offering choices such as played, visited, helped, watched, cooked or rested. Invite two or three students to share; scribe one example and read it together.

4. 18–30 min · Independent writing and drawing. Distribute the weekend story planning and writing sheet. Students draw or write in three boxes for first, next and last, then write one or more matching sentences underneath or on the lines provided. Teacher conferences with individuals and a small group, prompting: “What happened first?” “Say the sentence slowly.” “What sound can you hear?” Students may dictate a sentence for the teacher to scribe, copy a shared sentence, or write independently.

5. 30–37 min · Teacher conference and checking. Use the writing checklist to model rereading: point to each word, check that it makes sense, find a capital letter at the beginning and a full stop at the end. Students whisper-read their writing to a partner or to the teacher and use a finger to check spaces. Partners give one kind comment, such as “I liked your…” rather than correcting each other’s spelling.

6. 37–43 min · Share and respond. Return to the sharing prompts. Invite four or five students to read, show or orally retell their recounts; classmates listen for the words first, next or last and show a quiet thumbs-up when they hear the sequence. Celebrate different weekend experiences and acknowledge drawings, oral storytelling and writing as valid ways to communicate meaning.

7. 43–45 min · Exit reflection. Finish with the days and months sentence strip cards used as a brief visual reminder of time words. Students say one sentence beginning “At the weekend, I…” to the teacher, a partner or the group, then hand in their worksheet. Record whether each child can orally sequence an event and whether their writing communicates a complete idea.

Resources

• the weekend story teaching deck
• the weekend story planning and writing sheet
• the days and months sentence strip cards
• Pencils, crayons and erasers
• Whiteboard and marker
• Teacher clipboard and observation notes
• Optional picture cards or classroom objects for vocabulary prompts
• Individual writing supports, such as pencil grips or sloping boards

Assessment

• During partner talk, listen for an event that is real or imagined and told in a clear first–next–last order.
• During writing, check whether each student communicates an idea through drawing, dictation, copied text or independent writing, and note use of capitals, spaces and full stops.
• Use the final oral sentence and completed worksheet to identify students needing further support with sequencing, sentence formation, phonics or high-frequency words.

Differentiation

• Support learners with oral rehearsal, gestures, three picture boxes, sentence frames (“First I… Next I… Last I…”) and a small word bank. Accept drawing, shared writing, dictation or a combination of modes.
• For dyslexia-friendly access, use a clear sans-serif font, large print, uncluttered worksheet spacing, cream or pale background paper where available, oral instructions, paired reading and the option to use a scribe or speech-to-text tool.
• Support EAL learners with pictures, modelling, partner rehearsal and home-language discussion before sharing in English. Do not penalise accent or approximate spelling when assessing the message.
• Extend confident writers by adding a feeling or detail sentence, describing where the event happened, or joining two ideas with “and” or “because”. They may write a short beginning, middle and ending without using the sentence frames.