Completing the Story

Overview

This 60-minute session is designed for Year 2 students (age 6-7) to deepen their narrative writing skills by completing the climax and conclusion of a story inspired by The Egg Box Dragon and a previously written story about Magpie searching for keys or a ring. This lesson will focus on using conjunctions to add detail and cohesion, supported by visual sentence grids and scaffolded resources, ensuring access for diverse learners including SEND and EAL students.

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WALT

We Are Learning To complete a story by writing the climax and conclusion using conjunctions such as because, when, and if to add detail and meaning to our sentences.

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Success Criteria

• I can write sentences that continue the story with a clear climax and conclusion.
• I can use conjunctions like because, when, and if to add detail.
• I can use adjectives to describe characters and settings.
• I can check my work with a checklist to add important details and correct grammar.
• I can structure my writing in clear sentences that make sense.

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National Curriculum Links

• English - Writing Composition (Year 2)
  Pupils should be taught to:
  • Develop positive attitudes through imaginative and varied writing.
  • Write narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real or fictional).
• English - Sentence structure and grammar (Year 2)
  Pupils should be taught to:
  • Use subordination (e.g., when, if, because) to express time and cause.
  • Use conjunctions and, but to link ideas and expand sentences.
  • Use adjectives to describe.

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Resources

• Story map visual (from previous lessons) on display
• Colourful semantics sentence grids: visuals for adjectives, conjunctions, verbs, nouns
• Checklists (paper and laminated versions) tailored for different abilities
• Dyslexia-friendly printed extracts and writing paper (clear fonts, spaced lines)
• Visual sentence starters/stems (displayed and individual copies)
• Word banks (conjunctions, descriptive adjectives)

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Lesson Structure

1. Activating Prior Knowledge (10 minutes)

• Slow Write: Ask children to write 3 sentences using adjectives describing size, quality, and material (e.g., "The shiny key was small." / "The big Magpie flew fast.")
• Recap previous stories: Briefly review what happened in the Magpie story and Egg Box Dragon story map. Ask pupils what they remember and where the story left off.

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2. Main Teaching Input (15 minutes)

• Model writing the climax and conclusion using the story map:
  “The magpie flew over the tall hills because he needed to find the cave. He dodged the fox’s sharp teeth and dived into the shadows.”
• Explicitly focus on adding conjunctions:
  • Remind Year 1 learners to use and, but to connect ideas.
  • Emphasise for Year 2 learners to use because, when, and encourage the challenge word if.
• Use a visual grid (colourful semantics) to model sentence construction, showing where adjectives, verbs, nouns, and conjunctions fit in.
• Display the checklist and demonstrate how to self-check for detail and conjunctions.

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3. Guided Activity (20 minutes)

• Children write the climax and conclusion of their own stories, using:
  • Visual sentence grids to plan and compose (individual or pairs).
  • Sentence stems to scaffold writing (e.g., “The magpie… because…”, “When the dragon arrived, …”)
• SEND and EAL adaptations:
  • Provide simplified sentence grids and word banks with pictures only.
  • One-to-two word sentence frames for preverbal SEND pupils (e.g., "Magpie fly", "Key find"). Use communication boards.
• Advanced learners:
  • Challenge to use multiple conjunctions in a single sentence or include descriptive similes/metaphors.
  • Add dialogue between characters to extend narrative.

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4. Plenary (10 minutes)

• Invite volunteers to read their climax/conclusion aloud, highlighting the use of conjunctions and adjectives.
• Peer and teacher feedback focused on success criteria using a thumbs up/down system for each point.
• Recap the importance of conjunctions to make stories interesting and detailed.

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5. Assessment & Feedback (5 minutes)

• Formative assessment through observation and writing samples against the checklist:
  • Are conjunctions correctly used?
  • Are sentences detailed and logical?
  • Is the writing structured cohesively?
• Provide verbal feedback and adapt next lesson plans accordingly.

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Differentiation & Inclusion Strategies

Learner	Strategies	Resources
SEND (preverbal)	Use picture-based communication boards; allow use of one to two-word phrases; pair with a peer helper	Picture word banks, communication boards
EAL	Provide sentence stems and word banks; model language explicitly; use bilingual support visuals	Multilingual word banks, visual sentence grids
Lower-attaining	Sentence frames with easier conjunctions (and, but); scaffolded checklists	Simplified checklists and grids
Higher-attaining	Tasks requiring multiple conjunctions, complex sentences, dialogue	Challenge sentence starters and vocabulary lists

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Dyslexia-Friendly Adjustments

• Use off-white or pastel coloured paper backgrounds for printed materials.
• Clear, dyslexia-friendly fonts (e.g., Comic Sans, Open Dyslexic).
• Use bullet points and short chunks of text in instructions.
• Employ visuals and sentence grids to reduce cognitive load.
• Checklists printed in large font with spacing and highlighted key vocabulary.

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Extension Activities

• Write a short additional scene imagining what happens to the Magpie after finding the keys.
• Create alternative endings using different conjunctions and compare effects.
• Illustrate the story climax and write captions using descriptive sentences with conjunctions.

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This lesson plan merges storytelling creativity with rigorous Year 2 language acquisition targets, enhancing narrative skills and grammatical competence. Visual and adaptive aids ensure inclusivity and engagement across different abilities, encouraging confident, detailed writing for all learners.