Lesson Plan
Lesson 11: Narrative Skills – Sensational Story Starters
60 minutes | Suitable for Grades: 3 - 4A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate exciting, attention-grabbing methods of starting a story.
This lesson plan includes the following resources:
Lesson Plan
Tuning In
- Revise the content of the unit so far. Remind the students that narrative texts follow a specific structure, use specific language and have specific features to help keep the reader engaged with the story.
- Choose a selection of picture books or short stories from your class library (or school library). Read the first few lines, or the first paragraph, to the class. Ask the students:
- How has the author started this story? Have they used description? Action? Speech?
- Have the first few lines of this story captured your attention? Why or why not?
- How could the beginning of this story be improved?
Teacher Instruction
- Display and discuss slide 3 of the Seven Sensational Story Starters PowerPoint. Ensure that all students understand the idea of the ‘hook’ to capture the reader’s attention from the outset.
- Display and discuss the seven sensational story starters, as outlined on slides 4-10. Ask the students whether or not they feel ‘hooked’ to read on by each example.
Guided/Independent Learning
- In their writing pairs, ask the students to choose one of the seven sensational story starters. Allow each pair to write the first paragraph only of the narrative they planned in the previous lesson. Monitor and support the students as required.
Wrapping Up
- Allow each pair to share their story starter paragraphs with the class. Encourage the students to provide positive feedback, or suggestions for improvement.
Differentiation
Extending Students
- Allow more confident writers to work individually, rather than in pairs (if they wish to do so).
Supporting Students
- Allow students who find writing challenging to work with a teacher or teacher aide during the pair activity.
Assessment Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
- used strategic whole class or individual questioning
- observed student participation during learning activities
- recorded student progress on a checklist
- annotated student work samples
- collected and reviewed student work samples
- facilitated whole class or peer feedback sessions
- encouraged student self-reflection
- administered formal assessment tasks.
NSW Curriculum alignment
- EN2-11D
Responds to and composes a range of texts that express viewpoints of the world similar to and different from their own
Victorian Curriculum alignment
- VCELT284
Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques
Australian Curriculum alignment
- ACELT1605
Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readersâ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tensionElaborationsexamining the authorâs description of a c...
Find more resources for these topics
EnglishWritingText TypesImaginative WritingNarrative Writing
Comments & Reviews
Write a review to help other teachers and parents like yourself. If you would like to request a change (Changes & Updates) to this resource, or report an error, simply select the corresponding tab above.
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.
Request a change
Would you like something changed or customized on this resource? While our team makes every effort to complete change requests, we can't guarantee that every change will be completed.
You must be logged in to request a change. Sign up now!
Report an Error
You must be logged in to report an error. Sign up now!
Help
Are you having trouble downloading or viewing this resource? Please try the following steps:
If you are still having difficulty, please visit the Teach Starter Help Desk or contact us.
Contact us