Overcoming Obstacles – A Powerful Genre for Young Writers

The overcoming obstacles genre is all about characters facing challenges and finding ways to rise above them. These stories often explore themes of perseverance and courage – skills that are just as important in life as they are in literature! For upper primary students, writing in this genre provides an opportunity to reflect on determination and resilience while learning how authors use narrative techniques to engage readers.

This short story writing project has been designed to support your students in reading and writing literature centered around the theme of overcoming obstacles. To complete the project, students will read and analyze the story, Public Speaking Day. They will then analyze the author’s use of narrative techniques and language features before planning a narrative of their own based on the sample text. 

Everything needed to implement this overcoming obstacles writing project can be found in the comprehensive student workbook. The workbook contains the following:

• Instruction page
• Example short story, Public Speaking Day
• Guided analysis questions 
• Story adaptation ideas 
• Graphic organizers for plot and language planning
• Lined pages for drafting and editing
• Narrative writing checklist
• Assessment rubric

Short Stories About Overcoming Obstacles in Life: More Than Just Reading and Writing

This creative writing project combines literacy skills with social-emotional learning, making it a versatile resource that can be used across multiple curriculum areas. Here’s how this resource benefits students beyond reading and writing:

1. Builds Resilience – Students learn that setbacks are part of life and explore strategies for overcoming them through fictional characters.
2. Encourages Problem-Solving – Crafting a story requires thinking through obstacles and solutions, which mirrors real-world problem-solving skills.
3. Promotes Empathy – By stepping into a character’s shoes, students gain insight into different perspectives and emotions.

Download This Overcoming an Obstacle Writing Project

This overcoming obstacles writing project contains everything your students need to produce imaginative, well-structured narratives. It downloads as an easy-print PDF or editable Google Slides file. Use the dropdown menu on the Download button to access your preferred version. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it).

For sustainability purposes, please consider printing this workbook double-sided.

More Resources for Teaching How to Overcome Obstacles

Looking for more teacher-created resources to promote resilience and perseverance in your students? Click below to browse a sample of activities from our extensive library.

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