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Year 4 – 500 Words Story Writing Project
This term Year 4 will be completing an English writing project.
Writing stories is a fantastic way to develop children’s imagination.
This project will also give the children a opportunity to put in
practice all the writing skills they have learnt so far in Year 4.
So what do they need to do?
Children must write an original story or any subject or theme in 500
words or fewer. Their story can be typed or handwritten. 500 words
is between 1.5 and 2 pages depending on the size of the writing
(could be up to as many as 4 pages for big writing). However, we
won’t be counting so just try your best to keep it within the 500
word limit.
Dates for your diary?
In order to give the children the best possible chance they will be
given until Thursday 8th March to complete their stories and hand
them to their teachers.
And the winner is….?
A little bit of competition is always a good thing. All of the
completed stories handed in by the children will be read by their
class teachers. Each teacher will them pick the best 3 from their
class. These will then be judge to pick the top 3 stories from Year 4.
There will be a small prize for the 3 winners. Every child who takes
part will also be given a certificate of participation.
What else do I need to know?
Each story must be clearly labelled with your child’s name and
class.
Completed stories should be handed to Miss Butt in Year 4
Green.
Try to think of original ideas. We want to see your imagination
at work.
Parents: supporting your children in very helpful but please
allow them to write independently. Spelling and grammar are
important but what we are really looking for is interesting and
exciting stories.
If you need some inspiration:
Below you will find a list of ideas for things you could write about:
Inspirational objects
o Unusual objects can be a great source of story
inspiration. Anything from an old hat to a telescope could
give you the starting point for a fantastic story.
Facts into Fiction
o Fun facts from the Topics you have learnt about at school
could inspire your story. You could use a Viking fact to
spark an idea about a Viking adventure.
Headlines
o Real life events can help to give you great story ideas.
Story Idea Generator
Pick a type of genre of story, characters and setting and put them
together to think up a story idea. You can pick and mix from every
category or even throw your own ideas into the mix.
Genre Character Setting
mystery superhero haunted house
romance Archeologist city
science fiction Hedgehog School
horror Vlogger shopping mall
fantasy Rapper zoo
historical Wizard desert island
adventure Dinosaur mountain
spy Robot castle
animal Secret Argent enchanted forest
Character
Every story needs a star. Unforgettable characters make
stories come to life. Use some of these ideas to bring your
character to life.
Instant Impressions
o Use adjectives to create an instant picture in your
readers mind. You must use adjectives appropriately.
Don’t just scatter them all over your writing.
Get the Profile
o Ask questions about your characters. Think about what
the characters are like and why they act the way they do.
The name of the Game
o Unforgettable characters need unforgettable names.
Think about some famous characters names from fiction.
What kind of name would you give to a villain or hero?
Character Profile
My charatcer’s name is:
Does your
villain love ice
cream?
My character looks like:
My character sounds like:
My character likes/dislikes:
My character: (hobbies/interests)
My character lives:
My character has: (do they have a family?)
Plot
Great stories have page-turning plots that keep readers glued to
their seats to find out what happens next. Use the ideas below to
turn your inspirations into a fantastic story, maybe with a twist or
two.
Story Starters
o Think about an event that will kick start the plot of your
story. Throwing your reader straight into the action is a
great way to grab your audience’s attention.
Story Mountain
o Creating a plot is like climbing a mountain – each event in
the story should build on the one before. Have a go at
completing a story mountain to plan your plot. Think about
the problems and challenges your main character will
face.
The Perfect Ending
o The last lines of your story should pack a punch. What
emotions do you want your reader to feel at the end of
your story? Can you craft a final line that creates this
feeling?
Build-Up Problem solved
1
2
3 4
5
6
Story Mountain
Language
Every writer wants to find the perfect words to tell their story. Since
you can only use 500 to tell your story you must pick them really
carefully.
Striking Similes
o Try to use some similes in your story – remember a simile is
when you compare something to something else e.g. a cold as
ice, a bright as a diamond
Word Inventors
o Blending two words together to create a new one can add
interesting ideas and characters to your story e.g. adding
water to yeti would create the word weti.
Synonyms
o Don’t always settle for the first word you think of. Flick
through a thesaurus (or have a look online) to see if you kind
find better alternatives for over used words such as nice or
big
Striking Similes
A simile is a way of describing something by comparing it to
something else. Using similes can help you to describe the scenes
of your own story in interesting and unusual ways. Complete the
examples below to create your own striking similes.
Enjoyment
The world is made of stories. Exciting stories, scary stories, thrilling
stories, stories that make you cry and ones that leave you laughing. The
magic ingredient is enjoyment.
Who’s who?
o Think about who is telling your story. Before you start
writing describe your characters journey, sharing their
thoughts and ideas about what they see.
Twisty tales
o Take some traditional story openings and give them a twist.
How about changing ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ into ‘Little Red
Riding Hoodie’. Have twisting traditional tales into stories
that will surprise the reader.
Action and Emotion
o Can you show how you are feeling without saying a word?
Think about how the character’s actions reveal their
emotions. Have a look at the words below to help you.
Editing
Writing the last line of a story doesn’t mean the writer has finished
having fun. From finding plot holes to polishing their vocabulary,
authors check and redraft their stories until they feel they’re the
best they can be. Use some of these activities to help you revise and
edit your stories until they shine.
Story Buddies
o Find someone else to read your story. Ask them to give you
some feedback, telling you what they like and what they
think could be improved.
Make Every Word Count
o Revise and reread your story lots of times. Can you spot any
words or phrases that you have used too often? Are there
any synonyms you could use to replace a word you have used
lots of times? Play around with your story until it sounds
right.
Title Terror
o We won’t judge a story by its cover, but picking the right
title can get us turning pages. Think about some of your
favourite story titles. Why are they so good? You title could
be short or long or maybe even one word.
Get Creative
If you have time when you finish, feel free to design a front cover for
your story. You could even add some illustrations to your story if you
like.
Remember, the story is what is important. Illustrations are an
added bonus!
Good Luck!
Get Writing!