Bring a bestselling children’s author into your classroom and help pupils invent their own fantasy worlds.
In this episode of Author in Your Classroom, award-winning author Jamie Littler (creator of the Frostheart series) guides pupils through the process of building imaginative, richly detailed fantasy worlds. Pupils will explore how setting shapes characters, plot and story possibilities, learning to create environments that feel alive, exciting and unique.
This unit is perfect for pupils who enjoy imaginative play but need support translating their ideas into structured stories. Short extracts from the podcast are suggested throughout the sequence to inspire pupils and show how professional authors bring fantasy worlds to life – optional, but highly motivating.
Resource pack contents
This free classroom pack provides everything needed for a full fantasy world–building and story-writing unit:
- Ready-to-use PowerPoint
- Extract from Frostheart
- Planning sheets for world-building, maps and story planning
- Working wall image library for inspiration and display
- Story writing sheets for drafting and final versions
Teaching overview
Across four sessions, pupils will:
- Imagine “what if…” worlds: Explore unusual settings and possibilities. Pupils brainstorm exciting worlds and the challenges characters might face, sharing ideas on a working wall.
- Draw and map their worlds: Use pictures, maps and annotations to visualise locations, scenes and important story details. Pupils think about geography, hazards and the rules of their worlds.
- Connect worlds to stories: Decide how their fantasy world links to our own, whether hidden, parallel, or completely separate, and plan how characters’ traits and decisions drive the plot.
- Write their story: Apply techniques from Jamie Littler to bring their fantasy world to life, including rich description, “show not tell,” consistent voice, action and sensory detail. Pupils draft, revise and share their work, adding examples to the working wall.
The unit also includes guidance for extending pupils’ writing and developing further adventures within the universe they’ve imagined.
How to listen
Search for Author In Your Classroom wherever you get your podcasts. A free resources pack is available with every episode.
Subscribe to hear more brilliant children’s authors share insider tips that help pupils write with confidence, purpose and flair.
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