Bring a children’s author into your classroom and help pupils turn their passions into powerful, purposeful stories.
In this episode of Author In Your Classroom, author Dan Freedman (Unstoppable, Jamie Johnson) explores how writing about what you love can unlock ideas, confidence and motivation. Drawing on his own experience as a reluctant writer, Dan explains how focusing on a subject you care about can fuel character, plot and authentic detail.
This teaching sequence is designed to support pupils who struggle to get started with writing or who lack confidence in developing ideas. By rooting stories in topics pupils already know and care about, the unit helps them move beyond surface-level description towards engaging, well-structured narratives with tension, setbacks and resolution.
Short extracts from the podcast are suggested throughout the unit to introduce each stage of learning. These are optional, but highly motivating. They give pupils insight into how a real author works and encourage them to see writing as a process rather than a single finished performance.
Resource pack contents
This free classroom pack supports a complete narrative writing unit and includes:
- A ready-to-use PowerPoint
- Extracts from Unstoppable
- Planning sheets for ideas, structure and narrative development
- Working wall images and author quotes
- Themed writing paper
Teaching overview
Across four sessions, pupils will:
- Choose a topic they love: Identify interests, hobbies or passions that can act as ‘fuel’ for writing, drawing on personal knowledge to generate ideas with confidence.
- Plan a compelling narrative: Explore story structure, including beginnings, build-up, ‘worst possible moments’ and resolutions, learning how adversity and obstacles drive an engaging plot.
- Develop characters and tension: Use examples from Unstoppable to understand how flawed characters, dialogue and setbacks help readers care about what happens next.
- Write and refine the story: Write a complete narrative inspired by their chosen topic, using dialogue, description and, where appropriate, alternative text types such as diary entries or messages to reveal character and move the action forward.
The unit also includes guidance on drafting, editing and redrafting, as well as ideas for using a working wall to support planning, vocabulary and narrative techniques.
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 children’s authors share practical advice that helps pupils write with confidence, purpose and enthusiasm.
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