Bring a bestselling children’s author into your classroom and help pupils plan and write an exciting story.

In this episode of Author In Your Classroom, award-winning author Maz Evans (author of Vi Spy: Licence to Chill and Who Let the Gods Out) shares practical advice on how to create stories from a “story stew” of ideas. She explains how starting with a character and combining things children know and love can help them develop plot, conflict and resolution.

This teaching sequence is designed to support pupils who find story ideas tricky. It helps them move from “I can’t think of a story” to designing characters, plotting events and writing an engaging narrative.

Short extracts from the podcast are suggested throughout the unit to introduce each stage of learning. They give pupils insight into how professional authors think and encourage them to see themselves as writers too.

Resource pack contents

This free classroom pack supports a complete story-writing unit and includes:

• A ready-to-use PowerPoint
• Extract from Vi Spy: Licence to Chill
• Planning sheets for ideas, characters and plot
• Working wall images and quotes
• Themed writing paper

Teaching overview

Across four sessions, pupils will:

• Gather ideas – Explore what they know and love, and learn how Maz Evans combines everyday experiences and interests to create her stories. Pupils begin to develop their own “story stew” of potential ideas.
• Develop characters – Design a main character using Maz’s questions. Pupils learn to shape characters before shaping plots.
• Plot the story – Plan events, dialogue and scenes using their story stew and character. Pupils practise making plots exciting and believable, taking inspiration from Maz’s storytelling techniques.
• Write and edit – Draft stories, then improve them by considering how to make sections more interesting, checking consistency and using dialogue effectively. Pupils can share and revise their work with support from the working wall.

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, imagination and flair.

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