New
New
Year 1

Writing the beginning of a story, introducing character and setting: 'Jack and the Beanstalk'

I can write the beginning of a traditional tale, introducing the characters and setting.

New
New
Year 1

Writing the beginning of a story, introducing character and setting: 'Jack and the Beanstalk'

I can write the beginning of a traditional tale, introducing the characters and setting.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Traditional tales are mostly told in the past tense
  2. The beginning of a story introduces the main characters, setting and plot
  3. Two ideas can be joined using a joining word, 'and'
  4. Two adjective sentences need a comma in between the two adjectives, such as 'noisy, hungry cow'
  5. Exclamation marks can be used to show anger, such as when mother throws the beans out of the window

Keywords

  • Beginning - the start of something

  • Character - a person or an animal in a story

  • Setting - where the story takes place

  • Plot - what happens in the story

  • Comma - a punctuation mark used to list two adjectives or after a fronted adverbial

Common misconception

Pupils may just use 'and' to add on another word or phrase rather than another sentence.

Show two different sentences as two complete ideas. Ensure pupils understand that each sentence needs to make sense on its own.

Adjust the success criteria and sentence scaffolds to meet the writing expectations you want your pupils to achieve. Ideally, your pupils will have completed Lesson 7 (retelling using a story mountain) prior to this lesson so they will have a plan to work from when writing in this lesson.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
Change the verb in this sentence so that it is in the past tense: I run to the park.
running
will run
Correct answer: ran
runned
Q2.
Identify the noun in this sentence: The shiny, golden harp yelled.
shiny
golden
Correct answer: harp
yelled
Q3.
Identify the adjectives in this sentence: The shiny, golden harp yelled.
Correct answer: shiny
Correct answer: golden
harp
yelled
Q4.
Match these words to their definition.
Correct Answer:noun,a naming word for people, places or things

a naming word for people, places or things

Correct Answer:adjective,describes a noun

describes a noun

Correct Answer:verb,a doing or being word

a doing or being word

Correct Answer:adverb,describes a verb

describes a verb

Q5.
Tick the expanded noun phrase that has the comma in the correct place.
noisy, hungry, cow
Correct answer: noisy, hungry cow
noisy hungry cow,
noisy hungry cow
Q6.
Correct the spelling of the word in bold. The giant woz angry.
Correct Answer: was, Was

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these sequencing phrases might you use at the start of a fairy tale?
Finally,
Happily ever after,
Correct answer: Once upon a time,
Next,
Q2.
Match these words to the correct punctuation.
Correct Answer:comma,,

,

Correct Answer:full stop,.

.

Correct Answer:question mark,?

?

Correct Answer:exclamation mark,!

!

Q3.
Identify the joining word in this sentence: The golden harp yelled and the giant woke up.
golden
harp
Correct answer: and
the
giant
Q4.
When might you use an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence?
Correct answer: to express strong emotion
to express a fact or opinion
to ask the reader for an answer
Q5.
What should we do before writing a story?
read the story again
Correct answer: practise saying your sentences out loud
write everything down very quickly
sing a song
Q6.
Complete this sentence: The beginning of a story...
starts with a song.
Correct answer: introduces the main characters, setting and plot.
introduces the villain.
introduces the problem in the plot.

Additional material

Download additional material
We're sorry, but preview is not currently available. Download to see additional material.