Get your little learners excited to write short stories with Story Shakers.
Using dice and several themed story frames to choose from, each budding writer can roll a character, setting and event, then use the word banks along with their imagination to write their own story. There is also a 'create your own' downloadable worksheet option for those who are keen young writers too.
Watch the engaging explainer video hosted by Jenni who walks your pupils through writing a story using a Story Shakers worksheet, they'll be buzzing to write after!
Grab the dice - your pupils have a million tales in the palm of their hands... what's their story? Let's find out...
[Rules] =>1st Prize
The Young Writers' Award of Excellence and an awesome book bundle
2 x Runners-Up
A framed certificate and an awesome book bundle
(School winners are chosen from entries received in the 2021/2022 academic year.)
[Student Prizes] =>Our favourite published young writer wins a selection of books, a set of story cubes and a £10 National Book Token!
Winner will be chosen from entries received in the Summer Term 2022.
PLUS
Every entrant receives a sticker and bookmark.
A certificate of merit for all young writers chosen for publication!
Use the idea of rolling the dice to pick parts of the story as a group activity.
Sitting down and seeing what each pupil gets will help excite and inspire each child as well as allow them to share some ideas at the same time. This could also be done in smaller groups/pairs etc.
Use their excitement and enthusiasm to get them talking about ideas, then put pen to paper.
Use writing cards with your pupils.
Once the plot is chosen, why not write down specific parts of the plot onto writing cards and have them placed in the order the scenes go. That way, all ideas are added and nothing is forgotten or missed out!
Your pupils may already be familiar with sequencing, so this helps to reinforce that and keep the writer focused on each separate part, while still being aware of where their story is taking them.
Encourage your pupils to draw.
Drawing characters/settings or creating a small picture storyboard of their plot helps when it comes to describing scenes and bringing your pupils' stories to life. Sometimes picturing the scene makes describing their tale easier!
It's also a great way to pair up children to work together, bring together artists and writers to see what they create!
Encourage your pupils to get descriptive!
Using verbs and adjectives can really bring a story to life. Why not list adjectives and verbs as a group, to provide inspiration for your pupils?
For example, you could separate your class into groups, depending on the story template chosen, and have them list verbs/adjectives linked to the characters represented they can use in their stories.
You could even give out a house point or sticker for any impressive words and correct spellings of tricky words too!
Thank you to all the 5-7 year-olds who entered Story Shakers, we loved reading all the entries and here are our pupil & school winners, congratualtions!
School Winners
1st Prize - £100 National Book Token & The Young Writers' Award of Excellence
Northern Saints Primary School, Sunderland
2 x Runners-Up - Huge book bundle & a framed certificate
Alleyn's Junior School, London
Copthorne Preparatory School, Surrey
The school winners were chosen from entries entered into our 2021/2022 writing competitions (Story Shakers, Bonkers Monsters & Little Riddlers).
Each pupil winner has received a Rory's Story Cube set, a £10 National Book Token and a selection of books.
Here are their winning words...
[Winner Word] => [Schools/Clubs] => Schools [Thumbnail] => https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/bonacia-sites/young-writers/competitions/story-shakers/1562-thumbnail.jpg [Background] => https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/bonacia-sites/young-writers/competitions/story-shakers/2441-background.jpg [Logo] => https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/bonacia-sites/young-writers/competitions/story-shakers/3770-logo.png [Independent Intro] =>Get your little learner excited to write short stories with Story Shakers.
Using dice and a themed story frame, your budding writer can roll a character, setting and event, then use the word banks along with their imagination to write their own story. There is also a 'create your own' downloadable worksheet option for those who are keen young writers too.
Watch the engaging explainer video hosted by Jenni who walks your child through writing a story using a Story Shakers worksheet, they'll be buzzing to write after!
Grab the dice - your young writer has a million tales in the palm of their hands... what's their story? Let's find out...
[Independent Rules] =>Our favourite 3 published young writers each win an annual subscription to SPaG Monsters, a set of story cubes and a £10 National Book Token!
Winners are chosen from entries received in the Summer Term 2022. Independent entrants are still eligible for prizes.
PLUS
Every entrant receives a sticker and bookmark.
A certificate of merit for all young writers chosen for publication!
Congratulations to all the winners! The results for this competition have been published.
View WinnersOpen competitions can be found here.
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