Year 3 English · Writing stories · Summary
Year 3 English Writing stories: summary and key words
Part of the Year 3 English writing stories chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Chapter summary
| Skill | Method |
|---|---|
| Planning a story | Plan the setting (where and when), the characters, the problem and the resolution. Together they make the plot. |
| Paragraphs | The opening introduces the setting and characters. The middle tells the problem. The ending shows the resolution. |
| Time connectives | First, next, later, meanwhile, after a while, in the end: each tells the reader when something happens. |
| Fronted adverbials | Put a fronted adverbial at the start of a sentence, followed by a comma: Later, Ava waved. |
| Sentence types | Simple: one main clause. Compound: two main clauses joined by and, but, or so. Complex: a main clause and a subordinate clause. |
| Noun phrases | Expand a noun with adjectives and a prepositional phrase: the scruffy dog with one floppy ear. |
| Checking a draft | Check the meaning, then the tense, the pronouns, the vocabulary, the paragraphs and the speech. Read it aloud. |
Can you…?
- I can plan a story with a setting, characters, a problem and a resolution
- I can organise a story into an opening, a middle and an ending
- I can use time connectives such as later, meanwhile and after a while
- I can start a sentence with a fronted adverbial and put a comma after it
- I can write simple, compound and complex sentences
- I can expand a noun phrase with adjectives and a prepositional phrase
- I can check a draft for the tense, the pronouns and the vocabulary
- I can read my writing aloud, so that the meaning is clear
Key terms
- plot
- the order of the events in a story, from the problem to the resolution
- setting
- where and when a story happens
- character
- a person or an animal in a story
- problem
- what goes wrong in a story
- resolution
- how the problem in a story is put right
- paragraph
- a group of sentences about one idea, one part of a story, or one time
- connective
- a word or phrase that links ideas, sentences or paragraphs
- time connective
- a connective that tells the reader when something happens, such as later or meanwhile
- fronted adverbial
- a word, phrase or clause at the start of a sentence that tells when, where or how, followed by a comma
- noun phrase
- a noun and the words that go with it, such as the kite or the bright red kite
- expanded noun phrase
- a noun phrase with adjectives or a prepositional phrase added to give more detail
- pronoun
- a word such as he, she, it or they that stands in for a noun
- direct speech
- the words a character says, written inside inverted commas