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Creative Writing Tasks for KS2 Students

Subject: Creative writing

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

7 March 2016

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Setting descriptions – KS2 creative writing

Use these strategies to give children the tools they need to create powerful settings for their descriptive writing.

By Sue Drury

Last updated 22 September 2020

The writer sat in the eerie darkness. Looming shadows, cast by a single desk lamp and the cold glow of the laptop, surrounded her, mocking her struggles with finding a way in to her next piece. The stale stench of her long-finished microwave ready-meal hung in the air and the only sound was the tap-tapping of her fingers on the keyboard… that and the disparaging ticking of the clock on the wall, reminding her that it was late and she still had so much to do…

Story setting can go a long way towards establishing the atmosphere of a narrative and giving it a sense of tangible reality for the reader, yet they are features that are often under-emphasised when it comes to teaching story writing.

Here are some tips for helping your pupils create the perfect environment in which their character and plot can flourish.

Include scene description in your plan

As with all good writing, an engaging story starts with a good plan. As well as outlining the characters, overall plot, important events and so on, it is essential that this contains detailed information about the setting or settings (because there are usually more than one).

Encourage your pupils to form a clear picture in their heads of these locations and note down every specific detail with key words and rich descriptions. Try getting them to close their eyes and sit in silence while they create vivid pictures with their minds that they can then convert into words.

What’s more, urge them to focus on the little things as well as the big backdrops; after all, details often make a memorable difference.

To help them make sure that they cover all the important aspects of their setting, use our ‘Getting a Setting’ resource – part of our Effective Writing collection.

Making sense of it all

One of the first things to encourage your pupils to do is to engage all their senses when writing the setting. The temptation is often just to describe what can be seen, yet sounds and smells can often connect more powerfully with people than what merely meets their eyes.

Even the sense of touch, like the chilling caress of a sudden breeze, can add to the atmosphere.

Setting descriptions – show not tell

There are few hard-and-fast rules governing how to write a setting description but “show not tell” has to be one of them.

Although this is more straightforward when describing characters and actions, it can be applied to settings in the way that the protagonists interact with their surroundings. Even so, this does not totally negate the need for precise and evocative vocabulary.

Descriptive words – quality over quantity

Much though we like to encourage pupils to use their very best words, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

Forgive the sacrilege but, if we are honest, even some highly respected authors and well-loved novels can occasionally make you want to scream, “Get on with it!” as you plough bravely on through line after line of detailed description.

Encourage your pupils to focus on the things that really contribute to the establishment of a convincing setting and actually matter to the progress of the plot.

Being able to share good setting description examples is always invaluable in these situations. Of course, you could spend hours scanning through a stack of novels to find the perfect extract.

Alternatively, why not save yourself the bother by using our KS2 challenge mat for story settings ? As well as providing model texts for pupils to study and discuss, it includes inspiring images to stimulate their own creativity.

Historical settings

Different fiction genres place different demands on the writer when it comes to setting the scene. Take historical novels for example. Part of the joy of these stories is that they can also function as a sort of informal history lesson, providing a fascinating insight into how people used to live.

That is why it is so important to help your pupils make the settings as realistic as possible and include details that have a chance of informing as well as entertaining.

We can help here with our historical settings inspiration packs for KS2 pupils. Whether it’s Victorian Britain or the Wild West , these comprehensive resources provide all the images and inspiration your pupils will need to create a convincing backdrop for their stories set in these iconic times.

Beyond reality – creating your imaginary setting

Of course, not all stories are set in the real world. Although this gives writers more scope for letting their imaginations run free, they still need to have some form of containment – otherwise the reader will be just too bamboozled to read very far. That is when planning becomes particularly important.

Fantasy adventures , for example, are set in places that, although familiar in many respects, are in fact different worlds.

Therefore, the writer needs a clear idea of where each key location is placed in relation to the others, whether it is the hero’s village, the wizard’s tower or the monster’s lair. That is why so many of these tales include a map at the beginning.

Science fiction tales also contain the problem of creating a whole new universe, which is why they are often constrained to a limited range of locations, such as a particular planet or spaceship.

For both genres, we offer writing inspiration packs containing images, inspirational ideas and planning sheets to help your pupils create vivid settings for their stories.

Getting going with your descriptive writing

Whether it’s a short story, novel, non-fiction book, script or anything else, once they are happy with their plans, they still need to weave all the details into a coherent tale. Never underestimate how difficult it might be for children to pull all the elements together.

You might even find it necessary to provide more structured writing frames for when they ultimately start composing their stories. Nevertheless, with a good setting firmly embedded in their minds, at least they won’t be starting with a blank canvas.

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Mighty Writer Blog

Inspire your ks2 pupils with our narrative writing checklist, whether we read them ourselves or have them read to us, enjoying a story is one of life’s simple pleasures. however, when it comes to writing one, it can seem very complicated indeed..

A good story is full of excitement, interest, twists and turns – and nobody knows this better than a child, who no doubt consumes stories (in both paper and digital form) on an almost daily basis.

From colourful storybooks to fast-paced films, children become connoisseurs of a good plot from an early age – but putting pencil to paper themselves can seem far more arduous. After all – where do you start?

Is your main character rebellious like Tracy Beaker, or a bookworm like Matilda? Does your story take place in a fantasy world like Hogwarts, or an everyday location like your classroom?

With so many questions for children to ask themselves, it can be tough to commit to writing a story (and perhaps easier to just distract their friends instead). Thankfully, a narrative writing checklist can help – and we’ve created a simple-yet-effective one to help get the creative brains in your KS2 class ticking.

A good story is all about SWAPS.

Nope, not swapping Lego Minifigures in the playground (although that’s also fun) – but a handy acronym to remember just what needs to go into each story in order to make it engaging for the reader.

Let’s get started….

‘S’ is for ‘Sandwich your story with a beginning, middle and end’.

If you didn’t put two slices of bread on your cheese sandwich, the filling would fall apart – and a story is much the same. Any tale will need a beginning, middle and end in order to be held together, or it’ll be very difficult to enjoy (and quite messy).

‘W’ is for ‘Who, What, Where and When’.

Before they create a truly amazing story, a child must establish who and what it’s about, as well as where it takes place, and when.

If you can brainstorm this before the story writing truly kicks off, the whole process will be far easier.

‘A’ is for ‘Animate your characters with details and descriptions’.

Animating your characters will stop them being flat – so make sure the children in your class know the importance of details and descriptions, in order to bring those characters to life.

‘P’ is for ‘Problems which need to be created and solved’.

A story isn’t a story unless ‘something’ happens! Your budding young authors need to remember that at least one problem should emerge in the story’s plot, to make sure that readers stay engaged.

‘S’ is for ‘Satisfy the reader with your story’s conclusion’.

Does the story tie up all its loose ends? Don’t leave the reader hanging – young writers should remember to finish any plot lines that they start, so the tale can come together in a tidy, complete package.

Now you’ve taught your KS2 class to use the SWAPS narrative writing checklist, it’s time to give them a chance to practice.

Mighty Writer is a unique, award-winning resource which allows children to learn to write in an all-new way. Centred around a large mat and bright, engaging picture tiles, Mighty Writer encourages children to create stories that are both engaging to read and underpinned by good grammar.

Not only is it a fantastic, visual way for KS2 children to practice working through a narrative checklist, but it will also inspire story writing confidence from children in EYFS classes and beyond.

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• Diary Entry Resources For Ks2 English

Diary entry – 8 of the best writing resources and worksheets for KS2 English

Get primary kids writing great diary entries with this selection of activities, classroom ideas and other resources…

1 | KS2 SATS TAF writing evidence – diary recount

In this writing task, pupils are asked to write a diary, recounting a key historical event. This could be used within a history topic, with pupils writing about a key event in history.

This resource pack includes:

• Personal writing skills checklist: for pupils to write their own writing checklists to encourage independent editing
• Diary Recount writing skills checklist: a list of features, without modelled examples, for pupils to use as a checklist for editing writing.
• How to Write a Diary poster: a poster for display with the key features of diary recounts.
• Jed’s Day Trip: a picture prompt for writing
• Sequencing cards: an activity to help pupils organise their own ideas for writing
• Diary Recount Planning Sheet: to support pupils when planning and organising their ideas
• Teacher Assessment Sheets: for teachers to use to assess pupils against the year 6 writing TAF statements which could be placed in pupils books as a record of evidence seen

Get all this here.

2 | A Christmas Carol diary writing

In this resource pack pupils in Year 5 and year 6 can explore characters’ viewpoints using extracts from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

They will read two extracts from this classic text and explore Scrooge’s view of Christmas at the beginning and end of the story and compare these viewpoints with his nephew’s.

In the writing tasks, pupils will write diary entries in the role of Scrooge (or another character) describing the events, and his view of them, from the two extracts provided.

Check it out here.

3 | Topical Tuesdays diary exercises with The Week Junior

If you’re not familiar with Topical Tuesdays, these weekly resources feature a news story from The Week Junior , and a series of reading and writing activities to accompany that story.

There are a whole host already available, some of which include diary writing tasks, like these:

• Imagine you are your own parent or carer and write a diary entry for a typical day of looking after you
• Write a diary entry as if you had found a tree in a lonely wood that had a tiny door in it
• Imagine you are one of the brothers who broke a world rowing record for crossing the Atlantic and write about the day you finally arrived at Antigua
• Imagine you are a Martian who wakes one day to find a strange vehicle from Earth trundling around in your back garden
• Imagine you are an archaeologist 4,000 years in the future and have just discovered the remains of the house you are living in today
• Imagine you are a detectorist who has discovered a hoard of treasure
• Imagine you are a robot with feelings, and write about the day you were programmed to do a handstand
• Imagine you live in a country like Barbados, and write a diary entry about a day where Queen Elizabeth comes to visit your town.
• Write an imaginary diary entry for the day you’re about to have organ donation surgery

Take a look at the entire Topical Tuesdays series here.

4 | Diary entry examples

If you’re after a whole selection of model texts for KS2 diary entries then head over to Literacy Wagoll where you’ll find everything from Anne Frank and ‘My first day at school’ to Hades – God of the Underworld.

See the full collection here.

5 | Year 4 diary writing

This diary writing lesson from BBC Bitesize focuses on writing the diary entry of a person from history. Use a video about Grace Darling, a heroic lighthouse keeper’s daughter, and the three activity ideas to help children plan, write and review their diary entry.

6 | Year 6 diary writing

Use another BBC Bitesize activity to teach your Year 6 pupils how to use the features of diary writing in their own work. First watch poet Michael Rosen explain how to write a recount, then watch a video about why diaries were so important in WWI.

Now it’s your pupils’ turn to write a diary entries from the perspective of Emmeline Pankhurst and Ibn Battuta.

7 | Diary writing worksheets

For a nice selection of printable diary entry worksheets then here you’ll find things like a Scottish soldier in Macbeth , nursery rhyme characters, a Stone Age Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid .

See the selection here.

8 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid diary template

This activity provides a framework for children to write their own diary entry across two days in the style of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

It is divided up into times of the day, so they’re only writing short sections for each rather than being given one long piece to do.

Get it here.

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Better Creative Writing – 10 Most Common Literary Devices

11+ Past Papers Bundle

As a creative writer, you must captivate your reader’s attention and enhance their experience by providing ways to better understand the text. For this, creative writing experts use literary devices to help them evoke the admiration of the text and make their writing impressive.

What are the literary devices? and why do we need literary devices for creative writing?

Literary devices are tools used by writers to better express their ideas and enhance their creative writing. These devices help highlight special concepts and ideas using text. As a result, it enhances the readers understanding of the text.

10 most common literary devices used in creative writing

Personification, foreshadowing.

Now let’s learn more about each literary device.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things by highlighting the similarities. Similes use “ like ” and “ as ” to establish the similarity relationship. Whenever you see the use of “as” in a sentence, it is most likely a simile.

Examples “The truck parked on the driveway was as big as an elephant.” “Martha won the race. She was as fast as lightning.” “Zak is a shy boy but as soon as he starts singing he is as brave as a lion.”

The purpose of a simile is to help paint the picture in the readers’ mind by comparing the characteristics with another well-known subject. For example, by comparing something with snow you help the reader imagine how white that thing is.

A  metaphor  is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true but helps explain an idea or make a point. It states that one thing is another thing even when literally it is not.

A metaphor should not be confused with a simile . Both are ways to compare a subject with another thing. A metaphor states that the subject “ is ” another thing whereas a simile highlights the similarity.

Examples “Martha’s new school English teacher is a dragon” “When Evie’s mum returned from work, she found the children’s room was a war zone.” “The next day of Christmas was amazing. The streets were covered with a white blanket of snow.”

The purpose of a metaphor is to paint striking images in the readers’ mind to help better express the ideas and to make the writing more effective.

Personification is when something non-human, object or animal, is given human-like qualities like yelling, howling, waving, crying etc. It’s a way of describing something as if it was a person to make the sentence sound more exciting.

Examples “I could not get enough sleep as the wind was howling all night” “My clock yelled at me in the morning and scared me to death” “When we returned from a weekend holiday, the plants in the pots were begging for water”

The purpose of personification is to evoke human emotions for non-human things so that the readers can better connect to the things. It helps to convey ideas in a way that people can relate to.

The art of exaggerating or stretching the truth to express a feeling or idea even though literally it is not possible.

Examples “ Jack will live for a hundred years.” “I’m so tired that I can sleep for a week.” “This suitcase weighs a ton.” “I’m dying of thirst. Can you please get me something to drink?” “We have waited decades for you to release an update. “

The purpose of hyperbole is to amplify personal response by the method of exaggeration. Hyperbole is used commonly in everyday speech and you are sure to have encountered or even used it without realising.

Imagery is a powerful sensory language technique that helps the reader imagine the world using descriptive details of the five senses i.e. taste ,  touch ,  sight ,  smell , and  sound . Imagery can also pertain to movement, emotions and feelings.

Examples “We carefully held hands as we crawled through the prickly bushes surrounding us.” “On our way back to the camp site we saw a black bear standing 8 feet tall with claws clamped on the trunk of a tree.” “The repulsive sweaty odour of his workout clothes made it difficult to continue the conversation.”

The purpose of imagery is to bring the writing to life, create the mood, help the reader visualise the imaginary world and make the reader feel like they are part of the experience that the author has created.

Symbolism is the use of symbols to depict deeper meanings and qualities. Like, the dove is the symbol of peace, black is the symbol of evil. Most symbols are not universal and may be used to signify different ideas and qualities. Like, the colour white can be used to signify a death in one context and purity in another context.

Examples “A river of red flowed through the battleground” “Everyone was asked to dress in white at the funeral of the famous Bollywood actor.”

The purpose of symbolism is to signify ideas and qualities that are different from their literal sense.

Flashbacks are used to introduce past events. It is either used to introduce events that happened before the story or to reflect on the events that happened earlier in the story.

Examples “As she fastened the seat belt, she remembered the time when she fell off of the top of a slide in her childhood.”

The purpose of a flashback is to convey to the reader some information about the characters background or the motives for the existing conflicts in the story.

Foreshadowing is the technique used by writers to inform their readers about an event that has to happen later in the story. It is a hint to what is going to happen later in the story.

Examples “Parents who recently moved to San Fransisco, reassures their daughter that everything at her new school is going to be fine.” – foreshadows that something might happen at the school. “The main character always looks worried and careful when going out” – foreshadows of something bad happening later and keeps the readers thinking of what may happen later.

The purpose of the foreshadowing is to help readers develop some expectations from the story or build suspense.

A motif is a recurring pattern or an idea that repeats in the story to reinforce the theme.

Examples In the Harry Potter movie, Harry’s scar is highlighted multiple times throughout the story.

The purpose of a motif is to reinforce the core theme and remind the readers of what the whole idea of the story is about.

An allegory is a literary device to express a deeper meaning, concept or hidden idea. In other words, it is a type of writing that speaks to imply a different idea that represents a larger point about human nature or society.

Examples In Animal Farm by George Orwell, the author shows how animals fight for equality which mirrors the Russian Revolution of 1917 and is a good example of allegory.

The purpose of the allegory is the make the reader understand a deeper concept that is not directly represented in the surface story. Like, you can use allegory to express the pain and suffering experienced by the characters without explicitly talking about it.

Book Recommendation

Unleash Your Creative Powers: A Handbook on Literary Devices for Kids (Amazon)

More reading

A Simple Guide To Personification With Examples Symbols in Literature: Definition and Examples of Symbolism Examples of Figurative Language: Guide to 12 Common Types Allusion Defined: 25+ Allusion Examples from Literature & Life Onomatopoeia Definition and Examples – Sound Words Oxymorons – A Writers Secret Weapon Explained Examples of allegory BBC Bitesize – What is symbolism Rhetorical Devices – 10 most common rhetorical devices Comprehensive list of adjectives for kids

KS1, KS2, SATS & 11+ Practice