Good Morning Year 2!
Click here for a printable version of this blog post: Thursday English printable
We’ve been doing lots of work about being kind and how to do kind things for other people. Today we’re going to write a story all about kindness.
There are three pictures, and you can choose one of them to base your story on. I’ve included some questions to go with each picture to get you thinking about what to include, but then there are some general things for you to think about as well.
Option 1: Hedgehog needs a hug
Hedgehog Needs A Hug
- Where is the hedgehog?
- What is it doing?
- How is it feeling? How do you know?
- Why is the hedgehog here? Why is it alone?
- The title of this illustration is, ‘Hedgehog Needs a Hug’. Why does the hedgehog need a hug?
- Tell this hedgehog’s story. Will it ever find someone to hug? Will someone be kind enough to keen hedgehog company?
Option 2: Girl and her dragon
Girl and Her Dragon
- Where are the girl and the dragon? What can they see from this place? What are they looking at?
- Why are they here?
- Are they friends? Does the girl own the dragon as a pet? Or does the dragon own the girl as its pet?
- What species of dragon do you think it is? Is it friendly?
- Does anyone else know that they’re up here? What might other people say about their friendship?
- Write about the adventures of the girl and the dragon. Are they kind enough to help someone?
Option 3: Best Friends
Best Friends
- Why is this picture called ‘Best Friends’?
- Does the dragon belong to the boy, or does the boy belong to the dragon?
- Who lives in the house?
- Where does the dragon live?
- How did they become friends?
- What is friendship? What makes a good friend?
- Tell their story. How are they kind to each other?
At school, we always take time to plan out stories, so that we know what will happen. A story always has:
- A beginning – to set the scene and introduce the characters
- A middle – to explain the problem or something happens
- An ending – to solve the problem and finish the story.
Use this planning template to help you, you can write or draw what you want to happen in your story. Story Planner
We often use this planning mat as well, as it shows us lots of things to include in our writing and a helpful checklist for when we are editing. Story writing frame KS1
You can either send in your plan or you can write up your first paragraph of your story. Whichever you do, I’ll be able to give you some feedback so that you can then carry on with your story at home, ready to share with everyone tomorrow.
*Today will be a busy day, writing a story always takes us a lot of time and we often do it over many sessions. Take a break if you are feeling tired and then you can always finish it off later.
If you want an extension, here is something you can do from the 50 Ways to be Happy book. See if you can spot people being kind, whether that is people in your family or people you see outside. If you know the people, you can make them a certificate to say well done!
Dear Miss Carruthers,
I chose the Girl and the dragon and below is the beginning of the story:
Once upon a time there lived a girl ?and a dragon ?called Mary and Bubble. They went on adventures all the time and rescued everyone in trouble. One sunny ? day something dreadful happened. A snake ? came and scared ? Bubble so he flew away…
Fantastic Marie! Well done for setting the scene well. I hope Bubble will be okay! 🙂 Try and use some adjectives to describe Mary and Bubble in the rest of your story. Are they big, small, happy, sad, what do they look like…?
Once upon a time, just before Christmas, a little young prickly hedgehog called Max, was hiding under a bush in the windy forest.
Max was very sad. He was nearly crying because he needed a big hug and he is was spiky that nobody wanted to come close to him.
There were a lot of green trees. Suddenly, Max saw a sign :”kind monkey in this forest”. He run into another huge bush and nearly bumped into a speedy monkey who was swinging from trees to trees. Monkey was surprised but smiled at Max and asked him his name. Monkey noticed hedgehog was preoccupied and asked him why. They started to chat, to laugh and to play.
I will write the end tomorrow.
Oh lovely Adrien 🙂 I am so impressed with the number of adjectives you have used in your writing to describe your characters and the setting. In the rest of your story, see if you can vary and use different sentence openers – have a look at the story writing frame for ideas.
Your handwriting is so neat Adrien 🙂 Amazing! Keep it up! ⭐
Hedgehog ?Needs a Hug
Beginning- Hedgehog? is in the park? and people are ignoring him. He is waiting for someone to take him home. He feels scared? and l know because he looks frightened. His name is George. He lost his mummy and daddy because he saw apples? on the tree? and wanted to eat them.
Middle – He walks around the park and finds a girl and boy playing. They wrap him in a jumper and carry him to look for his mummy and daddy.
End- They find mummy and daddy. They were looking for George at the entrance to the park . Everyone is happy ? and friends.
Very good planning Sophia 🙂 I think that is a lovely story and I’m pleased it has such a happy ending! Take your time when writing it and try to include lots of adjectives to describe what something looks like or how they are feeling. Well done!
Hedgehog ? Needs a Hug
There was a hedgehog he lived under an oak tree all by himself. He was cleaning his oak tree. He was so tired because he lived on his own and he had to take care of his oak tree all on his own. Cooking, cleaning, sleeping and eating! He needed a hug. He was feeling stressed-out because he had not been resting at all! You might think, “why does he never have visitors?” and that’s because one day something terrible happened. Hedgehog was preparing a feast for some of his omnivore friends. When the friends came to the feast, there were only veggies on the table. But even though his friends were omnivores they still liked meat so much more than veggies. So they left the oak tree! And told everybody else how mean the hedgehog was to them. So nobody came to the oak tree! But the poor hedgehog was just trying to make them happy by having a feast with his friends.
Poor little hedgehog! Well done Luisa, this is a great start to your story! Try and think of different ways to start your sentences (there are a lot of ‘He’ and conjunctions, which aren’t meant to be at the start of a sentence!) – who can use the ideas from the Story Writing Frame on the blog. 🙂
What a wonderful start to your story Jack, really well done! ⭐ You’ve made it very descriptive and included how she is feeling at different points. (And you’ve given her a great name… 🙂 )
Hello Miss ,
I have done my work and I did the hedgehog needs a hug.
Well done Marisa! Once you’ve had a break, go back to your writing and read it out loud to someone in your family. This will help you to notice if you have missed out any words or punctuation.
Can you add some more adjectives? What does hedgehog look like?
Well done Finley, a good start to your story 🙂 Try to give a bit more detail:
Hedgehog’s family had gone on a trip. Hedgehog was getting ready to leave but then he realised that his family was gone! All of a sudden, he felt incredibly sad and lonely…
HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG
Once upon a time there was a hedgehog who needed a hug. He lost his family and they called him Jerry. The hedgehog was lost in the forest, and his family did not know where he was. Then he was getting more and more lost by the minute walking through the trees in different directions. He was feeling sad. There were pictures of him posted so people could help find him. Jerry had been missing and alone for two months. He needs a hug because he has not hugged anyone for a long time. But then he said to himself, “I know I am going to find my family one day, and someone will be kind to me.” One year later, he finally found his family and they were all so happy to see him again. They had so much fun they played games and made some cakes.
Well done Layla. 🙂 See if you can read your story out to a member of your family so that you can hear it out loud and make it even better. I think you could restructure some of your sentences to help it flow more, and start them in different ways.
Dear Miss Carruthers,
I am writing a story about a Hedgehog called Jonathan who lives in a burrow. Jonathan goes on an adventure to look for some food. He gets caught in a thunderstorm and heavy rains.
He gets lost and can’t find his way home. He has an interesting experience on his adventure.
How exciting, I can’t wait to here about his exciting journey home 🙂 Make sure you use lots of adjectives to make it even more interesting to read!
Hedgehog Needs a Hug
One day Hedgehog was lost in the streets looking for his mum and dad. He was feeling upset because he lost his family and he loved them so much. Hedgehog had been playing tag with his friends and his mum and dad thought they had taken him home but they hadn’t. He needed a hug so much because he missed his mum and dad and was very scared. Suddenly he saw a friend and his friend took him home to his mum and dad and they all had a big hug together. And they lived happily ever after the end.
Well done Rafael! I love that you used Suddenly to start a sentence. See if you can find other ways of starting your sentences and try to include some more adjectives. Use the Story Writing Frame for help 🙂
⭐ Sophie! ⭐ What an amazing opening to your story! You’ve really thought carefully about your sentences and how to make your reader feel sad for hedgehog. I love the way you have done it so that we can hear hedgehog’s thoughts. I cannot wait to read the rest 🙂
hedgehog needs a hug.
once upon a time, there was a sad and lonely hedgehog. he was always alone because his parents are always working and barely get to see him. he has no siblings, but all he wants is a hug. he is sad that he barely sees his parents. one day he will get the hug he deserves, as he is just a kind little boy who needs a nice hug.
Well done Gabriel, you’ve made me feel very sorry for the hedgehog 🙂 Make sure you keep to the story (you said boy in the last sentence, not hedgehog) and please remember your capital letters at the start of each sentence, they are so important 🙂
Romey, I love your story board! I think it is going to be an excellent story and can’t wait to read it tomorrow. When you are writing it, try and do 1 or 2 sentences for each picture, and have one adjective for each picture. Well done 🙂
Good afternoon Miss Carruthers,
we used the story planner to write our story and tomorrow we will finish it. My mum uploaded our work.
Great use of the story planners girls 🙂
Spiky the hedgehog lived in a hole in the forest. He was a lonely hedgehog because he had lost his family when he was playing hide and seek. He hid deep in the forest and nobody came to rescue him. He didn’t know he was in rabbit city. Rabbits from all around the city reported that their berries on their bushes were going missing. They didn’t know of course that Spiky was taking and eating them. Spiky was amazed to see so many holes everywhere but he didn’t know that underneath our feet live thousands of rabbits in rabbit holes and all their holes connect to each other a bit like our supermarkets but underground. He did not know that the hole was living in belonged to a rabbit called Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop was a shy rabbit and needed a friend because she never said anything. One day Spiky was in his hole making some berry breakfast and he heard a knock on his door. He opened the door to find a little rabbit and the rabbit hopped straight away into the wilderness. Spiky went out of his hole and saw a little brown tail peaking out from a bush. He went over to the bush and tugged the little tail. The rabbit immediately jumped out of the bush and ran to a tree. He camouflaged in because he was the same shade brown as the tree but he did have a little white streak on him that Spiky noticed. Spiky said hello and the rabbit listened to everything he said very politely. The rabbit shook Spiky’s hand and said “Nice to meet you. My name is Hip-Hop.”
What a wonderful start to your story, I can’t wait to see what happens to Spiky and Hip-Hop 🙂 As you continue, try to start your sentences in different ways. What about using an adverb like, quietly or quickly?
Hello miss, here’s my story about the hedgehog and the hug.
Beginning:
There was a hedgehog called Joe who wanted to say hello to his grandma who lives far, far away.
He always uses the computer to chat with her.
Middle:
But one day the computer was broken and Joe didn’t know how to fix it. Then his best friend Ted passed by.
End:
Ted is a genius with computers and he fixed the problem right away. And Joe can from now on happily call his grandma again.
A really good plan Bo, I can’t wait to read your story tomorrow. Make sure you use lots of adjectives to make it interesting for your reader!
I have finish
That’s a lovely story Joshua with such a happy ending! Now that you have finished it, can you read it out loud to someone in your family? You’ll realised that you have missed quite a few full stops to end your sentences (and capital letters to start the next sentence) and reading it aloud will help you to spot them. You need one whenever there is a pause or you take a breath 🙂
This is what I’ve written so far. I’ll finish it tomorrow. I’ve done the boy and the dragon story.
Chapter zero:
A very quick introduction:
Once upon a time there was a little boy called Billy James Fisherman Bond. He lived in a small blue house by the sea, with his mum, his dad, his grandparents, his brother George and his sister Lily. They were both older than him (it’s quite obvious that his parents and grandparents are) and they both picked on him for that. He wasn’t just the youngest of this family, he was the youngest of his whole family too. His cousins were older than him his grandpa’s children were older than him, his grandma’s children were older than him. Name any relative. Billy was younger than them.
Chapter one:
Just another day going to the beach but this time’s different – really different
Billy lay in bed early one morning, petrified. No – 3 o’clock one night. He had just seen something you definitely would’ve been petrified by if you saw. Well, at that time. Loads and loads of fire was covering his bedroom window. Actually, you would probably be petrified at any time if you saw that. Well, at least he’d be nice and warm for the rest of that night and about twenty nights more. But he was still petrified. “W-w-what is th-th-that?” He stammered. What does it look like? A giant red Ferrari with ‘I will only eat pizza, spaghetti and burgers from now on’ written in bright yellow on the back? Clearly, this boy had to be taught what the English dictionary even does! Get a dictionary, find ‘F’ and then find ‘Fire’! It’s that simple! (Google dictionary is simpler.) Oh, yes the fact that it was 3 o’clock in the morning and that he needed glasses to see properly. That makes it a bit fairer for him.
Well done Rex! This looks like the start of a book rather than a short story!! 🙂 I can’t wait to read the rest. I hope you will continue to write the middle and end of your story in this much detail – don’t let it fizzle out!!
We sent in our story plan.
Thank you!
Emilia – a very exciting story plan! I like how you have included lots of adjectives. In your ending, it sounds as though the adventure is just beginning! Make sure you bring your story to a close and have the adventure in the middle 🙂
Isabella – Well done, it is a great plan! I like the story you are going to tell. Can you try to include some description about your characters’ feelings during the story? I think that would make them come to life more 🙂
My mom just uploaded my story about a hedgehog ? needing a hug.
Oh Kristian that is such a lovely story! I’m pleased to see you using because to extend so many of your sentences. Can you continue your story so we can see what happens next? 🙂
Once upon a time there was a hedgehog who was alone. He had no one to hug and accompany him. So he walked around and saw a family of hedgehogs. He thought, I wish i could have a family too. He walked towards the hedge and when he was in the middle of the road he saw a car coming. He ran to the hedge and asked if he could come in. They said of course! He got in and had a big dinner until it was night. So they went to sleep.
Well done Albert 🙂 Try and think of different ways to start your sentences so that they don’t all start with ‘He’ or ‘So’
The hedgehog
Once upon a time there was a family hedgehog which was daddy hedgehog, mummy hedgehog and baby hedgehog. They were going for a afternoon walk through the forest but the baby hedgehog got tired and stopped for a rest. Daddy hedgehog and mummy didn’t know that baby hedgehog had stopped for a rest and carried on walking . Soon baby hedgehog was all alone and he was very scared and sad. He waited and waited thinking his daddy and mummy will come back but they didn’t . Then after some time me and daddy saw the hedgehog and I picked him up and gave him a hug because he look so frightened and then me and daddy went to look for his daddy and mummy and found them around the corner. Baby hedgehog was so happy to see his parents.
The end
What a wonderful story Mila 🙂 Can you describe what the baby hedgehog felt like to hold?