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Build clear sentences, connected stories and useful descriptions through 20 core lessons for Years 3–4. Learn from examples, try a small task and bring the pieces together. Five bonus lessons show how to notice a writer’s choices in stories and turn one technique into your own writing.
Your route through this course
For Years 3–4 children who can write simple sentences and need manageable steps towards connected paragraphs and a complete piece. An adult can help read instructions without supplying the child’s answer.
Begin with the sentence lessons, then build one character, one problem and a connected response. Take short sessions when needed. Finish the core course in Lessons 1–20; Lessons 21–25 are optional reading-to-write extensions, not a prerequisite for the core retest.
How to use a lesson
- Know the goal. Read the lesson card. Use its time guide and split a long lesson into shorter sessions before starting a timed task.
- Understand the example. Read the explanation and worked examples. Point to the words that create the effect.
- Make your own attempt. Try the marker task or drill before opening its explanation. Compare the reason as well as the answer; more than one response may work.
- Apply and revise. Complete the writing task, use the feedback to choose one change, then try the skill in a fresh sentence or passage. Keep your original separately.
Use Next and Back to move through the lesson, or the Steps menu to revisit a section. Core and optional tasks are identified in the lesson. A completed activity records practice; it is not a guarantee of mastery.
Your checkpoints and finishing task
- Lesson 4: Get ideas onto the page — Write a few connected sentences and read them back. Keep the message clear before adding more.
- Lesson 9: Connect a short story — Plan a character, problem and response, then check that the ending belongs to the problem.
- Lesson 17: Write for a reader — Give a useful reason in a letter or review rather than only saying that something is good.
- Lesson 20: Choose one next step — Keep the first and later pieces. Name one thing that became clearer and one skill to practise next.
A technique to try now
Show a connected response
Before: Ben lost his key. Then he ate lunch. The end.
After: Ben checked his coat pocket again. He shook the coat over the mat, and the key landed beside his shoe.
The second version gives Ben an action that responds to the missing key. A longer story could make finding it harder, but the events still need to connect.
Try it: Write your own two-sentence example. Explain one choice you made, then revise that choice if it does not fit your meaning.
Finish a piece, then choose the next practice
Read your work with a purpose
- Read the piece aloud or ask an adult to read the exact words.
- Say who the piece is about and what happens.
- Check that each sentence helps the reader.
- Add one useful detail rather than many extra words.
- Choose one improvement and try it in a new piece.
Keep a small writing portfolio
Keep the prompt, date, original response, any help you used and your next revision. After revising, explain what changed and why. A useful next step is a skill you can practise, not simply “get a higher score”.
Use the five bonus lessons alongside reading, choosing the supplied alternatives when a book or film is unavailable. Move to the next course when the child can plan and finish a short piece independently; age alone is not the only guide.
For parents: support independent practice
Ask the child to explain one example and one choice in their own work. If they get stuck, reread the instruction together or return to the worked example. Let the child supply the wording. Record any help used in a timed task so later comparisons remain meaningful.
Feedback on open writing is guidance to check against the actual text. Keep a well-supported alternative when it serves the task; do not change a correct sentence only to match a model.
This course teaches foundations for school writing and later assessment preparation. The examples and practice routines do not promise an ICAS award or a NAPLAN proficiency level.
Module 1 — Sentences that grow
- Lesson 1: Join Ideas Without Changing Them
Join ideas while keeping their meaning.
- Lesson 2: Boundaries and Useful Punctuation
Use boundaries and punctuation to guide the reader.
- Lesson 3: Make Time and Meaning Clear
Keep time and meaning clear through verb choices.
- Lesson 4: Practise Getting Words onto the Page
Build a manageable routine for getting words down.
Module 2 — A story with a shape
- Lesson 5: A Character with a Purpose
Give a character a clear purpose.
- Lesson 6: Connect the Problem and the Response
Connect the problem to the character’s response.
- Lesson 7: Five Decisions for a Short Story
Make five useful decisions for a short story.
- Lesson 8: Bring a Detail Back with Meaning
Return to a detail with a changed meaning.
- Lesson 9: Plan, Write and Check on a Clock
Plan, write and check within a practice window.
Module 3 — Words you own
- Lesson 10: Choose Details That Help the Reader
Choose details that help the reader picture the moment.
- Lesson 11: Choose How to Express a Feeling
Choose a way to express a feeling.
- Lesson 12: Owning Thirty Words
Learn a small bank of words you can explain and use.
- Lesson 13: Practice Run: Feelings as Consequences
Connect an event to its emotional consequence.
Module 4 — Description and persuasion
- Lesson 14: A Description of a Setting
Describe a setting with selected details.
- Lesson 15: A Description of a Character
Reveal a character through purposeful description.
- Lesson 16: The Complication and the Ending
Connect a complication to a meaningful ending.
- Lesson 17: The Persuasive Forms: a Letter and a Review
Practise persuasion through a letter and a review.
Module 5 — Complete pieces and review
- Lesson 18: What High Distinction Looks Like
Judge stronger examples using clear criteria.
- Lesson 19: The 35-Minute ICAS Routine and the NAPLAN Routine
Practise complete writing routines under time.
- Lesson 20: Retest and Choose Your Next Practice
Retest and choose the next useful practice.
Bonus — Read like a writer
- Lesson 21: How to Read a Book Like a Writer
Notice a writer’s choices while reading.
- Lesson 22: Dissecting Five Classic Picture Books
Explore story techniques through picture books.
- Lesson 23: Dissecting Disney and Pixar I: Finding Nemo and Inside Out
Discuss character and change in Finding Nemo and Inside Out.
- Lesson 24: Dissecting Disney and Pixar II: Moana, Toy Story and Up
Explore goals and story development in Moana, Toy Story and Up.
- Lesson 25: Try One Technique a Week
Try one reading-inspired writing technique each week.
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