Primary English: Writing a Short Story

Primary English: Writing a Short Story — Tutor Lesson Plan

2026-10-27

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Most stories are “and then” plus a tense that jumps. Two rules fix them: four parts, and the past tense all the way through.

Objectives — the student can plan four paragraphs, keep the past simple throughout, and bring a character alive with one line of dialogue and one action.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Past simple	Past of go, see, eat	went, saw, ate
Linkers	One sentence each with and, but, because	Correct
Paragraphs	Write a paragraph with a topic sentence	Correct

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Four parts	Opening, development, problem, ending	Write a four-line plan
8-18 min	Tense	Past simple throughout	Rewrite three sentences
18-30 min	Detail	One dialogue line, one action	Write one paragraph
30-38 min	Linkers	and, but, because	Add three
38-42 min	Peer review	Checklist	Name one problem
42-45 min	Exit check	Collect plan and paragraph	Finish alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Four parts, four jobs

Paragraph one: who, where, when. Two: what happened. Three: the problem. Four: how it ended.
Four parts give the story a shape.

Student writes four lines of plan.

Scene 2: Past simple all the way

Once there was a boy. He found a key. He opened the door.
Dialogue may use the present because it is direct speech.

Student circles every verb and checks the tense.

Scene 3: One line of dialogue, one action

“Help me!” he shouted, and ran towards the gate.
One quotation and one action and the character exists.

Student writes one dialogue line.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Plan	Four lines for a title	One per part	By task
Tense	Rewrite in the past	Past simple	By sentence
Detail	Add dialogue and action	One line each	By task
Linkers	Join with and, but, because	Three places	By task

Sanity check (teach this): Every verb outside quotation marks is in the past; a jumping tense is the biggest single loss of marks.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
“He runs to the gate” as a story line	He ran to the gate.	Past tense
Write one line of dialogue	By task	Quotation plus reporting verb
Four-line plan for a story	By task	Four parts with events

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Tense jumps	mixes present and past	Past simple throughout.
List of events	and then, and then	Each part needs a turn.
No dialogue	narration only	Add one line.
No ending	stops mid-story	Part four resolves it.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

English chapter index — Use the three questions on this page

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Story tense	Past simple	All right: move to letters
What do the four parts do?	Open, develop, problem, end	One wrong: re-teach structure
Dialogue tense	Present is allowed	Two wrong: repeat scene 2

09 Tutor FAQ

Plan first?

Yes, four lines is enough.

Not enough words?

Add dialogue or action, not reflection.

Past continuous?

Allowed in Primary 6, but stabilise the past simple first.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.