In this two-page planning sheet, Year 5 pupils act as the director of a short suspense film for a children's television programme. They answer three planning questions, then sketch six storyboard panels, each with a one-sentence caption. The panels run from The Setup through The Climax to The Resolution. The task follows the England National Curriculum writing composition objectives for planning a narrative, so there are no set answers.
Writing - composition
“Identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own”
The brief names the audience as Year 5 children and the purpose as building tension.
Writing - composition
“Noting and developing initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary”
The three Story Ideas questions and the six panels form the plan before any drafting starts.
Writing - composition
“In narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action”
The instructions ask pupils to show atmosphere and character reactions in each panel.
Pupils choose a main character and a creepy setting, the source of suspense (a strange noise, a shadow, a locked door), and whether the ending is a false alarm or a real threat.
Six panels, from The First Clue and Building Tension to The Discovery and The Climax (Highest Tension), each with a drawing box and a caption line.
Before extended writing
Use the storyboard in the lesson before pupils draft, so the plot is settled before they write.
After a film clip
Watch a short clip with a slow build of tension. Pupils then plan their own story in the same six steps.
Talk for writing
Pupils tell their story to a partner panel by panel. The partner points out where the tension drops.
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