Writing - worksheets

Here are suggestions and ideas on ways to inspire your child to enjoy writing in its various forms. We start with emergent writing and move on to more advanced planning up to writing about Shakespeare. Most of the early writing skills will progress from colouring, to pencil skills, and then to pen. Children should use computer skills to enhance their work at all stages. At the bottom of the writing page we have added some fiction ideas as the reading of books and poetry helps stimulate the imagination, increase vocabulary and gives ideas for the different forms of story writing needed as children approach secondary school and beyond.

The worksheets featured are examples of the wide range of English advice and guidance available to members of Parents in Touch.

Emergent writing

Emergent writing refers to a child's early attempts to use print in a meaningful way. It helps children master some of the skills needed to learn to read and write.All these pages arise from adults and children talking together about a story or nursery rhyme. Reading stories to your child helps their concentration and imagination. Your child's vocabulary and writing skills can be improved by creating a different story on a theme.

Links to most of the papers below will be active only if you are logged in as a subscriber to Parents in Touch (i.e. not if you are a guest or registered user).

Help your child have fun writing
Ideas for FS writing
Our cafe - thoughts for parents
Weekend activities

Development of reading, writing and understanding

Here are some ideas to help you inspire your child. It is often a good idea to spend some time to discuss ideas before they put pen to paper. This can be fun and the children need to feel very proud of the outcome of their writing..

Patterned language
KS1 English revision paper Dragons
Winnie the Pooh
Tom's diary-writing
Non-narrative ideas Year 1
Learning to write in sentences
Fish in the sea-Key stage 1 writing task
KS1 writing task Patch's diary
English ideas for Year 1
Story Writing - progression
Writing tasks at KS1
Big writing
Two little kittens writing exercise for KS1
How to stimulate your child to write stories
Help writing narrative stories
Sentences KS1
Fill in the missing words
Write a sentence about each picture
Words for all
Using vocabulary
Writing exciting sentences
Winter sentences KS1
A tale of a tail
Find the right word
Sentences and pictures KS1

Story ideas

The story ideas below are included to encourage children to have the ability to describe and convey feelings, emotions and imagination through different forms of creative writing. Try discussing some of the ideas below with your child and suggest that they make a list of the ones they like and help them compile a story plan.

Mind maps and how to use them
The story board of animals
Little Red Riding Hood
Words and sentences KS1
Write this story about a cat
The fireman story
Party stories - story writing
Up in the sky storyboard
Write a pirate story
Jungle adventure writing
Under the sea storyboard
Thank you letter
Helpful, helpful, helpful - KS 1
Happy, happy, happy - Key stage1 creative writing
Eating, eating, eating - story writing
Laugh, laugh, laugh - writing story
Writing ideas for Year 2
Storymat 5
Little Red Hen writing topic
 
Suggestions for story writing KS1
Think about your story
Colourful sentences for KS1
Describing words KS1
Can you tell this story KS1
Complete the sentences KS1
 
Seasons writing KS1
Brainstorming words
Comprehension on a new popular hobby
Character profiles KS2
Descriptive writing seasons Year 4
Story writing tips
Story starter - the monster
Planning story writing
Writing tips from children's authors
Think about description KS2
Writing character description
Persuasive texts KS2
Short story writing Years 5 and 6
English exercises

To encourage children to enjoy writing it is best to keep any exercises short at first. Gradually the content of the work can be increased as the child's confidence grows. Encourage all children to use a wide vocabulary with colourful adverbs and adjectives.
KS1 exercise in English
A shorter writing task with guidelines
Story prompts for winter KS1
KS1 English longer writing task 2
KS1 Longer writing task 2 - the best game
Choose the correct word
Plural and opposite words KS1
Writing a book review
Year 3 English practice
Vocabulary paper for Year 5
Vocabulary paper for Year 3
Words, words, words
Recount text
Character profile writing
Creative writing: decsribe a painting
Setting the scene writing
Writing a balanced argument
Brighten up your writing
The bike ride KS2
Characterisation KS2
Shorter writing task Year 3-mice
Writing prompts for winter KS2

 Big Writing and VCOP

Many more resources can be found through the Worksheet Finder.
VCOP information and explanation
Word wall activities
VCOP vocabulary
Wow words

Poetry helps writing skills too. See our poetry worksheets.

More story writing ideas

Below we have included a selection of ideas, headings, and beginnings of stories to encourage use of imagination, increase your child's range of vocabulary and to enjoy story writing.

My space journal
My amazing journey -story writing
Story starter 5-the inventor
How shopping habits have changed
Story starter 2
Story starter 3
Story starter 4
Planet Dartius-story writing
Revision English KS2 story writing
Story ideas for 8, 9 & 10 year olds
KS2 specimen English exam 2007
A longer writing task KS2 with guidelines
Key stage 2 shorter writing task
Year 3 optional English reading paper
A Pacific island
Mercury and the axe-comprehension
Working with others
KS2 English SATS-type Animals
Revision tips on story wrting
Letters from around the world
Creative writing: stories with a moral
Descriptive writing - characters
Writing an essay
Peter Pan creative writing ideas
If I had wings story writing
Punctuating and story writing worksheet
Personification worksheet for KS2
Ideas for story writing for KS2
Story writing - setting
Colourful writing
Word quiz KS2
Word meanings Year 3
The shoe factory KS2

Some children think logically and therefore find factual writing easier than creative. It is necessary to be able to do both, so we have included some factual writing examples below.

Thank you letter
Letter writing
Book review 2
A shorter writing task with guidelines
How to make a cheese sandwich
School match report
Persuasive writing
How to make a cup of tea
Persuasion and discussion texts
Magazine for teenagers
Improve your writing style KS3 and 4
Thoughts and planning of stories
Letter writing topic
If I had wings story writing
Writing a newspaper report
Writng a recount text for Years 3 and 4
Writing an instruction text
Non fiction writing revision Year 6
Non fiction writing practice questions Year 6
Story writing ideas
Formal or informal writing
How to write a summary
Non fiction writing for KS2
Setting out an information text
Creative writing fairy tales

Children often enjoy writing postcards and actually posting them!

Postcards for you to send
Postcard about new pet
Postcard for school trip
Postcard on Camping trip
Postcard to Grandmother

Fiction

Here are some passages from well known fiction books which can be used to encourage reading and understanding.

Harry Potter
The machine gunners
Lord of the flies
Charlotte's web
The wreck of the Zanzibar
Bill's new frock
Charlie and the chocolate factory
Cliffhanger
Jabberwocky
Katie Morag
Grandpa Chatterji
Goodnight Mr Tom
Tom's midnight garden
The wind in the willows
Roald Dahl activities
Street Child
The midnight fox
There's a boy in the girls' bathroom
The angel of Nitshill Road

 

Click here for KS3 English pages

 

Sign in