1. Story starters Choose one of the story starters and create your own story. Some of these story starters are modified from Meg Corey’s “Story Starters for Upper Primary.”

2. School “Are you going to the Valentine’s Day disco at school tonight?” my mother asked. “Suppose so,” I replied casually, though really my heart was racing. I was so nervous I thought I’d die. Tonight I would meet my secret admirer. I just hoped it was the person I had sent a Valentine’s Day cards to, and not the class nerd. But how would I know? School “I have never been so embarrassed!” I cried, flinging myself on my bed. “Your assembly item couldn’t have been that bad,” my mother said in her usual, tell someone who cares, very unsympathetic voice. “It was! I can’t go out in public ever again.” I buried my head under my pillow. “Let me help you,” hissed a peculiar voice. “Who’s that?” “Someone who can turn back time,” the voice replied. Worst Day This would have to be, without a doubt the worst day of my life. One that I would like to erase from my memory. Trouble is, that won’t be easy. No one is likely to forget. Especially my drama teacher. Why did I ever go to that audition? Famous I looked closely at myself in the mirror. “You couldn’t possible expect me to impersonate a famous person,” I protested. But maybe, just maybe, with some expert make-up it could be done. “It would be very dangerous,” I added. The FBI could be very persuasive. I knew that I had to go along with their plan otherwise all our lives would be at risk.

3. Parents Kidnapped. “What do you mean you won’t pay?” the woman hissed into the phone. “No more chances. Pay up or you’ll never see them alive again!” She slammed down the receiver and shook her head. Kidnapping was proving more difficult than she has anticipated. What was wrong with these kids? Didn’t they want their parents back? Camping fun! Write a story about one of these: ‘I don’t want to go to camp!’ ‘The practical joker.’ ‘Are we there yet?’ ‘What’s that strange noise?’ ‘Are we really lost?’ ‘Why did mum have to come? Modern Fairytales. Rewrite a well known fairy tale (eg Goldilocks and the three bears) using cartoon characters in place of the main characters (eg Replace Goldilocks with Lisa Simpson, and the three bears with Pokemon). Create a picture book of this new tale and share it with others. Celebrations. Write a story about one of these: The worst birthday ever! A wedding I’ll never forget! Surprise! It’s a party! Oh no! What a mess! My end of year celebration! A thousand and one presents! Ooops I forgot Dad’s birthday

4. Mysterious Egg. Digging in your garden you discover a strange large egg. You keep it warm and it hatches a small baby dinosaur. Tell about your adventures to keep it secret from other people who want to study it for science. How will you look after it? How will you feed it? How will you hide it? Exploration Write a story about an exploration that begins with one of these: My legs have turned to jelly, and as I finally reached the top of the mountain I saw….. The sun was too hot for travel, so we sheltered under a large tree until …. My dreams had come true! I had discovered…. Fairytales 2. Write a fairytale that uses one of these sets of characters: a)A talking mushroom, a tiny green witch and a magic boat. b)A sleepy dragon, a walking flower and a magic mirror. c)A talking snail, a nasty elf and an old broom. d)A magic spell book, and ugly fairy and a flying horse. Family Write a story about one of these: My family is the best A great family day out My brother/sister comes from outer space! A family holiday to Grandmas!