Write an Amazing Story by Friday Challenge November 2023
/In the 7+ Assessment your child will be more than likely asked to write a story. Each school has their own criteria for the Assessments that they expect the children to sit.
Let’s take a look at one school as an example.
North London Collegiate School
This is a very popular school that we prepare our girls for. Our girls are starting earlier and earlier each year, which is great. Competition for this school is fierce at 7+. At 7+, there are on 8-10 places. However, if this is a school that you think you’d like your daughter to attend at 11+ anyway, it is definitely worth trying at 7+. If your daughter is successful, you won’t have the headache of the 11+! Considering how many girls they actually take at 7+, my personal success rates at getting girls into this school at 7+ are just exceptional (I also have amazing success rate at 4+ and 11+)
So in this Assessment the girls will need to:
Write an imaginative story using full sentences and some interesting vocabulary.
Read fluently with understanding and give answers to written questions.
Write the answers to these questions in simple sentences.
Understand the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and ‘sharing’/division and be able to apply these rules in order to solve word problems.
Know the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables.
Have a basic understanding of shape, time and money.
Interpret simple tables and charts.
In our challenge this week, we will be looking at Story writing and I will be providing you with the tools and strategies that you need in order to be able to support your child with their writing in the 7+ Assessments.
Here are a few things to take into consideration:
Each school will have different types of questions. I have been preparing children for over 16 years for their 7+ Assessments so I have a very strong idea about what will come up. Of course, things can and do change so it’s important to prepare for all eventualities.
Most schools ask children to write a fiction story.
However non- fiction can and does come up so please do practise this too.
Here are some examples of non-fiction writing:
Non chronological reports
Newspaper reports
Debate writing
Biographies
Letter writing (formal and non formal)
Instructional writing
We don’t spend too much time on these BUT it is important that your child knows the features of these genres of writing just incase they are asked to do one of these! So do revise these too. I usually leave these to close to the Assessments so that it is fresh in my students’ minds should they be asked to write in this way.
Most likely, your child will be asked to write a fictitious piece of writing. So this is what we will focus on this week.
We will use picture stimuli as our starting point. This has come up several times at several different schools. Your child will be given a series of pictures (between 3 and 5 pictures) and they will be asked to write a story about the pictures.
Here are the pictures:
So, your child would be given these pictures and they would be asked to write a story about them.
They will be given between 20 to 40 minutes to write their story, with most schools giving 30 minutes. Your child will need to know how to manage their time and be able to write their story within the timeframe provided. If your child doesn’t complete their story, this isn’t an issue. The main focus is that they write a high quality story filled with ambitious language, creativity and imagination.
I will show you model writing of a story title that has come up several times in the 7+ Assessment.
The story title is the path (it also relates to the images above)
The Path
Introduction
Introduce the character
Introduce the setting
Introduce the problem
Use higher level descriptive language
Use a variety of sentence openers
There was once a boy named George. An adventurous boy, George always found fun things to do. Kind hearted and fun, George was staying in a cabin in the deep, dark woods with his mother who was working on a new project. That morning, his mother had set off to work and warned George that he was not to go out exploring the woods alone. Nodding sweetly, George assured her that he would stay in the cabin until she returned. Happily, George stared out of the large window at the stunning nature that surrounded the cabin. Before he knew it, he heard roaring thunder and lightning struck in front of his eyes. Just then, it began to rain. Running towards the door, George decided he would go out just for a few minutes because he had always adored the rain.
Middle
Go into detail about the problem
Use higher level descriptive language
Use fantastic sentence openers
Include speech
Use figurative language (either personification or a simile)
Filled with joy, George ran excitedly into the woods. The bitterly cold rain caressed his skin as he continued to run as fas as he could. Before he knew it, he had ran a little too far and he felt a little confused about where he was. Not knowing the way back home, George took shelter under a tall willow tree. In front of him were two paths. One was leading onto a storm and the other seemed as though it was leading towards a beautiful sunset. Unsure which path to take, George looked up and saw a wise owl.
“Oh wise owl, please tell me which path I should take?” asked George quietly.
“You should take the path leading towards the storm. Although this path is the most dangerous, it is the one that will lead you home little boy!” replied the owl.
Ending
Resolve the problem
Use higher level descriptive language
Use fantastic sentence openers
End with a moral, a question or a cliff hanger (ellipses)
Bravely, George set off through the path that lead him towards the storm. Lightning seemed to split the sky in two and thunder struck loudly. Covering his head with his hood, George continued down the path. This had been a terrible mistake and he should have listened to his mother. Tears began to fall delicately down his cheek and he closed his eyes and made a wish. Wishing to be back home safe and sound, he opened his eyes and to his surprise the mighty owl had swooped him up into the air and took him back home, soaring through the air…
Story Analysis
I worked for 3 years at a Top Pre Prep in Hampstead and I have marked hundreds (probably thousands by this point!) of stories. I know exactly what these schools are looking for and I support my students to be able to write the highest quality stories possible. I am always filled with joy when we come to around November/December time. This time of year is just magical for story writing. For my students who have been working consistently on their story writing since August, their story writing now is just exceptional. For those who have been with me for a shorter time, their writing is beginning to develop and each week, I see their confidence growing and their enthusiasm becoming more and more.
Why is this a superb introduction?
Let’s take a look together…
There was once a boy named George. An adventurous boy, George always found fun things to do. Kind hearted and fun, George was staying in a cabin in the deep, dark woods with his mother who was working on a new project. That morning, his mother had set off to work and warned George that he was not to go out exploring the woods alone. Nodding sweetly, George assured her that he would stay in the cabin until she returned. Happily, George stared out of the large window at the stunning nature that surrounded the cabin. Before he knew it, he heard roaring thunder and lightning struck in front of his eyes. Just then, it began to rain. Running towards the door, George decided he would go out just for a few minutes because he had always adored the rain.
Clearly introduces the character, setting and problem.
Uses higher level description
Uses varied sentence openers for effect
Why is this an excellent Middle paragraph?
Filled with joy, George ran excitedly into the woods. The bitterly cold rain caressed his skin as he continued to run as fas as he could. Before he knew it, he had ran a little too far and he felt a little confused about where he was. Not knowing the way back home, George took shelter under a tall willow tree. In front of him were two paths. One was leading onto a storm and the other seemed as though it was leading towards a beautiful sunset. Unsure which path to take, George looked up and saw a wise owl.
“Oh wise owl, please tell me which path I should take?” asked George quietly.
“You should take the path leading towards the storm. Although this path is the most dangerous, it is the one that will lead you home little boy!” replied the owl.
Superb sentence openers
Beautiful descriptive language
Accurate speech punctuation used
Links to the title (the path)
Links to the introduction
Why is this a wonderful ending?
Bravely, George set off through the path that lead him towards the storm. Lightning seemed to split the sky in two and thunder struck loudly. Covering his head with his hood, George continued down the path. This had been a terrible mistake and he should have listened to his mother. Tears began to fall delicately down his cheek and he closed his eyes and made a wish. Wishing to be back home safe and sound, he opened his eyes and to his surprise the mighty owl had swooped him up into the air and took him back home, soaring through the air…
Amazing descriptive language
Superb openers
Imaginative and creative
Ends with a cliff hanger
So there you have Story Writing for the 7+.
I truly hope that you found this really helpful and that it will help your child to write an amazing story in the 7+ Assessments.
At the end of the Challenge, I will ask students to use my model to write their own story called ‘The Path’.
You are very welcome to ask your chid to also write this story and you can send me their story to office@creativemindstutors.com. I will mark all stories that I receive with detailed feedback and next steps.
If your child is sitting their 7+ Assessments this academic year or the following one, book your Sample lesson today and let’s get started and get the best results possible in all of the 7+ Assessments.
I have had exceptional results these last 16 years and will continue to have incredible results. I am certain of that!
