Skip to content
Lessons / Narrative writing prompts with story element generator

Narrative writing prompts with story element generator

Individual lesson

MakeCode

7-11 yrs

Similar to “roll-a-story” activities, students can shake the BBC micro:bit to randomly generate a character, setting, and problem to practise writing real or imagined narratives. Students will use the randomly generated story elements to develop the main parts of a story, create an outline, and write their story.

Teachers can use this project as a full class activity, as part of station rotations, or on a choice board for independent practice.

Literacy:

Story writing

Download lesson

Overall key learning

Learning objectives are at three different levels:

  • Mild - I can randomly select a character, setting, and problem using the micro:bit story element generator program to practise narrative writing.
  • Medium - I can modify my own story element generator program to randomly select a character, setting, and problem to practise narrative writing.
  • Spicy - Code your own story element generator program to randomly select a character, setting, and problem to practise narrative writing that includes developing story elements and plot.

Lesson plan preview

Skip embedded preview

Slides preview

Skip embedded preview

Student handouts

This content is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence.

CA CCSS ELA Standards

Writing: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

  • W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
    a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

CA CS Standards

  • 3-5.AP.11 Create programs that use variables to store and modify data. (P5.2)
  • 3-5.AP.12 Create programs that include events, loops, and conditionals. (P5.2)
  • 3-5.CS.2 Demonstrate how computer hardware and software work together as a system to accomplish tasks. (P4.4)
  • 3-5.CS.3 Determine potential solutions to solve simple hardware and software problems using common troubleshooting strategies. (P6.2)
  • 3-5.AP.14 Create programs by incorporating smaller portions of existing programs, to develop something new or add more advanced features. (P4.2, P5.3)
  • 3-5.AP.17 Test and debug a program or algorithm to ensure it accomplishes the intended task. (P6.2)