Give your students a Christmas mystery they’ll be desperate to write about!
Who left the extra present under the tree? Why is the box warm, and what is tapping inside? This low-prep Christmas narrative writing unit takes students from first clue to finished story. It has everything you need, so you only have to print.
What’s included:
- Teacher Guide with learning intention, success criteria, a quick teaching sequence and timing
- “The Mystery Begins” short story with comprehension and prediction questions
- 6 mystery present story starters, plus space for students to invent their own
- Main character profile with personality word bank
- Describe Your Mystery Present sensory planner
- Two story planners: a simple 3-part planner (beginning, middle, ending) and a 4-part narrative planner (orientation, complication, rising action, resolution)
- Hook Your Reader mini-lesson and Add an Unexpected Twist page
- Christmas Mystery Word Bank (describing words, action verbs, feelings and connectives)
- Sentence starter page for supported writers
- Story writing pages: 3 lined pages with Part 1, 2 and 3 headings, plus a continuation page
- 3 decorative story pages
- Editing checklist (full page, plus a two-per-page version to save paper)
- Christmas Mystery Challenge extension page
- Peer feedback and author reflection page
- Teacher Model Narrative to read aloud or annotate
Differentiation built in
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Younger or developing writers: character profile, 3-part planner and sentence starters
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Older or independent writers: 4-part narrative planner and the independent writing pages
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Early finishers: Unexpected Twist, challenge page and peer feedback
Why you love it
- Print only the pages each student needs
- Teaches narrative structure, character, suspense, show-don’t-tell and editing
- Works for whole-class lessons, writing centres, early finisher tasks and relief teaching
- Includes an Australian-flavoured present for a hot Christmas morning, but suits any classroom
- Printer-friendly black and white worksheets
Perfect for: December writing lessons, Christmas literacy activities, narrative writing units, sub plans and end-of-term fun.
