A good story has vibrant characters like an epic hero or a menacing villain. Inspire children to get creative when creating characters for their 500 Words story. You can play this animation, which is just one in a story writing series, in class or at home to help children create some captivating characters.
A good way to start writing a story is to begin with the characters - the people who take part. If I know who the story is about, they'll help me to decide what happens, because every character has a life of its own.
I could tell a story about a man who dreams of becoming the first bank manager to set foot on Mars, or an old lady who is secretly a superhero, or a clown who isn't funny, because I think clowns are scary. But my character doesn't even have to be human. It could be… I know!
A snail! But what would his story be about? Well, now I've got my character, I can ask questions about him. What's his name? What does he sound like? Where does he live? I'm going to call him Sammy because it begins with an S like snail. And because he looks a bit like my Uncle Samir. And I think he'd sound a bit like this. And he lives, well, he lives in his shell. Of course he does. More questions: What's he like? What does he want?
Well, he's kind and helpful, but he's lonely. So what he wants most is a friend, who doesn't mind a bit of slime. So here's Daisy, a tiny frog, and I'll make her pink. Why not? And a bumblebee called Balthazar, because that's the noise that bees make.
How does Sammy make friends with them? He invites them to a picnic!
But then it rains. How does Sammy feel? Sad, his eye-stalks droop. But he's a snail. The solution has been right there all the time. He can invite his friends to come inside his shell, and obviously, because it's my story, there's plenty of room. Once I had my characters, the story almost told itself. All I had to do is ask them lots of questions. Wow! Back in the real world. And I think it really is going to rain.
Goodbye!
Next up…
We have up to five animations to develop children's 500 Words stories, why not use one a day? Coming up next is 'Building a Plot'.
Teacher Notes
Teachers could use this to think about specific reading and writing exercises such as writing a story from an alternative perspective, e.g. tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood from the Wolf’s point of view.
Also, pupils could think about characteristics of a well-known person they have read about, what do they look like, do they have an accent, are they a hero or villain?
Pupils could engage in a debate regarding good and bad characteristics of a chosen familiar character.
For less able pupils’ access 5-7 version.
Curriculum Notes
This video is suitable for use with pupils aged 7-11. It is designed primarily for support with the BBC 500 Words competition but could also support the teaching of English and Literacy for this age range.
This links directly to the English Programmes of Study at KS2 (England and Wales), 2nd Level (Scotland) and KS1/KS2 (Northern Ireland).
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Back to 500 Words
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The winning stories of 500 Words 2024/25
Watch Her Majesty The Queen present the winning stories at the 500 Words final 2024/25
The top 50 finalists of 2024/25. audio
Read or listen to the top 50 stories that made it to the 2024/25 final.
