The kids are big into writing stories right now. In their spare time I find them sitting in their rooms, on their beds, writing for fun.

At times they even attempt to join story worlds and work together to create the ultimate story. I can't say that always works out too well, but at least they try.

Needless to say, through the process of observation, I realized it was time to introduce how to write a short story with a handy dandy free printable for the kids to use as their guide.

And so I did!

How We Teach our Kids to Write

Many of you know that we developed our own way of practicing writing each day in the classroom to meet the diverse needs of our kiddos and co-op friends.

There is a very specific time set aside for writing, which is short and sweet, and then we move on to other work that does not require the skill.

We've found the less required writing each day, the happier the kids are and the more they learn.

You can read more details about how we started this journey in our post called Rainbow Writing Prompts.

The Joys of Observation and Following the Child

I wasn't sure how long we'd follow our original writing path but it ended up lasting seven years!

Then came this year.

Our daily writing assignments, which usually take Bulldozer 15 to 20 minutes, started taking hours. At first I was concerned wondering what in the world was going on, but then I observed his process.

Bulldozer was happy and content while writing.

He took the time to research each topic and even asked questions.

Instead of writing the minimum six sentences, he wrote an entire page. His writing was beautiful and so full of detail.

Bulldozer was loving the process of writing. It had become an art to him.

And all this from the kid who was extremely delayed in fine motor skills!

Bulldozer developed a hand preference at 8 years of age and slowly started his writing journey from there.

He's the reason that the majority of our work doesn't include writing.

But now... It seemed that the sky was the limit.

This has been the start of an incredibly writing journey!

How to Use the How to Write a Story Chart

I introduced the process of how to write a story by asking the kids to think of their favorite movie. We then went step by step through the prompts in the printable and analyzed the movies.

The kids had a blast once they understood what they were looking for.

Now they've gone through the steps of outlining their own short story and have started writing a little each day, until they're ready to move on to their next task.

There are bumps along the way for sure, but this chart, as Bulldozer calls it, makes all the difference with it's colors and question prompts.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

The How to Write a Story Chart is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. Follow the directions below to obtain your copy.

Directions on How to Obtain Subscriber Only Freebies

1. Click on the Subscriber's link at the bottom of this post.

2. Subscribe to our free newsletter.

3. Open the thank you message you receive in your e-mail, after subscribing. (Be sure to check your spam folder, as sometimes it ends up there.)

4. Click the confirmation link in the thank you message.

5. Once the confirmation is complete, you will receive another e-mail message with the Subscriber Only Freebies.

6. Click on link.

7. Find the printable pack you are looking for listed in alphabetical order, click on it, and voila!

We hope you enjoy your free printable.

Note: If you are already a newsletter subscriber, open your most recent newsletter. At the bottom you will find a link to the Subscriber Only Freebies page, along with the password in case you forgot it.

Click HERE to Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy the posts below.