Story Innovation: Help Kids Write a New Story from a Familiar One

Once children know a story by heart, **innovation** lets them make it their own without the blank-page panic. They keep the familiar structure and swap out the details — a safe, powerful step toward independent writing.

How to teach story innovation

1. **Start from a known text.** Use the story your class has mapped and retold. 2. **Identify what can change.** Character, setting, problem and ending are the easiest swaps. 3. **Model one change first.** Show how changing the character ripples through the story. 4. **Plan side by side.** Use the innovation planner to compare the original with the new version. 5. **Rehearse orally** before writing, so new vocabulary is ready. 6. **Write and compare** to the original to celebrate what's the same and what's new.

How to use the free innovation planner

The template has two columns — **Original Story** and **My New Story** — with rows for character, setting, problem and ending. Children fill the left column from memory, then invent the right. The planning is done before they write a single sentence.

Quick tips

• Limit changes at first (one or two) so the structure holds.

• Keep a word bank of "magpie" phrases to borrow.

Download the free Story Innovation Planner from the **Assets** box below.