Story Innovation Planner
Original vs new story columns.
The Story Innovation Planner is a two-column blank template that places the original model story on the left and leaves a parallel right column for the student's new, innovated version. By keeping both stories side by side, the planner makes the creative decision-making process concrete: students can see exactly where they are changing characters, settings, problems, and resolutions while preserving the underlying story shape. Designed for grades 2–6, this template is the natural companion to any Talk-for-Writing unit or guided reading sequence that uses a model text. Teachers use it to move students from imitation to innovation systematically. Students note key plot points from the original in the left column, then swap elements — character names, locations, obstacles — in the right column to produce a fresh but structurally sound story plan of their own.
Learning objectives
- Understand how a story's structure can be reused with new content
- Make deliberate choices about character, setting, and plot changes
- Produce an original plan that mirrors a known text structure
- Build confidence by working from a familiar scaffold
- Develop creative thinking within clear writing boundaries
- Strengthen understanding of story grammar and narrative arc
How to use this template
- Download and print the free Story Innovation Planner — the left column is for the original model text, the right column for the student's innovation.
- Read or retell the original story with the class, then fill in the left column together with key plot points, characters, and settings.
- Students scan each row and decide what to change in the right column — swap the character, move the setting, change the problem — keeping the story shape the same.
- Review both columns to confirm the new version follows the same structural logic as the original before writing begins.
- Use the completed right column as the writing plan for the student's independent composition draft.
Classroom & home ideas
- Pair with a classic picture book: the whole class plans an innovation of 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' with their own creature and bridge substitute.
- Use during a poetry unit to innovate a pattern poem — students keep the rhyme scheme and structure but swap all nouns and verbs.
- Differentiate by pre-filling the left column for students who need more support, so they only need to complete the innovation column.
- Ask students to share their right-column plan with a partner to get feedback before writing — does the new version make sense?
- Display original and innovated story plans side by side on a working-wall to show the class the range of creative choices made.
Skills & curriculum links
Frequently asked questions
What does 'story innovation' mean in a primary writing context?
Story innovation means keeping the structure and shape of a published model text but replacing the characters, settings, or plot details with the student's own ideas. The student writes something new that follows a proven story pattern.
Does the original story have to be a picture book?
No. The model can be a picture book, a short story, a myth, a traditional tale, or even a non-fiction recount. The planner works with any text that has a clear, repeatable structure.
How is this different from the Boxing-Up Planner?
The Boxing-Up Planner analyses just one text. The Story Innovation Planner is a side-by-side tool specifically designed to help students plan their own version alongside the original — it is the natural next step after boxing up.
Can older students use this for longer stories?
Yes. For grade 5–6 students, the rows can represent chapters or longer sequences. The two-column format scales to any story length and also works well for myth and legend innovation units.
Make it your own in the Worksheet Studio
Combine this with other worksheets, duplicate it, or generate a fresh version for any grade and language — free, no sign-up.
Open the Worksheet StudioYou might also like
All About Me Graphic Organizer — Kindergarten
All About Me Graphic Organizer — Grade 2
