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Year 2 English Narrative Writing Basics: Characters, Setting, and Problem

Published: 3 Oct 2025

Learning Area
English Lesson Plans
Years
Year 1, Year 2, Year 3
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Description
This 5-lesson unit introduces Year 2 students to the core elements of narrative writing: characters, setting, and problems. Students explore how authors build stories by creating memorable characters, describing where the story happens, and introducing a central problem to drive the plot. Through guided activities, modelled writing, and independent practice, students will build confidence in planning and writing their own short narratives.

English – Year 2

  • AC9E2LA03: Identify how texts across the curriculum are organised differently and use language features depending on purposes.
  • AC9E2LE02: Use interaction skills when engaging in discussions, expressing ideas clearly and listening to others.
  • AC9E2LE03: Create and edit literary texts by experimenting with character, setting, events and ideas.
  • AC9E2LY05: Create short texts for a range of purposes, including recounts and narratives, using growing knowledge of text structures and language features.

Unit Overview

LessonFocusKey Outcome
1What is a narrative?Identify and explain the structure of a simple narrative.
2Creating charactersDevelop characters using descriptive words and drawings.
3Exploring settingsDescribe story settings using sensory details.
4Introducing a problemRecognise and create problems that drive a story.
5Putting it all togetherPlan and draft a short narrative using characters, setting, and problem.

Lesson 1: What is a Narrative?

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Intention:
We are learning to identify the main parts of a story: characters, setting, and problem.

Success Criteria:
I can explain what a narrative is and point out the characters, setting, and problem in a story.

Lesson Breakdown

0–10 mins: Warm-Up – Read Aloud

  • Teacher: “Today we are going to learn about narratives. Narratives are stories that entertain us. They usually have characters, a setting, and a problem. Let’s listen carefully to this story and see if we can find those things together.”
  • Read aloud a familiar short text (The Three Little Pigs, The Gruffalo, or similar).
  • Pause occasionally: “Who are the characters here? Where are they? What is going wrong?”

10–25 mins: Explicit Teaching – Narrative Structure

  • Draw a simple story mountain or beginning–middle–end chart on the board.
  • Teacher Script: “Narratives usually start by introducing characters and setting. Then something happens — a problem! The problem makes the story interesting. Finally, the story ends when the problem is solved.”
  • Together, fill the chart with details from the read-aloud story.

25–45 mins: Guided Practice – Story Dissection

  • Provide a worksheet with headings: Characters, Setting, Problem.
  • Work as a class to complete one section, then have students complete the rest in pairs.
  • Teacher Prompt: “Turn to your partner and tell them who the characters are. Then write them down.”

45–55 mins: Independent Activity – Story Map

  • Students create a simple story map (drawing or writing) for the text.

55–60 mins: Reflection

  • Invite 2–3 students to share their story maps.
  • Teacher: “Today we learnt that all narratives have characters, settings, and problems. Tomorrow we’ll create our own characters.”

Assessment: Check worksheets and story maps for ability to identify story elements.
Differentiation:

  • Support: Provide pre-labelled boxes with word banks (e.g., pig, wolf, forest).
  • Extension: Ask students to identify how the problem was solved (solution).

Lesson 2: Creating Characters

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Intention:
We are learning how to create interesting characters for our stories.

Success Criteria:
I can describe a character’s appearance, feelings, and actions.

Lesson Breakdown

0–10 mins: Warm-Up – Character Brainstorm

  • On the board, write “Characters I love.”
  • Teacher Prompt: “Think of your favourite story character. What do they look like? What do they do?”
  • Create a class brainstorm (e.g., Harry Potter – has glasses, brave, uses magic).

10–25 mins: Explicit Teaching – Character Description

  • Model describing a new character on the board.
  • Teacher Script: “Let’s make up a character. I’ll draw a girl named Ruby. She has red hair, wears big boots, and she loves to explore. She feels excited when she discovers new things.”
  • Highlight use of adjectives (red hair, big boots) and verbs (explores).

25–45 mins: Guided Practice – Character Profile

  • Hand out character profile templates (name, looks, likes/dislikes, feelings, actions).
  • Teacher Instruction: “Work in pairs. Choose a new character and fill in your profile. Remember to use describing words.”

45–55 mins: Independent Activity – Character Drawing

  • Students draw their character and write 2–3 descriptive sentences.

55–60 mins: Reflection

  • Teacher Prompt: “Who would like to read a sentence about their character?”
  • Praise use of adjectives and creative detail.

Assessment: Character profiles and written sentences.
Differentiation:

  • Support: Provide word bank of adjectives (tall, small, kind, angry).
  • Extension: Encourage stronger writers to add dialogue for their character.

Lesson 3: Exploring Settings

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Intention:
We are learning to describe settings using our senses.

Success Criteria:
I can describe what a place looks like, sounds like, and feels like.

Lesson Breakdown

0–10 mins: Warm-Up – Setting Pictures

  • Show large images of different settings (beach, forest, desert, city).
  • Teacher Prompt: “What can you see in this picture? What might you hear or smell if you were there?”

10–25 mins: Explicit Teaching – Sensory Language

  • Model writing: “The forest was dark and quiet. Birds chirped in the trees. The ground was soft and muddy.”
  • Circle sensory words (dark, chirped, soft, muddy).

25–45 mins: Guided Practice – Sensory Web

  • In small groups, students choose one setting picture and brainstorm words for each sense.
  • Teacher circulates, prompting: “What would it smell like? What would you touch?”

45–55 mins: Independent Activity – Setting Writing

  • Students write 3 sentences describing their chosen setting.

55–60 mins: Reflection

  • Share a sentence aloud. Create a “Class Setting Wall” to display work.

Assessment: Student writing samples for sensory details.
Differentiation:

  • Support: Sentence starters: “I can see… I can hear…”
  • Extension: Encourage use of similes (“The forest was as dark as night”).

Lesson 4: Introducing a Problem

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Intention:
We are learning to add problems to make stories exciting.

Success Criteria:
I can think of a problem that could happen to a character in a setting.

Lesson Breakdown

0–10 mins: Warm-Up – What Could Go Wrong?

  • Teacher acts out silly scenarios: e.g., carrying a cake and tripping.
  • Teacher Prompt: “What could go wrong if someone was walking in the forest?”

10–25 mins: Explicit Teaching – Why Stories Need Problems

  • Teacher Script: “If nothing goes wrong, the story might be boring. A problem makes us want to know what happens next.”
  • Show example: “The princess wanted to go to the ball BUT she lost her shoe.”

25–45 mins: Guided Practice – Group Problem-Making

  • In small groups, give each pair a random character and setting (cards).
  • Challenge: invent a problem (e.g., A pirate on a beach… can’t find his treasure).

45–55 mins: Independent Activity – Sentence Writing

  • Students write one sentence describing a problem for their own character and setting.

55–60 mins: Reflection

  • Teacher Prompt: “Turn to your partner and read your problem sentence.”

Assessment: Problem sentences recorded in notebooks.
Differentiation:

  • Support: Provide examples of common story problems (lost, broken, scary, missing).
  • Extension: Encourage students to think of unusual/funny problems.

Lesson 5: Putting It All Together

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Intention:
We are learning to plan and start writing a narrative using a character, a setting, and a problem.

Success Criteria:
I can plan and begin a story that has a character, a setting, and a problem.

Lesson Breakdown

0–10 mins: Warm-Up – Quick Recap Quiz

  • Teacher asks: “What are the three things every narrative needs?” (Students respond: characters, setting, problem).

10–25 mins: Explicit Teaching – Story Plan

  • Model planning a story: draw quick boxes for Character, Setting, Problem.
  • Example: Character: Ruby the explorer. Setting: dark forest. Problem: She lost her map.

25–45 mins: Guided Practice – Planning Sheets

  • Students fill in their own planning sheet. Teacher circulates, prompting: “What makes your character special? What is tricky about your setting? What problem will they face?”

45–55 mins: Independent Activity – Drafting the Opening

  • Students write the beginning of their story (1–3 sentences introducing character, setting, and problem).

55–60 mins: Reflection

  • Teacher Prompt: “Who would like to share their first sentence?”
  • Reinforce: “Every great story starts by telling us WHO, WHERE, and WHAT goes wrong.”

Assessment: Completed planning sheet and opening draft.
Differentiation:

  • Support: Provide sentence starters.
  • Extension: Encourage some students to plan a solution as well.

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide sentence starters, word banks, and illustrated prompts. Pair struggling writers with peers.
  • Extension: Encourage stronger writers to add more than one character or include dialogue.

Assessment Opportunities

  • Ongoing formative assessment through character profiles, setting sentences, and problem creation.
  • Final assessment in Lesson 5: narrative plan and opening draft.

Teacher Tips

  • Use plenty of read-alouds to model strong narratives.
  • Anchor charts for “Characters,” “Settings,” and “Problems” should remain visible throughout the unit.
  • Encourage creativity by allowing students to mix real and imaginary elements.

Resources

  • Story maps and graphic organisers
  • Character profile templates
  • Pictures of various settings
  • Planning sheets for narrative writing

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