The children can randomly select the story scenes to use as the structure for their story writing. The class can practise drafting and editing their writing using the selected story scenes to produce books for the school library.

Story Structures
As preparation for writing a story jigsaw, you can get the children to identify the main structure of narrative stories. Help the class name different ways of opening a story using scene setting, dialogue and action. Get the children to identify that all narrative stories contain descriptions of conflict between characters which are resolved by the final part of the story. Work with the class to identify conflict and resolution in some of their favourite stories such as the witch in the story of Hansel and Gretel trying to capture the children in her cottage. Discuss with the children different ways that problems in a narrative story could be resolved.

Story Genres
You can also spend some time working with the class to identify some of the main features of different types of stories such as science fiction, mystery stories and myths and legends. Get the children to make lists of the narrative features that might appear in stories from each genre. Discuss with the class how a story from a particular genre might change using features from another narrative such as adding monsters from myths to a story with a familiar setting. The class should select one specific genre to use for their story jigsaws.

Story Scenes
Get the children to work individually to make sets of scenes from different stories based on the selected genre. They can record each scene on a piece of card to identify how the story might open and close and some of the different conflicts and resolutions that might feature in the narrative structure. You can the place the children’s cards in four bowls at the front of the classroom for each story scene. Each member of the class can then select cards from each bowl to form the structure of their jigsaw story.

Story Writing
Once the class have selected their story scenes they can try using the narrative structure to write their own stories to match what is suggested will happen in the start and end of each story and the conflict that might occur between the characters and how it should be resolved. The children can spend some time working with a partner to edit and redraft their writing to check that it matches the main narrative features of the story genre and follows the structure selected using the jigsaw cards.

Story Books
Once the children have completed their story jigsaws they can make some books to present their writing to store in the school library. The class can make some pages for their book using parts of their writing and illustrations. Some children could word process their writing and add suitable graphics. The class can then use card to make front and back covers which can then be combined with the book’s pages using binders, tags or staples.