Use it within an existing lesson
Create a class story, prepare a guided reading text, or ask pupils to improve a description. Stories can include age-appropriate comprehension questions and class themes.
Browse lessons by year group →YourStoryWorld · Teacher resources
Stories pupils help shape.
Lessons teachers lead.
Build short stories from pupils’ ideas, then use them for reading, discussion and writing. Choose a ready-to-teach plan for Years 1–6.
Start with your class
Find a lesson
Filter by year and focus. Every full plan includes a teaching sequence, curriculum connection and printable PDF.
For teachers new to YSW
How it works in a lesson
Choose a learning aim, gather story ideas with pupils, then generate and review the text. Use the result for a familiar teaching activity.
01
Choose the learning aim
Start with comprehension, sentence writing, inference or another objective. A story is the teaching material, not the objective.
02
Shape and review a story
Collect pupil ideas, enter the plan in YSW and check the story for level, accuracy and suitability before sharing.
03
Teach, discuss, respond
Read or listen together; ask questions; then let pupils explain, edit, write or record their own reading as appropriate.
Keep the reading conversation going
Where student access is enabled, children can read again, listen to audio, or discuss a story with family. Teachers decide whether this fits a home reading activity.
Explore the school platform ↗Teaching pupils about AI?
Open the YSW AI teacher guide ↗YSW already has a five-lesson teacher guide covering prompts, fact and fiction, and checking AI output. Use it alongside the AI literacy activities and printable plans here.
YSW can support reading engagement and provide writing prompts; it does not replace a school’s chosen phonics programme, books, teacher assessment or planned English curriculum.
See the classroom flow
A two-minute example
Follow a Year 2 reading activity from pupil idea to class discussion. This is an illustrative walkthrough; no story is generated here.
YEAR 2 · READING
Start with a story plan
Ask pupils for the place, character and problem. The teacher enters their ideas in YourStoryWorld.
Example plan
Setting: playground after rain
Character: a child playing with friends
Problem: a shoe is stuck in the mud
Illustrative example based on the Year 2 pilot lesson.Visit YSW for schools ↗
Plan with a purpose
Curriculum and inspection context
Each full lesson shows the English learning it can help practise and what teachers might look for in pupils’ responses. Match it to the sequence and starting points in your own school’s curriculum.
English curriculum
Each full lesson names a relevant English learning focus: from retelling and sentences in KS1 to inference, comparison and editing in KS2. Match the plan to your school’s sequence.
DfE English programmes of study ↗Ofsted inspection context
Teachers can use pupils’ ordinary work and discussion to see what they understand and teach next. The current toolkit considers curriculum and teaching, achievement and inclusion. Ofsted does not require a YSW pack or documents created just for inspection.
Current school inspection toolkit ↗What this looks like in a lesson
Year 4: A message from the lighthouse. Pupils summarise the plot and explain a character’s decision using two clues. The teacher can see the skill in the summary and discussion, then decide whether pupils need more modelling of text evidence.
Use in a lesson
Story prompt bank
Copy a prompt as a starting point, then adapt names and details with the class. Review the resulting story before sharing it.
Make the story plan more useful
Describe the character, setting, key event and feeling. A Year 2 class can contribute these orally while the teacher enters them. For older pupils, compare what changes when one detail in the plan changes.
Take it into school
Original teaching packs
Download the source materials behind these activities. The site is a browseable companion to the PDFs.
Year 2 pilot lesson plansThree structured lessons · reading, writing and AI literacyDownload PDF ↓Quick classroom ideasReading engagement, writing, AI and curriculum topicsDownload PDF ↓Classroom ideas packExample prompts, activities and trial ideas for Years 2–6Download PDF ↓
A manageable way to try it
One class, one week. Use Story of the Week for a shared reading session, collect pupil responses and note who participates in discussion.
Or a targeted group. Let reluctant readers suggest interests for a story, then observe reading, talk and willingness to continue. Compare with your usual approach without assuming a particular outcome.