Change One Thing, Tell a New Story – Year 1

Start with a story children can know well. A Little Bridge for Pip is supplied in full: Pip Rabbit takes three seed bags towards the garden, gets his red wagon stuck in mud and crosses on a two-board bridge with Rose Mouse’s help.

Children revisit the original story, retell its events and explore a complete new-helper version. Bram Bear carries the wagon, so Pip thanks Bram. The comparison makes linked changes visible: the helpful action and speech fit the new helper while the familiar goal and problem remain.

Across five lessons, children move from listening and picture talk to retelling, adaptation planning, supported rehearsal and individual sharing. Story cards and puppets support oral practice. The cooperative Story Switch board uses one shared marker and six ordered stages; there are no dice, race points or winner. Children choose a meaningful change, check connected details and tell a complete story.

What's included

• 35-page Unit Plan PDF: one contents cover, one teacher quick-start, five lesson plans and 28 resource pages.
• 22-slide editable teaching presentation, supplied as PPTX.
• 18-slide editable quiz, supplied as PPTX: eight questions and eight answer/example slides with a cover and closing slide.
• Two-page complete original illustrated story.
• Original-story order anchor and vocabulary mat.
• One-page complete Bram Bear adaptation and an original/new-story comparison.
• Six original-story picture cards.
• Colour puppets and props plus a separate low-ink alternative.
• Keep–Choose–Update–Tell anchor.
• Familiar-story response, ordering task, original story map, Choose and Update planner and Fix the Story task.
• Story Switch cooperative board, directions and six challenge/check cards.
• Six-scene landscape storyboard that stays flat.
• Individual four-part story task.
• Seven red model answer/example pages, each immediately after its matching task.
• Three-level story-evidence rubric and teacher observation record.
• 75-page watermarked Preview PDF containing the full Unit Plan and both decks.
• Clean Table of Contents JPEG.

Learning focus

Retell the original story with important events in order.

Keep its familiar goal, problem and structure while choosing a deliberate starting change.

Update related actions, character words and destination when needed.

Use meaningful story vocabulary or speech.

Tell an ending that connects to the problem and the chosen change.

Classroom use

Five lessons of approximately 35–40 minutes. The plans include explicit modelling, guided work, independent opportunities, likely misconceptions, access and extension choices, evidence to notice and a practical next step. The original and new-helper texts are supplied, so no purchased book is required.

Read stories and prompts aloud. Children can respond through oral telling, drawings, pointing, puppets or dictation. Record who supplied an idea and any prompting or scribing. The rubric assesses story structure, linked changes and useful language; it does not score decoding, spelling, handwriting, drawing quality or public-speaking confidence. Other coherent adaptations are welcome.

Teacher benefits

Complete source story and worked adaptation support repeated teaching.

The same characters and story events recur across displays, cards, planning and assessment.

Connected examples help children understand why a new helper, object or place may require further changes.

Flexible response modes keep the focus on the child’s story ideas.

Digital product and licence

Digital resource only; no physical item. PDF and PowerPoint-compatible software are needed to view the corresponding files. No online account is required for the teaching activities. Use the purchased resources in your own classroom or household; do not resell or redistribute the files.

Formats and answers

Unit Plan: 35 pages, PDF.

Teaching presentation: 22 slides, editable PPTX.

Quiz: 18 slides, editable PPTX.