Help pupils develop their diary writing skills with this KS2 text types resource pack. Pupils will read and annotate two model WAGOLL diary entries, before writing their own diary entries based on the theme of explorers.
One WAGOLL recounts a polar exploration, while the other describes a holiday adventure discovering a cave. The pack could be used alongside geography lessons, giving pupils the chance to describe places they have studied, or within English lessons focusing on recount writing and narrative voice.
What’s included in this diary recount resource
Model text 1 – A Polar Exploration
A diary recount based on Shackleton’s 1907 Antarctic expedition. Pupils read about preparing for the journey, travelling to the Antarctic, and the challenges of setting up a camp in freezing conditions.
The WAGOLL demonstrates first-person perspective, chronological structure, past tense, adverbials, modal verbs, and the inclusion of personal feelings.
Model text 2 – Beach Explorers
A diary recount of a holiday adventure exploring a rockpool and discovering a cave in Cornwall. Pupils can explore narrative voice, use of time adverbials, noun phrases, conjunctions, modal verbs, and expressing emotion and personal reflections.
Diary recount writing sheet
Two versions for LKS2 and UKS2 provide success criteria and examples of grammar features such as fronted adverbials, coordinating conjunctions, past perfect and past progressive verbs, and writing in chronological order.
Exploring ideas worksheet
A PDF for pupils to collect ideas, note events, and consider how the writer might feel. Pupils can base their diary on personal experiences, events at school, or continue the story from the model texts.
Diary recount writing plan
A template to structure and order events for pupils’ independent diary entries.
Writing paper
Themed PDF sheets for pupils to present their finished diary entries neatly.
Features of diary recounts
- Day or date as titles
- First-person narrative using I, me, my
- Past tense, including past perfect and past progressive
- Chronological order of events
- Conjunctions, adverbials and fronted adverbials to show time, place and manner
- Noun phrases to add detail
- Modal verbs to indicate possibility or necessity
- Personal feelings and reflections
National Curriculum links
Years 3-4 – Pupils plan writing by discussing and analysing similar texts, learning from their structure, vocabulary and grammar.
Years 5-6 – Pupils plan with audience and purpose in mind, select the appropriate form, and use model texts to inform their own writing.
This resource provides all the guidance and materials you need to teach diary writing while helping pupils develop narrative voice, express emotions, and write structured, engaging diary entries.