Recount writing helps children capture real events in sequence, using language that informs and engages the reader. With this KS2 resource pack, you can show pupils exactly how recounts work and give them the tools to write their own.
The pack is built around two WAGOLL (what a good one looks like) texts, each demonstrating clear recount features in an accessible way.
The first WAGOLL is A Trip to the Museum. It tells the story of a class visit to Ipswich Museum, moving step by step through the day. Pupils can see how the writer uses first-person voice, past tense verbs and adverbials to keep events in chronological order.
The second WAGOLL is Hockey Team Success!, written in the style of a school newsletter report. It shows how to use a more journalistic tone while still sequencing events clearly.
Pupils can read and annotate both examples, spotting features such as pronouns for cohesion, synonyms to avoid repetition and brackets to add detail.
What’s included in the pack
This resource gives you everything you need to teach a full unit on recounts:
- Two WAGOLL model texts – A Trip to the Museum and Hockey Team Success! with feature checklists
- Recount writing sheets – success criteria with grammar support. LKS2 focuses on paragraphs and pronouns. UKS2 focuses on synonyms, antonyms and the use of brackets for parenthesis
- Recount writing plan – a structured worksheet to help pupils think about the sequence of events before they write
- Themed writing paper – presentation sheets for pupils to publish their finished recounts
Curriculum connections
This pack supports the KS2 English curriculum by helping pupils:
- plan recounts by discussing similar writing and identifying key features
- organise ideas into paragraphs that follow a clear theme or timeline
- choose and use pronouns effectively to maintain cohesion (Years 3-4)
- apply a wider range of grammar including synonyms, antonyms and parenthesis with brackets (Years 5–6)
- write confidently for a chosen audience and purpose, whether personal, historical or journalistic
By teaching this unit, you can give pupils a strong model of WAGOLL recounts, clear planning tools and structured support to write engaging accounts of their own experiences.