This KS1 writing pack is built around Arda’s Wish – a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) text that introduces children to the key features of a wishing tale.
In this story, a young boy finds a magical object, makes a wish, faces unexpected consequences and learns an important lesson. It’s short, structured and easy to retell, making it ideal for use with younger writers.
You can use this pack to guide pupils through the process of reading, discussing, planning and writing their own wishing tales. Pupils will begin by exploring the model text, then they'll generate ideas using the planning and idea sheets. They'll learn how wishing tales work and what kinds of problems a magical wish might create.
Grammar concepts
As well as developing narrative writing skills, this pack gives you the opportunity to teach or revisit grammar concepts such as plural noun formation and apostrophes in contracted words. Many examples of these appear in the WAGOLL text and are clearly highlighted in the writing support materials.
This WAGOLL wishing tale pack includes:
- Model text – Arda’s Wish
A complete wishing tale with clear structure and rich vocabulary. Includes a checklist of key story features to help pupils identify what makes it effective. - Wishing tale writing sheet
Features a success criteria list and grammar tips, including how to spot and use contracted words and plural nouns. - Wishing tale idea sheet
Prompts children to draw and label a magical object and think about what a character might wish for. - Planning sheet
Helps pupils break their ideas into simple sections: opening, build-up, problem, resolution and ending. Pupils can use this to retell their story orally before writing it down. - Themed writing paper
Use this to help pupils present their finished stories neatly and proudly.
Curriculum coverage
This pack supports key aspects of the Year 1 and Year 2 English curriculum. Pupils will:
- Say and plan what they want to write before they begin
- Sequence sentences to form a simple story
- Write narratives with clear structure and vocabulary choices
- Use grammar skills including plural noun endings (-s, -es) and apostrophes in contractions (e.g. don’t, wasn’t)
By exploring a well-structured WAGOLL and working through supported writing tasks, pupils will gain confidence in storytelling, grammar and independent writing.