Write Your First Story

Proof required

In 40+ words: describe who your story is about, what problem or adventure will happen, and how it will end. A drawing of your character with notes, a voice memo, or a short written paragraph are all fine — any form that shows you planned before you started.

What gets checked

• Plan identifies a character, an event or problem, and an ending — three things, all present, even if described simply
• The plan was made before writing began — a retrospective plan written after the story is finished does not count; the plan should show what was intended, not what was done
• Any format is acceptable (drawing + bullet points, spoken description recorded by a parent, short paragraph) — the content matters, not the format

Common mistakes

• Skipping the plan and going straight to writing — young writers who skip planning often write a strong beginning and then cannot think of how to continue; the plan prevents this, even if it is only three sentences
• Planning a story that is far too long to write in one sitting — a plan with 20 events will produce a frustrated child who gave up; help the child choose ONE event or adventure, not a saga
• Treating 'who it is about' as sufficient — the plan must include something that happens AND an ending, not just a character; 'it is about a cat' is not a story plan

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• This is a K12 elementary outcome (ages 4–10): the accepted verifiers are a parent or a teacher — no specialist credentials required
• The plan must show a character, an event, and an ending — a plan that only names a character without any story content does not pass; ask the child to add 'what happens' and 'how it ends' before approving milestone 1
• Any format is acceptable: a drawing with notes, a spoken description written down, or a short paragraph — the 40-word minimum covers the child's description of all three elements combined
• Milestone 1 is passed when the child can tell you what their story is about before they start writing — not after; if they are writing as they plan, that is milestone 2

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

Proof required

Submit: (1) a photo of all the pages of your finished handwritten story, or a link to a typed document, and (2) your reflection in 40+ words: what your story is about, what was the hardest part to write, and what you would change if you wrote it again.

What gets checked

• Story has a beginning, middle, and end — even simply: 'One day... then... in the end...' is sufficient; a story that stops in the middle without a resolution does not pass
• Story is at least one page in length — at K-5 standard, one page of a young writer's handwriting (which may be large) is sufficient; a single sentence is not
• Reflection addresses all three questions: what it is about, what was hardest, what would be changed — answers can be short but all three must be present

Common mistakes

• Starting again from scratch because the first draft was not 'good enough' — first drafts at K-5 level do not need to be good; they need to be finished; perfectionism at this stage stops more stories than it improves
• Writing a story that has a beginning and middle but no ending — the most common failure mode for young writers; if a child is stuck on the ending, the parent or teacher should ask 'how does it all turn out?' and write down what the child says aloud
• Taking photos of only the first page — all pages must be submitted so the verifier can confirm the story has a complete arc; a single-page photo with only the opening of a multi-page story does not pass

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• This is a K12 elementary outcome: the verifier should confirm the story has three parts — something happens at the start, something happens in the middle, and there is a resolution or ending; the verifier does not need to assess literary quality
• All pages must be submitted — open the photo(s) or document and confirm you can see the whole story from start to finish, not just the first page
• The reflection must address all three questions: what the story is about, what was hardest to write, and what they would change; if the child answered only one or two questions, ask them the missing ones verbally and add the answers to the reflection before approving
• A story submitted as a photo must show handwriting that is legible enough to confirm there are words on the page — ask the child to read it aloud if the handwriting is difficult to decipher; the read-aloud confirms the words are real

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

Proof required

Submit: (1) a photo of you reading aloud to at least one person outside your immediate household (a classmate, a neighbour, a grandparent, or a teacher), OR a public URL where your story can be found and read without login; and (2) one sentence recording what that person said their favourite part was.

What gets checked

• The reader or listener is someone outside the immediate household — a photo of only the child's parents listening does not pass; a classmate, neighbour, grandparent, or teacher satisfies the requirement
• One response from the audience is recorded — even a single sentence ('they said they liked the dragon') satisfies this; the reflection must record what someone said, not just that someone heard it
• If the story is published online, the URL must open publicly without requiring login — a Book Creator share link or class blog post set to public satisfies this; a private document shared only with the verifier does not

Common mistakes

• Reading to a parent who also verified milestones 1 and 2 — involving the same person in every milestone reduces the social proof element; at least one audience member at milestone 3 should be a new person outside the household
• Publishing online but not asking for any response — the 'favourite part' question is required; a published URL with no audience engagement does not satisfy this milestone
• Reading the story but providing no evidence — a photo of the reading or a screenshot of the published post is needed; a self-report without any supporting evidence does not pass

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The audience member must be someone outside the immediate household — a photo showing only the child's parents is not sufficient; confirm from the photo or the child's description that a classmate, neighbour, grandparent, or teacher was present
• This is a K12 elementary outcome: the verifier does not need to assess the story's literary quality — confirm that (1) someone outside the household heard or read it, and (2) the child recorded at least one thing that person said about it
• If the story was published online: open the URL in a private browser window to confirm it is genuinely public — a URL that requires login does not pass
• Ask the child: 'what did the person say was their favourite part?' If the child cannot answer, ask them to go back and ask the audience member before this milestone is approved

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.