Learn story structure: beginning, middle and end, story order, linked events and story words, by sorting cards, ordering events and joining in with Mo.
Year 2 english · 1
Year 2 english · 1
Year 2 english · 1
Year 2 english · 2
Year 2 english · 2
See every English chapter in the chapter library
What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:
Story Builders is an interactive story structure game that teaches children aged 6–8 how stories are built, following the Year 2 English reading curriculum for England. Mo the story mouse guides players around Story Hill, where each place explores one part of how a story works.
Children sort picture cards into the beginning, middle and end, and put events in sequence using time words such as first, next, then and finally. They topple domino chains to see cause and effect, where one event makes the next one happen. They use because to explain why something happened and so to say what happened next.
Players also meet recurring literary language: story openings, story endings and refrains, which are lines that a story or poem repeats. They learn to tell rhyming words from repeated words. Instructions and story cards are read aloud to support new readers.
Story structure is the way a story is put together. The beginning introduces the characters and setting, the middle is where a problem happens, and the end shows how the problem is solved. Knowing this helps children follow, retell and write stories.
Start with three or four key events and ask what happened first, next, then and finally. Time words act as clues to the order. Reading a muddled version aloud and asking whether it still makes sense shows children why order matters.
Recurring literary language means words and phrases that appear again and again in stories and poems. Examples are once upon a time, happily ever after and a repeated line or refrain. Year 2 children learn to recognise this language and join in with it.
It is designed for children aged 6–8 and matches Year 2 English in the national curriculum for England. Confident younger readers and Year 3 children who want a refresher can also play, because instructions and story cards are read aloud.
The game has five chapters, each with an animated introduction, guided activities and a recap, followed by a ten-question Story Builder Challenge. Playing everything takes about 40 minutes, and children can start from any chapter on the story map.
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