PDF prompts, examples, templates and checklists
KS2
Years 3-6
Recounts are a key part of writing in KS2. They offer children the chance to reflect on familiar experiences while honing their skills as writers.
This download contains the following recount resources to make the task a little bit easier:
- Model text: use the annotated recount to demonstrate the key features of the genre
- Planning templates: pre-made worksheets to help children plan their recounts
- Peer editing checklists: help pupils support each other in the editing process
- Creative prompts: explore imaginative scenarios to inspire recount writing
Jump straight to a section:
- Why to teach recounts
- What is a recount?
- What to write about
- Key features
- KS2 teaching sequence
- Year 3-4 advice
- Year 5 advice
- Year 6 advice
- More recounts resources
Why to teach recounts
Whether they’re retelling the excitement of a school trip, describing the highlights of a workshop or sharing an experience from their life outside of school, recounts help children focus on how they write, rather than just what they write about.
Recounts allow children to relive and celebrate personal moments. They can also be a vehicle for imagination and creativity, too.
Children can also be encouraged to write imaginary recounts, employing the features of the genre to imagine themselves as witnesses to an event.
From stepping into the shoes of a Victorian chimney sweep to imagining life on a distant planet, recounts encourage children to explore ideas and perspectives while developing as writers.
By mastering the key features of recounts – like chronological structure, vivid descriptions, and reflective conclusions – children can learn to craft engaging texts that draw readers in and leave a lasting impression.
What is a recount?
A recount is a type of writing that retells events in the order they happened. Recounts can be personal, factual or imaginative. They often aim to both inform and entertain the reader.
In recounts, the writer takes the reader through an experience in chronological order, helping them experience or reflect on a series of events through the detail and perspectives they share.
At their heart, recounts are a personal type of writing as they share an experience through the eyes of the reader.
What could children write about in a recount?
Personal experience recount
When writing recounts, KS2 children can explore a variety of topics. The most common type is a personal experience such as a:
- Recent school trip or workshop
- Enjoyable day out or a special celebration
These are especially valuable as they allow children to reflect on an experience as well as honing their writing skills.
As children are writing about something real – something they have actually done – it gives them something tangible to base their writing on.
Imaginative recount
However, the features of a recount can also be employed for creative writing. That might be an imaginative recount:
- A day in the life of a Roman soldier or a Victorian child
- An explorer’s recount of investigating a polar desert
Historical recount
It might also be a historical recount:
- Recounting events leading up to the Great Fire of London from an eyewitness
- A recount of the Gunpowder Plot told by one of the conspirators
Writing recounts about events outside of school
Encouraging pupils to write recounts about their own experiences outside of school is not only enjoyable, but can be incredibly valuable and motivating.
When children recount personal events – like a family holiday, a birthday party, or a memorable day out – they’re engaging with a topic they know and care about.
This can help them to write confidently, as they can focus on expressing their thoughts and emotions clearly, without worrying about getting something wrong.
Writing about their own lives also gives pupils a voice. It allows them to share what’s important to them, to tell others about their life outside of the classroom and how they’ve felt in particular moments.
By writing these types of recounts, we show them that their experiences matter and their perspective as a young writer is valued. This can be important in nurturing children’s positive attitude to writing.
Most importantly, recounting personal experiences can be fun! Reliving exciting or happy memories through writing can be deeply engaging, helping pupils develop a writing-for-pleasure culture in the classroom, while also improving their writing skills.
Whether it’s describing the thrills of a visit to a theme park or an achievement like competing in a cross-country race, recounts about events outside of school connect writing with real life – and that’s a lesson that lasts far beyond the classroom.
Remaining sensitive
However, as always, teachers need to be sensitive about the different experiences that children might have had.
Being asked to write a recount of their half-term holidays will be motivating and exciting for some, but others might be reluctant to write about their holiday for a whole variety of reasons.
Being sensitive to this and perhaps giving children the choice to write about an experience from outside, something from school, or something imagined can be helpful for some pupils, as well as ensuring they have ownership over their writing.
What are the key features of a recount?
To write an effective recount, children will usually include the following key features:
- Past tense:
Recounts describe events that have already happened.
Example: We visited the museum and saw an amazing display of fossils.
- Chronological order:
Events are presented in the order they occurred.
Examples: First, we boarded the bus. Then, we arrived at the museum.
- First person
The recount is told in the first person.
Examples: We saw…; I couldn’t believe…
- Adverbials of time:
Words like first, next, after that, finally help guide the reader through the sequence.
Example: After lunch, we walked to the park.
- Details and description:
Including sensory details (what was seen, heard, or even smelled!) helps to make the recounts more vivid for the reader.
Example: The museum’s garden was filled with the scent of lavender, and we could hear the faint hum of bees.
- Personal voice (optional):
For diary-style or personal recounts, the writer’s thoughts and feelings are often included.
Example: I couldn’t believe how big the dinosaur skeletons were – it was amazing!
- Concluding statement:
A sentence or two that wraps up the recount, reflecting on the experience.
Example: It was one of the best days I’ve ever had, and I’ll never forget it.
Teaching sequence for writing recounts in KS2
There are many ways of teaching children to write recounts. One effective approach is to break the process into small, manageable steps. For example, children might:
Explore examples
Begin by reading different types of recounts as a class. Highlight key features such as time connectives, past tense verbs, and descriptive language.
Identify key features
Work on the whiteboard together, or ask pupils to use highlighters on their individual worksheets to identify recount features in model texts.
Decide on a topic
This could mean everyone writing about the same shared experience – a pantomime the class have watched at the local theatre, for example.
It could be an imaginative scenario, such as exploring a strange planet or from life inside a Victorian workhouse. Or it could involve asking children to choose an experience to write about from their life outside of school (a football tournament, a sibling’s birthday, or a trip to visit family).
As noted above, you need to be sensitive and use your knowledge of your class to decide how best to organise this.
Plan the recount
Guide children in planning their recount. Planning templates, timelines or graphic organisers might help them structure their ideas (see linked resources for ideas).
Draft the recount
Focus on writing the recount step-by-step, starting with an engaging introduction, moving through the main events, and ending with a reflective conclusion.
Edit and improve
Encourage children to review their recounts. This includes proof-reading for elements such as grammar, punctuation and use of key features.
Are there any wider opportunities to improve the piece and further engage the reader, perhaps by adding greater detail or including more vivid descriptions to bring the events to life?
Share and reflect
Provide opportunities for children to share their recounts with peers, celebrate their work and reflect on how they could improve in the future.
Writing recounts in Years 3 and 4
In Lower Key Stage 2, children begin to experiment with recount writing. At this stage they should:
- introduce personal voice
- add reflections or emotions to their accounts (I couldn’t help but feel nervous)
- focus on simple structure (chronological order, past tense)
- write consistently in the first person (I saw…; we went to…)
- accurately use time connectives (then, next, after that).
Writing recounts in Year 5
In Year 5, children should build on their earlier skills:
- write multi-paragraph recounts with clear openings, detailed main events, and reflective conclusions
- use more complex time connectives (meanwhile, subsequently, later on)
- include figurative language (similes, metaphors) for vivid descriptions
- experiment with writing for different audiences, including more formal versions
Year 6 advice
In Year 6, recount writing becomes more sophisticated. Encourage children to:
- experiment with varied sentence structures to maintain reader interest
- confidently use a formal or informal tone depending on the audience and purpose
- include advanced vocabulary and punctuation to enhance their writing.
James Clements is an education writer and researcher. His latest project is FluentZoo, a programme for developing children’s reading fluency.
More resources for teaching recounts
Looking to enrich your recount-writing lessons? Check out these resources…
School trips recount
Teach children how to write a recount with this free KS2 text types resource pack from literacy resources website Plazoom. It includes two model texts.
KS1 resources
This KS1 recounts lesson, based on the book Scott of the Antarctic, will see pupils retelling events in simple sentences, including details to engage the reader.
We also have a similar lesson for KS1, based on Ernest Shackleton. Children will focus on writing detailed accounts with correct sequence, compound sentences and consistent tense.
Spiderwick Chronicles activities
Role-play recount writing and diary writing for the characters of The Spiderwick Chronicles with this download from Pie Corbett, featuring an exclusive model text.
