Mix art with writing to get students excited about story telling. Many English KS2 students have trouble sequencing a story line. Create a lesson where students create a simple four-panel cartoon. This will simplify a story into a simple beginning, middle and end. Children will enjoy illustrating their cartoons and bringing their characters to life. This cartooning lesson will also help students to understand the use of quotation marks in later writing lessons.
A cartooning lesson will give reluctant writers a chance to create a great story without the burden of relying strictly on script to tell their stories. Cartooning is a perfect small-group project where students can share their artistic and writing abilities to best effect. Be sure to share popular cartoons with students along with biographical information about the artists. This could also lead to lively graphic novel discussions.