Grade 6 Creative Writing: Ten Model Compositions

Ten model compositions of about a hundred words each, written at the level of a Grade 6 learner of English rather than at the level of a teacher. The sentences are short, the tenses are the past simple and the present simple, and the words are ones a pupil already knows.

Each one is followed by a line saying what it shows. Read that line with the class: a model that is only admired teaches nothing, but a model a pupil can copy one trick from teaches a great deal.

It rained all morning on Sunday. The sky was grey and the road outside our house was full of water.

I could not go out to play. I sat near the window and watched the rain. A small bird sat on the wall. It was wet and it looked cold.

My mother made hot tea and we drank it together. She told me a story about her school days.

In the evening the rain stopped. The trees were clean and green. A rainbow came in the sky.

I ran outside and jumped in the water. It was the best part of the day.

We have a dog at home. His name is Kalu because he is black.

Kalu is three years old. He is not very big but he barks loudly at strangers. When I come home from school he runs to the gate and jumps on me.

Every evening I give him rice and fish. He eats very fast. After that we play in the garden with an old ball.

Kalu sleeps near my bed at night. Sometimes he dreams and his legs move.

My father says a dog is a good friend. I think my father is right.

My best friend is Nimali. She sits next to me in class.

Nimali is tall and she has long hair. She is good at mathematics and she helps me when I cannot do a sum. I am better at English, so I help her with spelling.

At interval we eat together under the mango tree. She always gives me half of her biscuit.

Last month I was ill for four days. Nimali brought my books to my house and told me what the teacher taught.

A good friend is someone who does not forget you.

On Saturday my mother cleans the house. Last Saturday I helped her.

First I swept the floor. Then I washed the plates and put them on the rack. My little brother tried to help but he dropped a cup. It did not break.

After that we went to the shop and bought vegetables. The bag was heavy so we carried it together.

In the afternoon my mother cooked rice and dhal. We were both tired.

She said thank you to me. I felt very proud.

Now I help her every Saturday.

Behind our classroom there is a small garden. Our class made it last year.

We planted tomatoes, chillies and some flowers. Every morning two pupils water the plants. This week it is my turn.

At first the plants were very small. Now the tomato plants are taller than my brother.

Last week we picked the first tomatoes. Our teacher counted them. There were fourteen.

We gave them to the school cook and she put them in our lunch.

It was only a small lunch but everybody said it tasted good.

Last month we went to Kandy by bus. We left our house at five in the morning.

The bus was very full. I sat near the window and my mother stood for one hour. Then a kind man gave her his seat.

Outside I saw paddy fields, small shops and a river. A woman sold vadai at the bus stop and my father bought four.

The road went up the hill and my ears felt strange.

We reached Kandy at nine o'clock. I was tired but I was happy to see the lake.

My birthday is on the tenth of June. This year I was twelve.

In the morning my mother made milk rice. I wore my new blue shirt and went to school.

At interval my friends sang for me and I gave them toffees. My teacher wrote a note in my book.

In the evening my aunt and my cousins came to our house. We ate cake and we played cricket in the garden until it was dark.

I did not get a big present. But it was a very good day.

A new boy came to our class last term. His name is Sahan.

On the first day he sat alone. He did not talk to anybody. At interval he stood near the wall and looked at the ground.

I remembered my first day at this school. I was afraid too.

So I went to him and asked his name. He told me. Then I asked him to play cricket with us.

Sahan is a very good bowler. Now he has many friends.

It took me one minute to ask his name.

Last Tuesday I could not find my English book. I looked in my bag three times.

I was afraid because my teacher does not like carelessness.

I looked under my desk and in the cupboard. My friends helped me. We even went to the next class and asked. We could not find it anywhere.

Then a girl from Grade 7 came to our class. She had my book in her hand. She found it on the bus and she saw my name inside.

I said thank you many times.

Now I write my name in every book.

There is a small shop at the end of our lane. Mr Piyasena keeps it.

The shop is not big. It sells bread, sugar, tea, soap and sweets. There is one old fridge near the door.

Every evening people come to buy things and to talk. They talk about the rain and the price of rice.

Mr Piyasena knows everybody's name. He knows what my mother buys on Sunday.

Sometimes he gives a toffee to a small child for nothing.

It is a small shop but our lane needs it.

• Read one aloud, then ask what happened. If the class can retell it in three sentences, the writing is clear. That is the standard, not long words.
• Point at one thing to copy. The last line, or the dialogue, or the way the first sentence puts you in the place. One thing, not the whole piece.
• Give them the same title and a hundred words. A word limit helps a weak writer more than it restricts a strong one: it stops the story wandering.
• Do not correct every mistake. Mark the two that matter most in that piece. A page returned in red ink teaches a child that writing is dangerous.
• Read the best two aloud next lesson, without names if the writer would rather. Pupils write for an audience, and the class is the only audience they have.