Book Week is back! This year, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book Week is 21 – 27 August.
The theme is: Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds.

We love that reading provides an escape to another world – and writing does too.

This year’s theme is the perfect chance to encourage your students to write about different worlds. Perhaps they’d like to create a fictional world, research a past era, or persuade us to save the future.

Plot your escape

Show your students how to plan a fantasy fiction story, by sharing these Narrative Story Graphs.

Teacher Hub

Members can access a range of books plotted on the story graph, including fantasy fiction, fairy tales and fables, historical fiction, books with political themes, and previous CBCA books. Log in to Teacher Hub, view the Resource Library, click on ‘more filters’ and search for ‘Story Graphs & Writing Graphs’.

Ask students to plot books on the story graph from this year’s CBCA 2021 Book of the Year Shortlist.

Fantasy Fiction on the story graph

STEP Step 1: Plan for Success
PURPOSE Teach
RESOURCE TYPE Story graphs
YEAR F–10

We have plotted several popular fantasy books on the story graph:

‘Deltora Quest: The Forests of Silence’ by Emily Rodda
‘Dragonkeeper’ by Carole Wilkinson
‘Groosham Grange’ by Anthony Horowitz
‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ by JK Rowling
‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ by Rick Riordan
‘Ubby’s Underdogs: Heroes Beginnings’ by Brenton E McKenna
‘Wormwood Mire’ by Judith Russell.

A worldly classroom

Writing about other worlds is relevant to any text type. Seven Steps has lesson plans and classroom activities to help you approach this theme for narrative, persuasive and informative writing.

Narrative writing

You can use a range of free narrative Writing Prompts, to spark ideas through short, collaborative writing lessons!

This includes the Seven Steps Narrative Writing Competition category, A Visit to the Past. Use this writing prompt to help students journey back in time.

Student Samples
Download and use these winning entries to model great writing!

Primary Winner
Eleanor Peterson (Year 4), Belair Public School

Secondary Winner
Lena Turner (Year 7), Miami State High School

Informative writing

Check out these free informative writing lessons and activities, such as the Take Me There Lesson Plan.

Take Me There

Use all of the senses to paint a vivid picture of a place in a travel review. Includes I Do, We Do, You Do lesson structure.

STEP Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell
RESOURCE TYPE Lesson Plan
GRADE F–10

Persuasive writing

Teacher Hub members can follow the Persuasive Performances Lesson Plan.

Persuasive Performances

In this Step 5 lesson, students learn how to SHOW rather than TELL people about an issue to engage their emotions and raise awareness.

STEP Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell
RESOURCE TYPE Lesson Plans
GRADE F-10

Enjoy this wonderful theme. Your students’ writing will be out of this world!