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The 500 Words competition is now closed for entries.

What happens in the ���˿��� Teach 500 Words Live Lesson?

Join presenters Shereen Cutkelvin and Joe Tasker as they take your class on a journey inside a props warehouse, filled with thousands of objects used in films, TV, and on stage, to show how everyday items can inspire epic stories.

With the guidance of 500 Words judges — Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon and Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce — and our team of young storytellers, your class will be buzzing with inspiration, ready to write their own 500 Words story.

Plus, author and actor Nathan Bryon shares his expert tips on creating interesting characters and exciting plots.

Children will be asked during the lesson to choose and note down an everyday object (e.g. a cup, key, button or a bag) to use as a starting point for their story. You may want them to have a look around and select something in advance of the show, or you may wish to display objects around the class for inspiration.

The 30 minute Live Lesson is available to watch now on this page and on ���˿��� iPlayer.

Curriculum links:

KS2 English (National Curriculum, England), KS1 and 2 Language and Literacy (National Curriculum, Northern Ireland), Literacy and English 1st and 2nd Level (Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland), Language, Literacy and Communication, progression step 2 (Curriculum for Wales)

Pupils should:

• Understand, enjoy, and create stories.
• Discuss and plan their ideas for writing before beginning.
• Create and compare settings, characters and plot.
• Use language and structure in their writing to engage their readers.
• Think about the audience and purpose of their writing.

Classroom resources

Teaching guide, activity sheets and an example of a 500 Words story to accompany the Live Lesson.

500 Words 2024/25

The UK's biggest children's story writing competition is now closed for entries.

50 finalists will be invited to go to a glamorous grand final at Buckingham Palace in February next year, where the bronze, silver and gold winners in each category will have their stories read out by celebrities.

You can find resources to inspire 5-7 year olds here and 7-11 year olds here.

Find out all you need to know, including terms and conditions, here.

How to get involved:

This programme was live and accompanied by a live website commentary feed for schools.

We added as many messages as we could to this live commentary page on the day of the Live Lesson.

Please do not send any more emails about this lesson, as they will not be included.

Where next?