- Sentence shuffleSentences & stories
- Instruction builderSentences & stories
- Plot pathsSentences & stories
- Paragraph pathsSentences & stories
- Report plannerSentences & stories
- Argument architectSentences & stories
For parents and teachers
These english games bring together related learning across Years 1 to 6. Start with a familiar skill, then try the next challenge when your child is ready. A school may teach these ideas in a different order; use the curriculum statements below to choose a suitable game.
The quoted headings and statements come from the National Curriculum in England. Every game links to learning guidance. Free printables are offered where available. Talk through a question together before playing independently, and use the printable to return to a tricky idea away from the screen.
More practice across the years
Year 1: Sentence shuffle
The capital letter and full stop provide useful clues while children arrange each prepared sentence. Each puzzle has one target order. This practises reading a sentence for sense; it does not replace composing an original message. Afterwards, say a new sentence aloud and write it together on paper.
Year 2: Instruction builder
Ordering prepared instructions helps children notice that a reader needs a clear sequence. Think about which action depends on another action being finished first. This game checks the order of supplied steps; composing instructions also involves choosing words and deciding what another person needs to know. Try writing a new set about a familiar classroom task.
Year 3: Plot paths
Year 3 composition includes organising ideas and developing a clear narrative. Plot paths makes a simple causal structure visible: a problem happens, a character notices or investigates, an action follows and the problem is resolved. The supplied stories are short enough to discuss without losing the whole sequence, but each event needs to connect to the next. In the torn-map story, taping the pieces together depends on first recovering and aligning them. Ask what information would be missing if the second event disappeared. After ordering, invent a new problem with a different solution and rehearse the events aloud. Add a character’s reaction or a setting detail when writing the story in your own words.
Year 4: Paragraph paths
Year 4 composition uses paragraphs and links that help a reader follow a developing account. Paragraph paths offers four short outlines whose actions refer back to earlier steps. The task is not to memorise a universal paragraph order; it is to notice what a particular event depends on and how references such as that route or following the repair connect the supplied ideas. In the bridge-repair outline, the safety check follows the replacement of the damaged board. Moving that check before the repair would break the intended sequence. After arranging the outline, expand one part into a paragraph with a useful detail. Then check whether the opening of the next paragraph still connects clearly to what the reader has just learned.
Year 5: Report planner
Year 5 composition considers how paragraphs and references connect an explanation for a reader. Report planner follows a finding through a response, a trial and a reasoned recommendation. Its supplied outlines make dependencies explicit, while real reports can be organised in several effective ways. The aim is to explain how each part follows from earlier information, rather than to impose one formula on every text. In the playground outline, the reports about fewer blockages come after the wider-space trial. A recommendation based on those reports therefore needs that information to have been gathered first. After ordering, write an original paragraph that explains the finding and its limits. Ask a reader whether they can identify which evidence supports the proposed next step.
Year 6: Argument architect
Year 6 composition develops a clear relationship between evidence, interpretation and a recommendation. Argument architect offers prepared outlines in which later steps depend on information gathered earlier. Connectives and references help establish the intended sequence. Real arguments can use different structures, so the game’s order belongs to these specific examples rather than being a compulsory formula for every balanced discussion. In the route outline, comparing congestion follows the trial, and the recommendation uses that comparison. Explain why a conclusion presented before the observations would need careful framing to avoid pretending it was already established. After playing, write an original recommendation that includes evidence and one relevant limitation, then ask whether a reader can distinguish the finding from the judgement.