What can a child add after the final picture? If the story has a problem, ask whether it has been dealt with. Consider what the people would naturally do next. An ending can be brief while still showing how the event comes to a close.
Keep the ending connected to the event
Return to the task and the final picture. Identify what still needs explaining. If someone has lost an object, say what they do when it is found. If someone receives help, show how they respond.
New details should follow naturally. A story about sharing an umbrella might end with arriving at the bus stop or saying thank you. A sudden, unrelated adventure is harder to follow. Follow any ending, length or format specifically required by the task.
Choose an action, feeling or next step
An ending does not need all three approaches, and every story does not need an added moral. Choose the detail that best completes this event. A few connected sentences are more useful than several general closing phrases.
- Action: what does the person do to deal with the problem?
- Feeling: how does the person react, and what event supports that feeling?
- Next step: what would naturally happen once the problem is handled?
One event can have different endings
Original scene: Liam and his sister are taking a plant to a school gardening activity. Its pot breaks near the gate. A caretaker brings a spare pot. Both endings below follow those events, with a different focus.
Try an ending of your own
First explain why the ending makes sense, then write it in English. A child’s different idea can work if it fits the people, place and events already established.
Try it yourself
Original scene: it is raining after school, and Maya has no umbrella. Her classmate Sara shares hers. They walk together to the bus stop.
- Write one sentence showing an action or feeling to end the story.
- Explain how the sentence follows the event.
Show an explained answer
- One possible answer is: Maya thanked Sara for sharing her umbrella before they got on the bus.
- It shows Maya responding to her classmate’s help and follows naturally from arriving at the bus stop.
- Another ending could describe Maya’s feeling or what she plans to prepare next time. It need not match the example, but any new detail should make sense.
