Any Year 1 Year 2 teachers please...

[vickyconfused]

could you recommend any good websites for creative writing ideas , specifically with what is expected for Sats in terms of openers etc. Doing Hw sentences at the moment we are very stuck on 'once upon a time' 'there was once a fairy called' and 'one day I'. I know they want lots of description, adjectives etc but not being overly imaginative myself. Gratefully especailly as it's half term and the last thing you want to be thinking about ...

[Feenie]

These openings would be fine for Y1/Y2, who will be working at an average level 2, or even a more able level 3.
The KS1 teacher assessment that will be reported to you will have to come from all the evidence the teacher has built up al year about your dc's writing ability, not just a one-off test. It also has to include evidence of your dc's classwork from more than one writing genre (not just stories) and cross-curricular writing also.
There has to be one test completed within this wealth of evidence, and the Y2 teacher will be allowed to choose from 2 years - the 2007 and 2009 KS1 tests. If he/she chooses the 2009 test, there isn't a story writing option anyway.

If I was teaching writing story openings, we would collect lots of our favourite examples, and read them, looking for things that make them interesting story openings and make you want to read on and find out what happens next. We would choose our favourite ones and use the structure to write openings which are very similar.

You might find openings which belong to traditional stories - Long, long ago/ In a
faraway land, etc, or beginnings which describe what the main character is like in stories with a familiar setting. Sometimes stories start with dialogue to draw the reader in or sometimes a clue to something exciting which happens later in the story.
I'd say the key at this age is not to over-analyse and to keep it fun! Only use stories which are well-loved in your house, perhaps.
Hth!