: creative writing competition
Inspired by Nature is a creative writing competition from The Natural Curriculum and ERA. NOW CLOSED.
The winning class will have their creative writing published on the Natural Curriculum website and will win £500 for their school to spend on laptops or tablets!
The competition is open to Years 3 to 6 (England / Wales) and P4 to P7 (Scotland / NI). Find the worksheet for pupils and an instruction video below.
How does it work?
Your pupils just need to watch one of the BBC’s captivating natural history clips opposite and use it as the basis for a piece of creative writing. Make sure you show them the right clip for their year group!
- Year 3 / P4 – Fire ant raft.
- Year 4 / P5 – Robo hare vs. eagle.
- Year 5 / P6 – Behind the scenes: giraffe fight.
- Year 6 / P7 – Sumatran rhino: first steps to safety.
You could use this as a classroom activity or set it as a piece of homework. You can give your pupils free choice for the kind of creative writing they produce, or choose for them.
See the Submit your entry section (below the clips) for how to enter.
Here is David Millington, the creative force behind the Natural Curriculum, explaining for your pupils exactly what they need to do.
Instructions for your pupils
- Watch the clip set for your year group.
- Think about the information you learned in the clip; you can also do further research if you like.
- Produce a piece of creative writing based on what you watched. It could be a diary entry from the perspective of the animal, a new script for the clip, a set of instructions for an invention that helps the animal, … or whatever you like!
- Try to remember everything you have learned with your teacher about how to make your writing clear and exciting!
- Write your creative writing piece in the Inspired by Nature Worksheet. Make sure you fill in your details and complete the sentence: “This clip inspired me because…”. Then hand in the worksheet to your teacher.
Inspired by Nature worksheet download
Year 3 / P4 clip: Fire ant raft. Credit: BBC One - A Perfect Planet
Year 4 / P5 clip: Robo hare vs. eagle. Credit: BBC One - Natural World
Year 5 / P6 clip: Behind the scenes: Giraffe fight. Credit: BBC One - Africa
Year 6 / P7 Clip: Sumatran rhino: First steps to safety. Credit: BBC One - Seven Worlds, One Planet.
Submit your entry
Collect all your pupils’ Inspired by Nature Worksheets (you need to submit at least 5 from your class). Then upload them by Friday 11th June 2021 by clicking ‘Enter now’. You will also be asked to briefly describe how
By entering the competition you confirm that you agree to the Inspired by Nature Competition Terms and Conditions.
The competition jury will select four winning classes: one for each year group. Each class’s creative writing will be assessed based on its originality, creativity and use of language in response to the clip. Jury members are:
- David Millington, creator of the Natural Curriculum
- Gillian McClure, children’s author and illustrator
- Peter Cansell, national executive information officer for the National Association of Primary Education
- Helena Djurkovic, CEO of ERA
Don’t forget there are over a hundred inspiring grammar lessons for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 available at naturalcurriculum.co.uk, all based on captivating natural history clips from the BBC. Each grammar-based lesson contains word challenges, clear explanations of the grammar that is being learned, whiteboard challenges, writing ideas and a downloadable worksheet. The website also has Home Learning resources for Years 1-6, with engaging natural history information, literacy ideas and further curriculum ideas.