Australian Curriculum · Year 1 Australian Curriculum v9, Year 1: English, Literacy strand (creating texts) Ages 6–7 (Year 1) ⏱️ 3 min read

Writing a Recount: Year 1 Study Guide

A recount tells what happened, in order. It is one of the first kinds of writing children do at school.

A recount retells something that really happened, like a weekend, an excursion or a birthday. It is written in the past tense (we went, I saw, we ate) and in order of time. A good recount answers who, what, when, where and why or how.

Year 1 writers learn to plan a recount, to use time words (first, next, then, after that, finally), to write in sentences and to add a personal comment at the end: It was the best day ever!

Structure of a recount

Part	What goes in it	Example
Orientation	Who, where and when	On Saturday, my family went to Luna Park.
Events in order	What happened first, next and last	First we rode the carousel. Then we ate fairy floss.
Closing comment	How you felt	I loved the day.

Writing it step by step

Think

Choose an event and tell it to a friend.

Draw

Three pictures: first, next, last.

Write

One or two sentences for each picture.

Check

Capital letters, finger spaces, full stops.

Past tense and punctuation

Most verbs in a recount end in -ed (walked, jumped), but some change completely (go → went, see → saw, eat → ate). Start each sentence with a capital letter and end it with a full stop. Use a capital for people's names and places: Mia, Brisbane.

Worked example and common mistakes

Weak: I went to the beach. It was fun. Better: On Sunday, my family went to Manly Beach. First, we built a sandcastle. Then I swam in the waves. After lunch, we flew a kite. It was a great day. Common mistakes: switching between past and present ('I go' then 'I went'), writing 'and then' in every sentence and forgetting a full stop. Reading aloud helps catch errors.

💡 Pro Tip: Take a photo of an outing and use it to prompt a recount. Photos help children remember the order.

Check your understanding: model answers

1. Example: On Saturday, I played at the park. 2. Example: After that, we ate lunch. 3. I went to school.

✨ Key Takeaways

A recount tells what really happened, in order.
Use who, what, when, where and why.
Write in the past tense.
End with how you felt.

💬 Questions for Discussion & Reflection

Write one sentence about what you did on the weekend.
Add a time word to this sentence: 'We ate lunch.'
Change 'I go to school' to the past tense.

Print lined paper for writing →

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