Seven Steps To Writing Success

🏆 And the winners are ...

We’re thrilled to announce the results of our 2026 Narrative Writing Competition!

From 219 inspiring student entries across Australia and New Zealand, we’ve chosen winners and runners-up across Years 1–6. Each story impressed us with its creativity, imagination and powerful storytelling.

A huge congratulations to all students who took part – what an incredible achievement. ⭐👏

Check out the winners here: https://tinyurl.com/narrativewinners2026

Haven't run our NSS lesson yet? You've still got time to turn it into your Term 3 plan 📊

Here's how the journey works:

1. Plan
Read Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller with your class, brainstorm ideas together and plot a story on the Narrative Story Graph. Already done if you joined our live lesson – or grab the free lesson pack to run it yourself.

2. Write
Your students write a short story (50-500 words) about a character who rises to a challenge.
3️⃣
3. Insights ⭐
Send us your class writing. We'll assess it through our AI assessment tool and meet 1:1 to walk you through the results – strengths, gaps and your clearest next teaching priorities. You'll get a full PDF class report after.

You'll know exactly how your students are tracking against the Seven Steps and NAPLAN criteria – and exactly what to focus on next term.

📅 Sessions running until 26 June.

Book your spot now and send the writing through when it's ready.

Start with the free lesson pack 👇
https://tinyurl.com/free-lesson-pack

Already running it? Book your diagnostic session here: https://tinyurl.com/diagnostic-session

📣 Members – entries to our Narrative Writing Competition close at midnight tomorrow

If your students have written their NSS stories, don't forget to upload them to our AI assessment tool by midnight on Wed 17 June. Vouchers and Classroom Packs up for grabs!

Here's the bit worth doing all on its own – every student gets their own personalised glow and grow feedback and you'll walk away with clear insights for your class. You'll know exactly where they are, what's working and what to teach next, with the resources ready to go.

Term 3 planning, sorted in five minutes.

👉 Enter your class: https://teacherhub.sevenstepswriting.com/article/105

You shouldn't have to guess what your class needs next term.

If you ran our NSS lesson or downloaded the free pack, your class has writing ready to go. Send it to us. We'll do the rest.

In your free 1:1 Diagnostic Session, you'll see:

📊 How your class is tracking against the Seven Steps and NAPLAN criteria
🎯 The exact teaching priorities for Term 3
📄 A full class report to inform your planning

📅 Until 26 June only. Our one window for the year.
👉 Book your session: https://tinyurl.com/diagnostic-session

Hundreds of classes joined our NSS live lesson on May 27 📝✨

Here are some of the brainstorming ideas shared by students across Australia and New Zealand. Look at the range!

Classrooms were buzzing and the writing hadn't even started.

Here's the thing about ideas – your first one is almost never your best.

Authors know this. They spend a third of their writing time on ideas before a single sentence hits the page. Our students should too.

Aim for 10 ideas before you settle on one. The first few are the obvious ones. Keep going. The good stuff is hiding behind the obvious.

Think first. Write second.

Want to run this lesson with your class? Grab our free lesson pack here 👇
https://tinyurl.com/free-lesson-pack

"Jump! Jump! JUMP!" yelled the skydiving instructor. ✈️ 🐱

That's how Niamh, a Year 3 student, chose to begin her story.

Marley the Skydiving Cat is the story of a fluffy stowaway with a fear of heights who unexpectedly finds himself hurtling through the sky on a life-changing adventure.

But before writing her first paragraph, Niamh used the Seven Steps Narrative Story Graph to map out her ideas. By planning her Sizzling Start, building tension and shaping her Exciting Ending, she created a story filled with action, humour and suspense.

That's the power of Think first. Write second.

Want to share Niamh's example with your class? Her sample and report are included in our free lesson pack – and you'll see her whole writing journey:

✨ Her completed Narrative Story Graph – showing how she planned before writing
✨ Her finished narrative piece
✨ The glow and grow feedback our AI tool gave her
✨ How her writing measured up against the Seven Steps and NAPLAN criteria

Download the free lesson pack here: https://tinyurl.com/free-lesson-pack

📣 Members – our Narrative Writing Competition closes 12 June.

If you joined our NSS live lesson, your students already have a story plotted on the Narrative Story Graph – perfect, they're ready to write.

If not, you can run our free brainstorming lesson with your class first (find it on the competition page).

Then it's simple:
✍️ Students write their story (50–500 words about a character who rises to a challenge)
⬆️ You upload the class set to our AI assessment tool
🎉 Each story is assessed, every student gets glow and grow feedback and your class is entered

Prizes for winners, runners-up and the school with the most entries!

Everything's on the competition page in Teacher Hub – including an exemplar to show your class what they're aiming for. https://teacherhub.sevenstepswriting.com/article/105

We had a great couple of days at EDUtech 2026! 🎉

Joining over 10,000 education professionals, alongside hundreds of world-class speakers and cutting-edge exhibitors, we experienced two days of connection, discovery and real conversations shaping the future of learning.

We met school leaders, amazing teachers, edtech innovators and brilliant academics, and made some great connections along the way.

The highlight for us was sitting on stage with two passionate Assistant Principals, Curriculum and Instruction, who shared how they're using the Seven Steps program alongside our new AI assessment tool to improve student outcomes, create schoolwide consistency and save teachers valuable time.

Thank you to everyone who visited our stand, attended our sessions and shared their insights with us. We're leaving EDUtech inspired by the people, ideas and innovation shaping the future of education.