A Story From the Market
Use the picture of a busy street market to write a short story. Choose one person in the picture and tell what happened to them that morning.
- Time
- 25 min
- Length
- 120-150 words
Writadia · B1 · Stories
NameClassDate
The situation
Look at the picture of a Saturday street market. Choose one person and imagine their morning.
Your task
Write a story that starts at the market in the picture. Include:
- at least three things you can see in the picture
- a problem or a surprise
- how the story ends
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Choose your main character: the man buying flowers, the woman with the bag, the child, the musician...
- Use details from the picture to set the scene.
- Add a problem: something lost, a mistake, a meeting.
- Use past simple and past continuous.
- Give the story a short, clear ending.
Useful phrases
Setting the scene
Problem
Ending
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- stall
- a table where things are sold at a marketthe flower stall
- bunch
- a group of flowers held togethera bunch of tulips
- stallholder
- a person who sells at a stallThe stallholder smiled.
- realise
- suddenly understandHe realised his wallet was missing.
Model answer (128 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
It was a busy Saturday morning at the street market. A musician was playing the guitar, and the air smelled of oranges.1
Emre stopped at the flower stall. It was his wife's birthday, and he wanted the biggest bunch of tulips on the table. While the stallholder was wrapping the flowers, Emre put his hand in his pocket and realised that his wallet was not there.2
He looked at the ground, then back at the fruit stall, where an old man and a little boy were pointing at the apples. Before he could say anything, the boy ran over to him. "Is this yours?" he asked, holding a brown wallet.
Emre bought two bunches of flowers that day: one for his wife, and one for the boy's grandmother.3
- Details from the picture set the scene.
- Past continuous + past simple for the problem.
- A short, warm ending.
Teacher notes
Before writing: each student chooses a different person in the picture. Compare how many different stories one picture can give.
Focus: narrative tenses; one line of dialogue with correct punctuation.
Extra challenge
Retell your story in 50 words from the point of view of another person in the picture.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: stall, bunch, stallholder, realise.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “It was a busy Saturday morning at the market.”, “The smell of fresh fruit filled the air.”, “While he was paying, he realised ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (120-150 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | All points covered in detail; purpose and reader clear. | All points there, one is thin. | One point missing or some off-topic content. | Task mostly not met. | |
| Organisation and flow | Clear paragraphs; varied linking words. | Paragraphs present; linkers repetitive. | No paragraphs or jumpy flow. | Ideas scattered. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic-specific, varied vocabulary. | Adequate; some repetition. | Limited; some wrong word choices. | Very limited. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Range of structures, few errors. | Some errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors affect meaning. | Errors block understanding. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I used at least three details from the picture.
- My story has a problem or a surprise.
- I used the past simple and past continuous.
- My story has a clear ending.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I used at least three details from the picture.
- My story has a problem or a surprise.
- I used the past simple and past continuous.
- My story has a clear ending.
Writadia · B1 · Stories
Assessment rubric: A Story From the Market
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | All points covered in detail; purpose and reader clear. | All points there, one is thin. | One point missing or some off-topic content. | Task mostly not met. | |
| Organisation and flow | Clear paragraphs; varied linking words. | Paragraphs present; linkers repetitive. | No paragraphs or jumpy flow. | Ideas scattered. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic-specific, varied vocabulary. | Adequate; some repetition. | Limited; some wrong word choices. | Very limited. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Range of structures, few errors. | Some errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors affect meaning. | Errors block understanding. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I used at least three details from the picture.
- My story has a problem or a surprise.
- I used the past simple and past continuous.
- My story has a clear ending.
Teacher comment
Writadia · B1 · Stories
Peer-review sheet: A Story From the Market
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I used at least three details from the picture. | |||
| My story has a problem or a surprise. | |||
| I used the past simple and past continuous. | |||
| My story has a clear ending. |
Questions
- Does the text cover every point in the task?
- Are there paragraphs? What is each one about?
- Write two linking words the writer used.
- Is there a sentence you had to read twice?
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
★ Another thing I liked
→ One suggestion
Writadia · B1 · Stories
Lesson plan: A Story From the Market
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: stall, bunch, stallholder, realise.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “It was a busy Saturday morning at the market.”, “The smell of fresh fruit filled the air.”, “While he was paying, he realised ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (120-150 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Did you use this task in class?
If you used it, tell us. It helps us see which tasks work.