Family Life: A Family Celebration
Write about a family celebration you remember: what happened, who was there and why it was special.
- Time
- 25 min
- Length
- 110-140 words
Writadia · B1 · Stories
NameClassDate
The situation
Your English class is collecting stories for a booklet called "Our Family Moments". Each student writes about a celebration they remember well.
Your task
Write a short story about a family celebration (a wedding, a holiday such as Bayram, a birthday...). Include:
- when and where it happened
- who was there and what you did
- one funny or surprising moment
- how you felt
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Set the scene: when, where, who.
- Tell the events in order with the past simple and past continuous.
- Include one funny or surprising moment.
- End with how you felt and why you remember it.
Useful phrases
Setting the scene
Events
Feelings
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- gather
- come together in a groupThe family gathered in the garden.
- relatives
- members of your familyAll my relatives were there.
- tradition
- something people have done for a long timeIt's a family tradition.
- burst out laughing
- suddenly start laughingEveryone burst out laughing.
Model answer (121 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
It was the first day of Ramazan Bayramı, and the whole family was at my grandparents' house in Sivas.1 There were twenty-three of us, from my baby cousin to my great-grandmother.
In the morning we kissed our grandparents' hands, the children collected sweets and pocket money, and the adults drank tea and talked for hours. While my grandmother was carrying a huge tray of baklava into the garden, our dog ran between her legs.2 For a second, everyone froze, and my uncle even dropped his tea glass. Then she caught the tray just in time, and everyone burst out laughing, including her.
I'll never forget that Bayram, because it was the last time the whole family was together in that house.3
- When, where and who in one sentence.
- Past continuous for the background, past simple for the sudden event.
- Feeling + why it matters.
Teacher notes
Theme link: Family Life (Theme 4).
Focus: past continuous (while ... was ...ing) + past simple for interruptions.
Cultural sharing: encourage students to explain traditions briefly for an international reader (e.g. kissing elders' hands).
Extra challenge
Write the same moment from the dog's point of view in 50 words!
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: gather, relatives, tradition, burst out laughing.
- 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 the first day of Bayram, and the whole family was at my grandparents' house in ...”, “While we were ..., ... suddenly ...”, “After lunch, we all ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (110-140 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 said when and where it happened and who was there.
- I used the past simple and the past continuous.
- I included a funny or surprising moment.
- I said how I felt.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I said when and where it happened and who was there.
- I used the past simple and the past continuous.
- I included a funny or surprising moment.
- I said how I felt.
Writadia · B1 · Stories
Assessment rubric: Family Life: A Family Celebration
| 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 said when and where it happened and who was there.
- I used the past simple and the past continuous.
- I included a funny or surprising moment.
- I said how I felt.
Teacher comment
Writadia · B1 · Stories
Peer-review sheet: Family Life: A Family Celebration
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I said when and where it happened and who was there. | |||
| I used the past simple and the past continuous. | |||
| I included a funny or surprising moment. | |||
| I said how I felt. |
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
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Writadia · B1 · Stories
Lesson plan: Family Life: A Family Celebration
- 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: gather, relatives, tradition, burst out laughing.
- 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 the first day of Bayram, and the whole family was at my grandparents' house in ...”, “While we were ..., ... suddenly ...”, “After lunch, we all ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (110-140 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.