FREE TEACHER STORY UNITS · KS1 AND KS2
Seasonal story units for KS1 and KS2
Free story-led lesson plans for the moments that come round each school year, from Christmas to Book Day. Every unit has a KS1 and a KS2 story on one page, with objectives, talk questions, writing tasks, word banks, curriculum links and a printable A4 lesson sheet for each key stage.
Reviewed by Joshua Younger, Senior Educator, on .
The units
English · Narrative writingChristmas story unit
Any school day in December, up to the end of the autumn term.KS1: The Toy That Lost Its Twinkle Sequence the events of a story and talk about how characters show kindness.KS2: The Village That Saved Christmas Eve Explore how authors build tension towards a climax and resolve it.- Religious Education · Festivals
Hanukkah story unit
In 2026, Hanukkah begins at sundown on Friday 4 December, when the first candle is lit, and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12 December.KS1: Eight Little Lights Describe how some Jewish families celebrate Hanukkah and count the eight nights of lights.KS2: The Light in the Window Explain how and why Hanukkah is celebrated, using respectful vocabulary. 
English · Narrative writingWinter story unit
December and January: before the end of the autumn term or at the start of the spring term.KS1: Robin's Snowy Surprise Describe a winter setting and recognise how kindness helps others in the cold.KS2: The Frozen Lantern Trail Use description and accurate facts to bring a winter setting to life.- PSHE · Respecting differences
Lunar New Year story unit
Lunar New Year’s Day 2027 is Saturday 6 February, the first day of the Year of the Goat.KS1: Little Goat's New Year Describe how some families celebrate Lunar New Year and retell a simple traditional tale.KS2: The Race Across the River Compare how different communities celebrate Lunar New Year and explain the message of a traditional tale. - Computing · Online safety
Safer Internet Day story unit
Safer Internet Day 2027 is on Tuesday 9 February. The UK theme is “Reflect on Tech: exploring digital wellbeing and our relationship with technology”.KS1: The Picture Machine's Muddle Know that computers and AI can make mistakes, keep private things private, and ask a trusted grown-up when unsure.KS2: The Story Checkers Explain simply how AI makes words and pictures, why it can be wrong, and how to use smart tech safely, kindly and in balance. 
English · Reading for pleasureBook Day story unit
The national Book Day in 2027 is Thursday 4 March.KS1: The Night the Books Woke Up Talk about favourite books and use covers, pictures and titles to predict what a story is about.KS2: The Library of Lost Endings Compare how different kinds of book work and explain, with reasons, what makes a good ending.
What is in every unit
Each unit starts with a class story: a short, gentle story written for the moment, with one version for younger children (Reception to Year 2) and one for older children (Years 3 to 6). Around the story sit the things you need to teach from it: a learning objective, questions to talk about, a writing task, a word bank with child-friendly meanings, the features of the text type children will write, and the National Curriculum statements it serves, quoted word for word.
The units come from the seasonal class-story packs in the Litsee app, which Litsee writes with a simple rule: keep it cosy, kind and gentle for children aged 5 to 11. Nothing frightening, no peril that lasts, and no unkindness left unresolved. Festivals are shown through what families do, in their own words, without religious claims.
You can teach every unit from this page alone. Print the lesson sheets, read the sample opening aloud, and let your class carry the story on in their own writing. If you use Litsee, you can also run the same brief as a live class story, written and illustrated chapter by chapter, with the class choosing what happens next.