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FREE DIARY TEMPLATE · KS1 AND KS2

Diary writing template for KS2 – features and plan

Plan a diary entry in five boxes, from the date to the feelings at the end of the day. Fill in the template online with prompts for your child’s year group and print it, then check the features of a diary for KS1 and KS2.

Reviewed by Joshua Younger, Senior Educator, on .

Plan it online, then print it

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Written for diary writing. The prompts change with the year group.

  1. 1 Date and greeting

    Write the date and a greeting. Are you writing as yourself or as a character?

  2. 2 How the day began

    Start with how the day began. Use “I” and the past tense.

  3. 3 The main event

    Describe the main event in order, using time words such as later, after lunch and suddenly.

  4. 4 Thoughts and feelings

    Explain how you felt and why. Ask yourself a question, as people do in diaries.

  5. 5 Looking ahead

    End by looking forward to tomorrow, or wondering what will happen next.

Prints one A4 page with the diary entry plan and the prompts for Years 3–4. To keep a copy, choose “Save as PDF” in your browser’s print window.

Features of a diary

Purpose: To record events and feelings in the order they happened, written for the writer alone or in role as a character.

What children are usually taught to include at each stage. These lists are Litsee’s guidance, based on common UK primary practice; the curriculum quotations below are the statutory part.

KS1 (Years 1–2)

Ages 5–7

  • Starts with the day or the date
  • Often begins “Dear Diary”
  • Written in the first person, using I and we
  • Tells what happened in the order it happened
  • Uses the past tense (I went, I saw)
  • Says how the writer felt

Years 3–4

Ages 7–9

  • A date at the top of each entry
  • First person (I, me, my) and an informal, chatty voice
  • The past tense for events and the present tense for feelings now (I am so tired)
  • Time conjunctions and adverbs to show the order (after that, later, when)
  • Thoughts and feelings with reasons (because…)
  • Questions the writer asks themselves
  • Paragraphs for different parts of the day

Years 5–6

Ages 9–11

  • A strong personal voice that sounds like the writer, or like the character when writing in role
  • Private thoughts, worries and secrets the writer would tell nobody else
  • Reflection on events, not just a list of them
  • Tenses mixed correctly: past for events, present for feelings, future for plans
  • Informal language, contractions and asides in brackets or after a dash
  • Adverbials to move time on and link paragraphs
  • Details of time and place that fit the character when writing in role

In the National Curriculum

  • “writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)”

    Year 2, Writing – composition (statutory)

  • “using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause”

    Years 3 and 4, Writing – vocabulary, grammar and punctuation (statutory)

  • “Use of the present perfect form of verbs instead of the simple past [for example, He has gone out to play contrasted with He went out to play]”

    Year 3, Text (statutory)

  • “using brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis”

    Years 5 and 6, Writing – vocabulary, grammar and punctuation (statutory)

Worked example: Baby Bear’s diary

A worked example written for this page, at the level of Years 3–4: first the plan, then the piece written from it.

  1. 1. Date and greeting

    Tuesday 3rd May. Dear Diary. Writing in role as Baby Bear, on the day a stranger came to our cottage.

  2. 2. How the day began

    Mum made porridge, but it was too hot, so we went for a walk in the woods while it cooled.

  3. 3. The main event

    We came home to an open door. Someone had eaten MY porridge, broken MY chair and was asleep in MY bed. A girl with golden hair woke up and ran away.

  4. 4. Thoughts and feelings

    Cross about my chair, because Grandpa made it. But a bit sorry for her too. Was she lost? Was she hungry?

  5. 5. Looking ahead

    Dad will mend the chair tomorrow. I’ll leave porridge on the step in case she comes back.

The finished piece: Baby Bear’s diary

Tuesday 3rd May

Dear Diary,

What a day! It started normally. Mum made porridge for breakfast, but it was far too hot, so we went for a walk in the woods while it cooled down.

When we got home, the front door was wide open. Someone had eaten all of my porridge, broken my little chair and (I still can’t believe it) fallen fast asleep in my bed! When she woke up and saw us, the girl with golden hair jumped out of the window and ran off into the trees.

I was so cross about my chair, because Grandpa made it for me. But now that I’ve calmed down, I feel a bit sorry for her. Was she lost? Was she hungry?

Dad has promised to mend the chair tomorrow. I’m going to leave a bowl of porridge on the step, just in case she comes back.

Baby Bear

How to use this plan at home or in class

A diary entry is a recount with feelings in it. It tells what happened, in order, but it also tells what the writer thought and felt about it, which most recounts leave out. That makes diaries one of the best ways to practise writing in the first person and in the past tense, and to show feelings rather than simply naming them.

Children write two kinds of diary at primary school. The first is about their own life: a school trip, a birthday, the first day of a new term. The second is written in role as someone else, such as a character from a story or a person from history. In role, a child can write about worries and secrets without sharing their own, which is often more comfortable in class. The worked example above is written in role as Baby Bear, a favourite Year 2 and Year 3 choice.

In KS1, keep it to a few sentences about one event. Start with the day and “Dear Diary”, say what happened first, next and last, and finish with how the writer felt. The Year 2 curriculum asks children to write narratives about personal experiences and those of others, real and fictional, and a short diary does exactly that. Drawing the event first helps children remember the order.

In Years 3 and 4, focus on time and tense. Time conjunctions and adverbs (after that, later, when, suddenly) move the entry along, and the grammar for Year 3 includes the present perfect, which diaries use naturally: “Dad has promised to mend the chair.” Show children how a diary mixes tenses for good reasons: the past for what happened, the present for how the writer feels now and the future for tomorrow’s plans.

In Years 5 and 6, the diary becomes about voice. Ask, “Would this character really say that?” Asides in brackets or after a dash sound like private thoughts, and a reflection at the end shows the writer making sense of the day. When writing in role as a historical figure, such as a child evacuated in the Second World War, research a few real details of daily life first so the voice feels true.

A common pitfall is the “and then” diary: a list of events with no feelings. The thoughts and feelings box in the plan is there to stop that. At home, a diary can be a lovely private habit, and it should stay private unless your child chooses to share it. In class, in-role diaries are a good way to respond to a class novel.

About this page

Reviewed by Joshua Younger · How it was made · Sources

Sources

The quotations in “In the National Curriculum” are copied word for word from these documents, with the year and section each applies to. The features lists, prompts, advice and worked example are Litsee’s guidance.

How this page was made

Reviewed by Joshua Younger, Senior Educator, on .

The plans, features lists and worked examples were drafted with AI help and checked against the National Curriculum by Litsee. Spotted something to improve? Email info@litsee.com.

The planner runs in your browser. Nothing you type is saved, stored or sent anywhere, and it disappears when you close or refresh the page.

Questions parents and teachers ask

What are the features of a diary entry for KS2?

A date, the first person, mostly the past tense, events in time order, an informal voice, the writer’s private thoughts and feelings, and an ending that looks ahead. Years 5 and 6 add reflection, asides and a strong voice when writing in role.

What tense is a diary written in?

Mostly the past tense, because it recounts what happened. Feelings at the time of writing can be in the present tense (I feel so proud), and plans for tomorrow in the future tense.

What does writing a diary in role mean?

Writing as if you were someone else, such as a character from a story or a person from history. The child uses “I” but writes that character’s experiences, thoughts and feelings.

How do you start a diary entry?

With the date and, if you like, “Dear Diary”. Then open with a sentence that shows the writer’s mood, such as “What a day!” or “I can’t stop smiling.”, before saying what happened.

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