Stuck in a Video Game! Imaginative Postcard Writing Assessment: Year 2 is a fun and purposeful writing task that invites students to imagine being transported into a video game world. Using a visual prompt, structured planning template and postcard-style writing format, students craft a creative recount of their adventure, writing as if they’re sending a message to a friend from inside the game.

This activity supports key narrative skills such as sequencing, descriptive language, punctuation and grammar, while also fostering creative thinking and the development of personal voice. Writing in postcard form encourages students to reflect, summarise and describe a fictional event using engaging and expressive language.

The included assessment rubric is aligned with Year 2 Australian Curriculum outcomes, and the editable templates allow for easy classroom differentiation, making this a flexible and effective tool for writing assessment.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Plan, draft and edit an imaginative postcard using a visual prompt
• ✅ Apply narrative structure with a clear beginning, middle and end
• ✅ Use descriptive language to express ideas and emotions
• ✅ Demonstrate control of punctuation, grammar and spelling
• ✅ Develop voice and creativity in a structured written format

What’s Included:

• Visual prompt strip (black-and-white and colour)
• Planning template for organising story details
• Postcard-style writing template
• Assessment rubric aligned with Year 2 Australian Curriculum outcomes
• Editable versions of all documents for flexibility
• Versions available in our basic fun font and all Australian state fonts

Materials Needed:

• Printed templates
• Pencils or coloured pens
• Optional: anchor charts with postcard structure or vocabulary

How to Use:

• Introduce the image prompt and brainstorm as a class what might happen inside a video game world
• Support students in planning their characters, setting, and events using the template
• Students draft a postcard recounting their adventure, adding personal reactions and vivid description
• Guide students through the editing process to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Use the rubric to assess student writing across narrative and technical skills

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use during a narrative or digital storytelling unit
• 💡 Create a class “Postcards from a Game World” bulletin board
• 💡 Include in writing portfolios for parent interviews or reporting

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Model a sample postcard to explore structure and tone
• 💛 Use a list of emotion words or gaming vocabulary to support writing
• 💛 Pair with a creative drawing task to illustrate the postcard setting

Stuck in a Video Game! Imaginative Postcard Writing Assessment: Year 2 is a light-hearted yet meaningful writing task that brings imagination and structure together—perfect for building writing confidence in early primary students.