The Hidden Tunnel

Year 5

The Hidden Tunnel is a free, NAPLAN-aligned writing resource for Year 5 students. It includes a story starter, complication, tiered vocabulary and scaffolds mapped to the Australian Curriculum (AC9).

Year 5 AC9E5LE05 AC9E5LA05 AC9E5LA08 AC9E5LA09 AC9E5LA04 AC9E5LY06

Supports the Year 5 achievement standard (creating written texts).

Australian Curriculum content descriptions © ACARA. Writesy is not affiliated with or endorsed by ACARA.

One rainy afternoon, I was exploring the forest behind my house when I stumbled upon something strange. As I got closer, I saw something that made my heart race, a hidden tunnel! Why had I never noticed it before? I had been exploring the woods for as long as I could remember. A flicker of curiosity washed over me. Holding my breath, I grabbed my torch and my bag and walked into the darkness. The air smelled damp, and every step I took echoed off the stone walls, making my heart pound faster. I had no idea what was at the end of this tunnel, but I had to find out.

The complication

  • The torch flickers and goes out, leaving me trapped in total darkness with an unknown noise coming from deeper in the tunnel.
  • I find a locked metal door inside the tunnel and realise I need a key that is either lost nearby or held by someone who does not want me inside.
  • The tunnel begins to flood because of the rain, forcing me to choose between retreating to safety or pressing on to find a higher exit.

Sentence starters

  1. I pushed my shoulder against the low stone and crawled forward, keeping my bag close to my chest. (action opener)
  2. Suddenly, the air grew colder and a thin mist rose from the floor of the tunnel. (connective/sequence opener)

…and 1 more with your free account.

What's in the full resource

  • Complications
  • Brainstorming Prompts
  • Vocabulary Support
  • Sentence Starters
  • Dialogue Prompts
  • Writing Challenges
  • Sentence Variety
  • Creative Twists
  • Writing Checklist
  • Reflective Questions
  • Collaborative Writing Ideas
  • Printable teacher and student PDFs

NAPLAN writing criteria this resource targets

Audience Text structure Ideas Character and setting Vocabulary Cohesion Paragraphing Sentence structure Punctuation Spelling

See how Writesy aligns to the NAPLAN writing criteria.

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