Recount Writing Resources for Australian Teachers

Teaching Recount Writing in Australian Primary Schools

Recount writing is often the first text type students learn to write independently. It tells about something that has already happened — a weekend adventure, a school excursion, a science experiment, or a historical event — retelling the experience in chronological order.

Because recounts draw on personal experience, they are a natural entry point for young writers. A Foundation student writing "On the weekend I went to the park" is already producing a recount. The skill is in helping students move from basic retelling to structured, detailed recounts that engage the reader and demonstrate control over language.

This page covers how recount writing fits into the Australian Curriculum, the different types of recounts, practical teaching strategies by year level, and ready-to-use resources created by Australian teachers.

The Australian Curriculum identifies several types of recounts, each with a slightly different purpose and audience. Understanding the differences helps students choose the right approach for each writing task.

Personal Recount

The most common type in primary school. Students write about their own experiences — what they did on the weekend, a school event, a holiday, or an excursion. Personal recounts use first person ("I" and "we") and include the writer's feelings, thoughts, and personal responses to events.

Example: "On Saturday, my family went to Taronga Zoo. First, we saw the giraffes — they were so tall I had to tilt my head right back to see their faces."

Factual Recount

An objective retelling of events — who, what, where, when — without personal opinions or feelings. Factual recounts are used in science (experiment reports), history (retelling historical events), and news writing. They typically use third person ("they", "the students", "the expedition").

Example: "On 26 January 1788, the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove. Captain Arthur Phillip led eleven ships carrying approximately 1,350 people."

Imaginative Recount

Students write as if they experienced something they did not — retelling events from the perspective of a fictional character, a historical figure, or even an animal. This type blends recount structure with creative writing skills.

Example: "My name is Eddie Mabo, and today the High Court made a decision that will change everything. After ten long years of fighting..."

Biographical Recount

A retelling of another person's life events in chronological order. Often used in HASS and English when studying significant Australians or historical figures.

Procedural Recount

A specialised type that retells the steps of an experiment, investigation, or process after it has been completed. Unlike a procedure (which tells someone how to do something), a procedural recount describes what was done in past tense.

Example: "First, we measured 200ml of water and poured it into the beaker. Then we added two drops of food colouring."

The recount text structure is consistent across all types, making it one of the easier text types for students to learn and apply.

Orientation (Who, What, Where, When)

The opening paragraph sets the scene by answering the key questions: Who was involved? What happened? Where did it take place? When did it happen? A strong orientation gives the reader enough context to understand the events that follow.

• Foundation–Year 2: "On Monday, our class went to the museum."
• Year 3–4: "Last Thursday, Year 4 visited the Australian Museum in Sydney as part of our science unit on living things."
• Year 5–6: "On 12 November, thirty-two Year 5 students from Bankstown Public School travelled to the Australian Museum to investigate how living things are classified and adapted to their environments."

Events (In Chronological Order)

The body of the recount describes events in the order they happened. Each event is typically a separate paragraph (or sentence group for younger writers). Students use time connectives to signal sequence and maintain coherence.

Conclusion (Reorientation or Personal Comment)

The ending wraps up the recount. For personal recounts, this often includes the writer's overall feelings or a reflection on the experience. For factual recounts, it may summarise the significance of the events or their outcomes.

Key Language Features

• Past tense — recounts tell about events that have already happened ("walked", "discovered", "enjoyed")
• Time connectives — words that sequence events ("First", "Next", "Then", "After that", "Later", "Finally", "Meanwhile")
• Specific participants — named people, places, and things ("Mrs Chen", "Taronga Zoo", "the platypus")
• Action verbs — verbs that describe what happened ("climbed", "explored", "presented", "observed")
• Descriptive language — adjectives, adverbs, and figurative language that bring the recount to life (increasing with year level)
• First or third person — personal recounts use "I/we", factual recounts use "they/the class/the explorers"

The Australian Curriculum v9 for English includes recount writing within the Literacy strand, under "Creating texts." Recounts also appear across other learning areas — particularly HASS (historical recounts), science (experimental recounts), and health and PE (reflections on physical activity).

Foundation and Year 1

Students retell personal experiences through drawing, speaking, and simple writing. They learn to sequence events using "first", "then", and "last". Shared writing with the teacher models how to structure a simple recount.

Effective activities at this level include:

• Weekend recounts using picture prompts and sentence starters
• Drawing and labelling events from a school excursion
• Shared writing after a class experience (cooking, incursion, science activity)
• Sequencing activities — putting jumbled events in order

Year 2 and Year 3

Students write structured recounts with an orientation, sequenced events, and a conclusion. They use past tense consistently and include time connectives to link events. Year 3 students begin writing factual recounts in HASS and science.

Effective activities at this level include:

• Writing excursion recounts with paragraphs for each part of the day
• Weekend journals with a focus on interesting details (not just "I went to the shops")
• Science experiment recounts (what we did, what happened, what we found)
• Historical recounts from HASS — retelling a significant event

Year 4 and Year 5

Students write extended recounts with well-developed paragraphs, varied sentence structures, and precise vocabulary. They differentiate between personal and factual recounts and adjust their language accordingly. Imaginative recounts are introduced — writing from historical or fictional perspectives.

Effective activities at this level include:

• Biographical recounts of significant Australians for HASS
• Imaginative recounts — writing as a historical figure or character from a novel
• Science investigation reports using procedural recount structure
• Comparing personal and factual recounts of the same event

Year 6

Year 6 students write sophisticated recounts that demonstrate control over text structure, language features, and voice. They select the recount type that best suits their purpose and audience, and can embed factual information, dialogue, and reflection within their recounts.

Effective activities at this level include:

• Extended biographical recounts with research and referencing
• Historical recounts using multiple primary and secondary sources
• Reflective recounts that analyse and evaluate experiences
• Cross-text-type comparisons — how does a recount of an event differ from a narrative or information report about the same topic?

The Australian Curriculum v9 for HASS also draws heavily on recount writing, with students retelling historical events and personal experiences as part of the Humanities and Social Sciences learning area.