Book Week 2026 - Symphony of Stories Teaching Resources
What happens when you blend creative writing, opera and Book Week?
We’ve partnered with Opera Australia to make storytelling and opera accessible to young people all over Australia. Celebrate the CBCA’s 2026 Book Week (22 - 28 August) with these multimodal creative writing resources, perfect for primary school students.
-
Educator’s Guide: we’ve done the planning so you can concentrate on the teaching
Scaffolded worksheets: printable in colour or black and white
Engaging videos: the Opera Australia Orchestra performs as creative stimuli and writing prompts for:
Setting
Character
Plot
-
Ideal for Years 3-6.
Also suitable for:
Capable Year 1 or 2 class
Year 7 or 8 class with additional literacy and writing support needs
Homeschool students
-
Year 3
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive written and multimodal texts, using visual features, appropriate form and layout, with ideas grouped in simple paragraphs, mostly correct tense, topic-specific vocabulary and correct spelling of most high-frequency and phonetically regular words
Year 4
AC9E4LY06
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, using visual features, relevant linked ideas, complex sentences, appropriate tense, synonyms and antonyms, correct spelling of multisyllabic words and simple punctuation
Year 5
AC9E5LY06
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish written multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, developing ideas using visual features, text structure appropriate to the topic and purpose, text connectives, expanded noun groups, specialist and technical vocabulary
Year 6
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, using paragraphs, a variety of complex sentences, expanded verb groups, tense, topic-specific and vivid vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and visual features
The overall focus of this unit is English, but it’s also a great entry point for cross-curricula links to Music. We recommend AC9AMU4E01 for Years 3 and 4 and AC9AMU6D01 for Years 5 and 6.
Scroll down to access the videos of the Opera Australia Orchestra in the iconic Trackdown Studios on Gadigal Land, Sydney
Video Series
Students will be immersed in orchestral music, using their listening experience to create a soundscape in a cross-curricula lesson that converts music to words.
Students will listen to a range of evocative, orchestral tracks creating characters that this music would soundtrack. Like the music itself, will their characters be frenetic, boisterous, lush, playful, or moody?
Students continue their mindful creative expression as they create line drawings of iconic operas, giving them a playful, accessible entry point to confidently explore the highs and lows of plot.
Low-prep, high quality activities for Book Week
Between character parades, selecting exciting books, wrangling author visits and organising rotations we know Book Week can get even more chaotic than your regular busy school week, so these resources are ready-to-go and low-prep. These Book Week activities equip teachers with multimodal creative writing resources that include:
Educator’s Guide: we’ve done the planning so you can concentrate on the teaching
Scaffolded worksheets: printable in colour or black and white
Engaging videos: the Opera Australia Orchestra performs as creative stimuli and writing prompts for:
Setting
Character
Plot
Research driven, written by experts
These resources have been developed by creative writing experts to inspire your primary school class to:
write and share stories
improve their confidence and literacy
deepen their knowledge and appreciation of arts, music and literature.
Engaging deeply with stories encourages creative expression, including through writing and response. Aligned with CBCA's Book Week work, these resources support diverse learning styles and reinforce the connection between literature and the broader arts ecosystem.
Research shows that quality arts-based learning significantly improves social and emotional wellbeing. Our creative writing resources have been designed by our expert Storytellers to build writing skills, confidence, and creativity: essential for young people to find their voice and share their stories.
Story Factory and Opera Australia are particularly proud to be making creative writing and orchestral music accessible to young people who might not have access to cultural capital and whose voices have been underrepresented.
Cross-curricula links
Links to Australian Curriculum
Year 3
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive written and multimodal texts, using visual features, appropriate form and layout, with ideas grouped in simple paragraphs, mostly correct tense, topic-specific vocabulary and correct spelling of most high-frequency and phonetically regular words
Year 4
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, using visual features, relevant linked ideas, complex sentences, appropriate tense, synonyms and antonyms, correct spelling of multisyllabic words and simple punctuation
Year 5
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish written multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, developing ideas using visual features, text structure appropriate to the topic and purpose, text connectives, expanded noun groups, specialist and technical vocabulary
Year 6
Students learn to plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, using paragraphs, a variety of complex sentences, expanded verb groups, tense, topic-specific and vivid vocabulary, punctuation, spelling
The overall focus of this unit is English, but it’s also a great entry point for cross-curricula links to Music. We recommend AC9AMU4E01 for Years 3 and 4 and AC9AMU6D01 for Years 5 and 6.
Options for differentiation
These resources can be used to enhance learning through:
independent student work,
small group work and collaboration opportunities
or whole group lessons.
Extension tasks (Conductor’s Challenges) are included, as well as links to additional resources to engage your students.
