The Magic Paintbrush
Fantasy and Mythology
The Magic Paintbrush is a free, NAPLAN-aligned fantasy and mythology writing resource for Australian primary students. It includes a story starter, complication, tiered vocabulary and scaffolds mapped to the Australian Curriculum (AC9).
I could hardly believe my eyes as the blue bird I’d painted fluttered out of the canvas and into the air. I’d always dreamed of creating something magical, but I never imagined it would be this real, this alive. I watched in awe as its glowing wings shimmered in the dim light of my studio, but as it soared, I realised—something wasn’t right. The bird wasn’t just flying; it was pulling the air around it, making everything swirl and sparkle. I hadn’t meant for this to happen. Was I ready for what was going to happen next?
The complication
- The bird grows larger, causing the room to shake as it flaps its wings, knocking over objects. How will the artist manage the creature they’ve created?
- The bird isn’t the only thing to come to life. The artist notices other objects from their painting moving around the room. How do they stop the chaos?
- The bird flies away from the studio, leading to a wild adventure through the city. The artist must find a way to bring it back before it causes more trouble.
What's in the full resource
- Complications
- Brainstorming Prompts
- Vocabulary Support
- Sentence Starters
- Dialogue Prompts
- Writing Challenges
- Sentence Variety Examples
- Creative Twists
- Writing Checklist
- Reflective Questions
- Collaborative Writing Ideas
- Printable teacher and student PDFs
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