Narrative Macrostructure: Build the Whole Story
Language · Grades 2–8 · 10 cards · about 20 min
Generation prompts that each require a complete story grammar including a character, a setting, a problem, attempts and a resolution, rather than a string of events.
Tell a story about a lost object. Include a character, a setting, a problem, at least two attempts and an ending.
Say it out loud
What's in this activity
- Tell a story about a lost object. Include a character, a setting, a problem, at least two attempts and an ending.
- Tell a story that starts “It was already late when...” and make sure there is a real problem in it.
- Tell a story where the first plan fails and the second one works. Say both plans out loud.
- Tell a story about a day that went wrong. End it by saying how the character felt afterwards.
- Tell a story with two characters who want different things. Say what each one wanted.
- Tell a story set somewhere you have never been. Describe the setting before anything happens.
- Tell a story about a promise. Include what was promised, what got in the way, and how it ended.
- Tell a story where the ending is a surprise. Plant something early that explains it.
- Tell a story about a competition. Include the goal, the obstacle, the attempt and the result.
- Tell a story from your own life with all the same parts a made-up story needs. Name each part as you go.