Story Grammar Map: Character, Setting, Problem, Solution
Build a narrative macrostructure visually, then retell from the map with no written script.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Keep the drawings rough and the retell careful. The map is a scaffold for the telling, and a student who spends the session shading has not retold anything. The tries-first card matters more than it looks — a first attempt that fails is what makes a story a story, and students routinely skip straight from problem to solution. The final retell with the words covered is the target.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- Question promptAsk a story-grammar question: who, where, what was the problem, what happened next?Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two possible next parts of the story and let the student pick and say it.Log as cued
- ModelTell that part yourself; the student tells it back in their own words.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer parts, and keep a first-next-last visual on the table.
Ask for the retell without the pictures, with a feeling or a reason added to each part.
Matching IEP goal
Given a picture or story prompt, Student will tell a story that includes a character, setting, problem and ending in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one question prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight drawing tasks that build a story map: draw the main character and label them with three words; draw the setting — where and when; draw the problem the character runs into; draw what the character tries first; draw what finally solves it; draw the ending, how does the character feel now and how do you know; then cover the words and retell the entire story using only your drawings.
What to listen for
Watch whether the failed first attempt survives. It is the element that distinguishes a full episode from a problem-solution pair, and it is the one students most often omit. Notice the how-do-you-know question on the ending card, which asks for evidence of a feeling rather than a label — that is inference, and it is the hardest thing on the board.
Carrying it home
Any story read together can be mapped in five boxes on a sheet of paper. Retelling from the drawings afterwards is a two-minute routine with real effect on narrative structure.
What's in this activity
- Draw the main character. Label them with three words that describe who they are.
- Draw the setting. Where does this happen, and when?
- Draw the problem the character runs into.
- Draw what the character tries FIRST.
- Draw what finally solves the problem.
- Draw the ending. How does the character feel now, and how do you know?
- Draw the whole story as a map: beginning, middle and end, left to right.
- Cover the words. Retell the entire story out loud using only your drawings.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Third through sixth, for narrative macrostructure work.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all eight tasks are free to use here.
- Why draw rather than write the map?
- Because drawing is faster and less demanding, so more of the student's effort goes into the structure. It also produces a scaffold they can retell from without reading, which is the actual goal.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.