Narrative Writing Graphic Organizer

About this resource

Ask a third grader to "write a story" and many stare at the blank page. These narrative writing graphic organizers give the story a shape first: who is in it, where it happens, what goes wrong, what happens in order, and how it ends. Then lined pages with story starters printed hold the whole draft, and a check page and a fix-it page finish the job. Grades 2 to 4.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (29 pages)

• 18 student pages: 15 story seeds on 7 layouts, plus 1 story word page, 1 story check and 1 fix-it page
• Who and Where: 2 pages, drawing boxes and lines for the character and the setting
• Story Parts: 2 pages, beginning, middle and end, each with a drawing box and lines
• Problem: 2 pages, the problem, what the character tries, how it gets fixed
• Sequence: 2 pages, First, Next, Then and Last printed on the lines
• Senses: 2 pages, I see, I hear, I smell, I feel, I taste
• Endings: 2 pages, six ending ideas to circle, a drawing box and lines to write the ending
• Draft It: 3 lined pages with 10 lines and 4 story starters printed ("One day,", "Next,", "Then,", "At last,")
• Story Words: 8 story words, printed big, with lines for two sentences
• 1 story log (a row for each of the 15 story seeds), 1 class grid (15 students), 1 filled example (an invented student)
• 1 family note with three ways to help at home, 1 phrase bank of 15 observable-language starters
• 1 binder cover and 6 divider tabs with a spine label to cut out
• Start Here and terms of use

Built For The Child Holding The Page

A big "My name" line, one short instruction with a small pencil icon, the story idea in large rounded letters, and lines with real spacing. Nothing on a student page is written for an adult and nothing is scored. The story seeds are invented and everyday (a kite that flies away, a little boat that gets stuck, a dragon egg). No student page needs scissors or glue.

Type In, Or Print

The name and date lines, every ruled line, the log, class grid and family note are type-in fields in any PDF reader, so you can type a story starter onto a line before you print. The drawing boxes are for drawing. Every page prints clean in black and white. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

2nd, 3rd and 4th grade classrooms, resource rooms, writing centers, small groups and tutors who want story planning pages a child can start on their own. Your district's own writing expectations decide how many sentences to ask for and when.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Story planning and drafting pages with the record-keeping around them. There is no scoring and no rubric, and it is not a timed test, a screener or a clinical tool. It makes no claim about any student's age or rate of progress, and there is no IEP goal language or eligibility wording anywhere in the file.