Upper elementary students face a variety of challenges in reading comprehension. While vocabulary and background knowledge are two of these challenges, they are not the only ones. Often times students struggle with understanding and organizing main events in a story in a clear, logical order. That is where story maps take stage.
Story map graphic organizers can help students learn the elements and story structure of fiction. Story map graphic organizers are especially helpful for students as stories become more complex with deeper plots and more complex characters. These graphic organizers can help students build comprehension skills.
Story map graphic organizers help break down each part of the story. The nature of a graphic organizer gives students a way to visualize and organize information. Let’s look at each part of a story map graphic organizer and how it helps students better understand and enjoy what they are reading.
What are Story Map Graphic Organizers?
A story map or story element graphic organizer is a simple but powerful tool that helps students break down the elements of a story. It could be considered a roadmap of the narrative that guides students through key parts and helps them see how everything connects in the story.
Story maps typically focus on important elements like setting, characters, plot, conflict, and resolution. Because story maps organize details visually, these graphic organizers make it easier for students to follow along and make sense of the narratives they are reading.
How Each Part of Story Map Graphic Organizers Can Build Comprehension
Story maps are designed to help guide students through the story and organize their thoughts as they focus on each essential element. Setting, character, plot, conflict, and resolution are the basic components of most story maps.
Setting
The setting is where and when a story takes place. Identifying the setting helps students to visualize the story’s world. Students can better understand the character’s motivations and experiences when they understand the setting of the story. Taking a close look at the setting can also help students understand how the setting affects the plot of the story.
Character
Understanding characters in a story may have many components. Students can look at traits, motivations, conflicts, and relationships within the narrative. Recognizing the character’s goals, desires, or fears can help students better understand the character’s logic or decisions. In turn, understanding this can help students better understand the story’s plot.
Plot
Plot is the sequence of events in a story. Breaking down the plot into the beginning, middle, and end can help students follow the sequence of events and keep track of what happens. Students also learn how each part of the plot builds toward the story’s resolution.
Conflict
Conflict is the problem or challenge that characters face in the story. Understanding the conflict helps students understand the characters’ actions and motivations. In other words, students can better understand why the characters do what they do in the story. This can also lead to students understanding the theme of the narrative.
Resolution
The resolution is how the conflict is solved, providing closure to the story. This final part of the story map helps students visualize how everything ties together.
How to Use Story Maps
Story map graphic organizers can be used in a variety of ways.
Whole Group Instruction
Introducing a story map in a whole group lesson provides students with a better understanding of how to use these graphic organizers. Begin by choosing a story that the entire class is reading – this could be a read aloud, a shared story, a story from your reading series, etc. As you read the story aloud or together, pause to fill out the graphic organizer together. This allows you to model the process for your students. Encourage students to share their ideas about each part of the story map. This modeling process will make it easy for students to understand each part of the story map before they try it independently.
Small Group
You can use story maps in small groups to reinforce comprehension skills on a more individualized level. Small group settings provide an opportunity to guide discussions and differentiate instruction based on students’ needs.
Independent Practice
Once the story map has been modeled, these graphic organizers can become part of the reading routine. Story maps are especially useful for book reports, reading journals, or independent reading assignments. Providing different types of story maps gives students variety and options that may best suit the story they are reading.
Independent practice helps students internalize the story-mapping process. As students independently analyze story elements and organize their thoughts, they learn to break down complex texts more naturally. This boosts their ability to comprehend and retain information across all subjects.
Types of Story Maps
Story map graphic organizers come in a variety of formats. This allows teachers to choose what best fits the story, their students’ needs, and reading levels.
Basic Story Maps
Basic story maps may focus on the beginning, middle, and end of the story or even be a story sequence graphic organizer, guiding students to organize the main events of the story in a clear, logical way. By breaking down the story into these basic parts, students learn to identify key moments and gain an understanding of how these events build on one another. This simplified structure reinforces the concept of the story’s progression.
Story Elements Maps
This graphic organizer focuses on the core story elements: setting, character, plot, conflict, and resolution. By focusing on one element at a time, students learn to identify the essentials without feeling overwhelmed.
I am personally a long-time fan of story elements graphic organizers and have found much success over the years using them in my classroom, building reading comprehension skills in upper elementary students. When we provide students with a tool to help them break stories down into elements like setting, character, plot, problem, and solution, students gain a deeper, more organized understanding of what they read. This structured approach not only boosts their confidence as readers but also strengthens critical thinking and analytical skills.
For eye catching and engaging story map graphic organizer consider using my Fiction Graphic Organizers used and loved by thousands of teachers. This easy-to-use resource includes story map graphic organizers along with a variety of other graphic organizers that focus on story elements. You will find yourself using this resource again and again. These graphic organizers provide your students with engaging ways to explore stories and enhance comprehension. Try them out and watch your students’ comprehension and enthusiasm for reading grow.
For more on how to use graphic organizers in your upper elementary classroom, check out this blog post.
