Story Steps

The big ideas

What the levels teach, in grown-up words.

• Stories happen in order. First, next, then, last. Putting events in sequence is the first comprehension skill, and retelling a story in order shows a child understood it.
• Stories have a who, a where and a feeling. Characters, setting and emotions are the handles a reader holds a story by. Naming how a character feels builds empathy as well as understanding.
• Beginning, middle, end; problem and solution. Most stories set something up, let something go wrong and then fix it. Spotting that shape makes new stories easier to follow and makes writing one easier too.
• Main idea, cause and effect, prediction. Good readers ask what a text is mostly about, why things happen, and what will probably happen next. These questions turn reading words into understanding.
• Facts can be checked; opinions can be argued. Dogs have four legs is a fact. Dogs are the best pets is an opinion. Telling them apart is the beginning of thinking critically about what you read.

Try it at home

Quick experiments that match the game.

1. Retell at bedtime. After a picture book, close it and ask: what happened first, next and last? Then ask how the main character felt at the end.
2. Pause and predict. Stop halfway through a story and ask what will happen next and why. Then read on and see.
3. Photo sequence. Take three photos of a daily routine (brushing teeth, breakfast, shoes on) and have your child put them in order and tell the story.
4. Fact or opinion at dinner. Take turns saying a sentence; the others say whether it is a fact or an opinion. Broccoli is green: fact. Broccoli is yummy: opinion!