Story Map Drawing Activity

Large paper or poster board

Markers or crayons

A storybook with a clear character, setting, problem, and solution

Read a story together with a clear plot structure.

Get large paper and divide into 4 sections: Characters, Setting, Problem, Solution.

Characters: "Who was in the story?" Draw and name them.

Setting: "Where did it happen?" Draw the place.

Problem: "What went wrong?" Draw the tricky moment.

Solution: "How did they fix it?" Draw the resolution.

Retell the story using the map as a guide.

Try a second book with less help.

Story maps make invisible story structure visible. Most children experience stories as a flow of events, but reading comprehension requires understanding that stories have parts that work together. This map makes those parts explicit.

This is the exact skill tested on reading comprehension assessments throughout elementary school. Practice it casually now, and formal assessments will feel familiar later.

Start with very simple stories with one clear problem (like "Goldilocks" or "The Three Little Pigs"). Save complex plots for when the format is comfortable.

Keep completed story maps and compare them. Your child will start to notice that ALL stories have the same basic parts — that's literary analysis beginning.

Eventually, try making a story map BEFORE writing a story. Planning a story's structure before writing it dramatically improves the result.