Story Grammar Marker

I had been seeing reviews and posts about Story Grammar Marker (SGM)  more and more. It had peeked my curiosity.  I had really wanted to increase the amount of writing I worked on with my students, as well as,  narrative language in general, and SGM sounded like just what I had been looking for.   Story Grammar Marker was created by Maryellen Rooney Moreau.  She founded MindWing Concepts to share her amazing creations based around a cognitive-linguistic methodology.  Story Grammar Marker is a  researched-based, multi sensory tool used teach students a systematic approach to narrative and expository development.  Here is a youtube clip about Story Grammar Marker

While at ASHA I had the opportunity to attend a few sessions that Maryellen spoke at and visit the MindWing Concept booth. After some discussion and lots of thinking, I decided to give Story Grammar Marker a shot. At first, I was a bit intimidated by the Story Grammar Marker tool. How would my kids learn and retain this whole system? However, I soon saw that my worries were unfounded.  I introduced each component of the Story Grammar Marker and did an example  with my students using a story they were familiar with.  By the end of our session, my students could tell me what each component stood for and wanted to do more.  The components are Character, Setting, Kick-Off event, Character’s Feelings (in response to Kick-Off ), Make a Plan, Attempts, Direct Consequence, and Resolution. 

As we continue to use Story Grammar Marker and practice with it, I see my students’ narrative skills ( since that is what we have been focusing on ) getting stronger.  They need the tool on hand as they go through their narratives, but my how their stories have improved. I was thrilled when a student used the tool to tell me about their weekend, and it made sense! Events were in order with appropriate supporting details, I was thrilled!

The manual that you can purchase with the strand has lots of good information, as well as, graphic organizers for different levels.   I really liked how the organizers were laid out.  There are pages for each component, the beginning, middle, and end of the story, etc.  I made copies of the beginning, middle, and end organizers on different color paper to help kids.  Green for the beginning, yellow for the middle, and a light red for the end.  This just helped to keep things a little more organized for my students.

So far I love this tool!  It is simple enough for my students to grasp yet very effective in helping them improve their skills. It gives them a concrete level of organization for something that seemed like a jumble.  The manual has helpful information and organizers,  and the strand is fun for them to use.  Here is a youtube clip about Story Grammar Marker if you want to learn a bit more, and I hope you do 🙂