Free story structure worksheets to help your students learn to identify narrative structure – (rising action, climax, falling action).
Story Structure Worksheet 1 – “The Breakaway” – Read this motivational story about an athlete who sustains an injury and has to find another way to succeed, and then analyze and identify structural elements of the story. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 5-9
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Ereading Worksheet | Online Reading Practice Test With Long Response Questions
Story Structure Worksheet 2 – “Pierce the Spaceman” – Read this awesome short story about a spaceman who saves his colony and identify story elements and structure. I use the included reading skill sheets with most of the stories in the text book also to perform ongoing skill checks. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 6-10
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Story Structure Worksheet 3 – “When Gertrude Grew Great” – Students read a motivational story and identify the story structure parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. This activity includes a skill sheet that tests students’ understanding of other reading skills as well. Â If your students aren’t prepared to answer those questions, perhaps you can use this story with the story structure template below. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 4-8
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Story Structure Worksheet 4 – “The Phone Call” – A young man overcomes an internal problem created by negligent family member. Students read the story and then complete a reading skill sheet that includes an analysis of the narrative structure. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 3-7
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Story Structure Worksheet 5 – “An Unexpected Chat” – A student learns about resisting peer pressure in this short story. Students read the story and complete an activity sheet covering story structure and other reading skills. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 4-8
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Story Structure Worksheet 6 – “The Wallet” – A young girl is faced with a difficult decision when she finds a wallet that does not belong to her. After reading the short story, students complete an activity covering story structure and other reading skills. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 4-8
Story Structure Worksheet 6 – “The Wallet” RTF
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Story Structure Worksheet 7 – “The Way of the World” – A once successful salesman has difficulty adjusting to the modern ways of business. Students read the short story, analyze the structure of the story, and review reading skills. Suggested reading level for this text: Grade 6-10
Story Structure Worksheet 7 – “The Way of the World” RTF
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Story Structure Worksheet Template – Use this worksheet with any applicable story that you and your students are reading to help guide them toward identifying structural elements.
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Story Pyramid Exercise – Read summaries of movies and determine the rising action, climax, falling action and more.
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Common Core State Standards Related to Story Structure
Expand to View All Common Core State Standards Related to Story StructureCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.5 – Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
ELA Standards: Literature
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.5 – Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.5 – Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.5 – Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.5 – Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.5 – Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.5 – Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.5 – Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.5 – Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5 – Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
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Common Core Lesson and Unit Plans
Understanding Common Core State Standards
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Perry
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Mr. Morton
/ April 17, 2017I am planning on just that. Thank you for the kind words.
fernanda
/ February 19, 2017these stories are great but i would like to have the name of the authors… do you have any idea who wrote o created The Wallet story?
thanks
Mr. Morton
/ March 13, 2017Hello. I wrote most of the stories on this website, unless otherwise noted. My name is Donald E. Morton.
Rachel Buell
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Mr. Morton
/ March 30, 2017Unfortunately, no, but let me know if you get any decent translations.
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Manel
/ January 6, 2016Can we find more than one conflict in short stories?
Mr. Morton
/ January 19, 2016Yes. The more conflicts a story has, the more complex it is. Some stories have a tangled web of conflicts, but most have one or two.
Christine Parker
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Nitzy
/ October 22, 2015Hey I want to read a story named the phone call
Mr. Morton
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djones
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djones
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Sandra Rathjen
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Mr. Morton
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Edosomwan Blessing
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mithila
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PWeiler
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Rita
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Mr. Morton
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Miss Brown
/ February 4, 2014These are wonderful resources to use! Is there anyway we can get the lexile/grade level of these passages? Thanks!
Mr. Morton
/ April 21, 2014I attempted to license the Lexile measure for use on this site, but I found it to be a bit to expensive for a site giving away free resources. I have gone with readability scores instead: https://readability-score.com/ . These scores use non-proprietary measures to determine reading levels. It is definitely not as trendy as Lexile measures, but I think it serves the purpose.
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Kim Smith
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Mr. Morton
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Ana Miller
/ September 29, 2013Thanks… this is so fabulous… will bookmark site for future reference. May God bless you richly.
Mr. Morton
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Mrs.J
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JoAnn Adolfo
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Flo Dari
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