Organizer

Short Story Planning Guide

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

A short story is only as strong as its characters, development, and conflicts. Encourage the young authors in your class to plan their stories based on the elements of narrative writing, all provided in brainstorming graphic organizers.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Have learners fill out the graphic organizer with information from a story they are reading in class before planning out their own stories
  • Divide your language arts class into groups, and assign each group one section of the packet; have the groups come together at the end to formulate a story based on their individual ideas
  • Use the packet as a brainstorming guide in a fictional story project or autobiographical writing unit
Classroom Considerations
  • The resource is designed for middle schoolers, but it would work for learners of any age who could use some support when writing a short story
Pros
  • Provides support for writers of all reading levels when planning out their stories 
  • Encourages learners to consider audience, suspense, and different ways to make their stories interesting
  • An excellent addition to any narrative writing unit, no matter what the subject matter happens to be
Cons
  • The word Introduction is misspelled in the plot diagram on page three