Comprehension
Strategy Project:
Story Face
University of New England
EDU-742
Created By:
Alyssa (Kludt) Baker
Comprehension Strategy
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“Strategic readers need to be able to
differentiate between important and less
important information in their daily reading,
not just on forced- choice (multiple choice)
tests.” (Alvermann, 2003)
Teaching this strategy starts very young and is
most often paired with some form of graphic
organizer. In this presentation I will walk
through one of my favorite graphic organizers
that I use in my Kindergarten class.
Alvermann, D., Swafford, J., Montero, M.K. (2003). Content Area Literacy Instruction for the Elementary
Grades. Allyn & Bacon: New York. ISBN-13:978-0205366194
Graphic Organizer :
Story Face
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The Story Face is a graphic
organizer that aids
students’ comprehension
of narrative text. It
functions like a story map,
allowing students to
visualize the important
components of a narrative
text, including setting, main
characters, problems,
events, and a resolution.
Younger students enjoy this
organizer because it
resembles a smiling face!
Here is a link to the
organizer! Story Face
Organizer
Story Face
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The two “eyes” of the organizer are where
students record a story’s setting and main
characters.
The “nose” represents the problem or conflict
in the story.
The “smile or mouth” is where students record
the events that took place throughout the
story. The solution can also be added to this
section.
I personally add a “beard” where I have my
students write the solution to the problem in
the story.
Graphic Organizers
 Graphic
organizers
help students of all
ages construct
meaning of a text.
 Here is a link to a
video of the Story
Face Organizer in
action!
Why use a graphic organizer
to help with comprehension?

With younger students filling out the
information after they have read the whole
text seems best while going back into the text
if need be. Older student who are reading
larger texts might often need to stop every
few chapters to use a graphic organizer to
help with comprehension as throughout the
book characters, setting, problems, and
solutions often change. Graphic organizers
such as the “Story Face” help students pull
important information out of a text to help
with their comprehension.
Something I found and want
to share!
I
found this on a
website and find it
very useful! Just
copy and paste
into your browser
because it would
not let me link it!
 http://teacherreso
urcecatalog.pwnet
.org/docs/Reading
%20Strategies%20fo
r%20Content%20Te
achers.pdf