Assignment 5: Story Impressions

 Assignment 5: Story Impressions

What is a Story Impression? 

 

One goal of all texts is to create engagement with a text before a student even begins to read said text. One way in which a teacher can create that immediate “buy-in” is through a story impression. The story impression strategy was introduced in 1987 by McGinley and Denner, and it focuses on using key or clue words associated with characters, setting and events in a story to help readers create their own version of the story before they read (Vaca). 

 

“Using story impressions is an instructional strategy that arouses curiousity and allows students to anticipate story content” (Vaca, 2021, p.162).

 

Benefits of Using Story Impressions

 

Story impressions are a useful strategy for assessing students’ knowledge of terms and how the terms relate to one another. For instance, in a history class, a teacher might include keys words like Vikings, Hastings, Old English, etc. to see how students might understand and connect those words together.

 

Story impressions are also another way to front load important vocabulary to EB and Sped students. By having students look at terminology before they see it in the text, their comprehension of the text will increase. 

 

This strategy also allows for more practice in writing. The story prediction section can provide an informal assessment on students’ ability to transition and connect topics. It can also provide insight into whether student are correctly using previously taught grammatical concepts. 

How to Create a Story Impression

https://timcreighton.com/2021/06/16/story-impressions-an-excellent-prereading-activity/

Example Story Impression: 

Story Chain	Story Prediction
Jane  Adventures Boat ticket Kenya, Africa Scientist Louis Leakey  Researcher Apes Gombe, Tanzania Discovery Tools Cambridge University Doctorate Article Jungles Disappearing Wildlife defender

The above story impression comes from the children's informational book titled "Jane Goodall" from the Little People, BIG DREAMS series: 

Resources: 

Step-by-Step Instruction on Story Impressions

Article on How Story Impressions Affect Reading Comprehension

References: 

Vacca, R. T., Anne, J., & Mraz, M. (2021). Content area reading: literacy and learning across the curriculum. Pearson.