Day at School Story Plan: Grade 1 Storyboard Activity

Q: How can first graders plan a story before they write it?

Give them a simple story map with one box for each event. First graders say what happens, show it in a picture, and add one short sentence per box. A four-cell storyboard works well because students can see the beginning, middle, and end at once, move events around, and talk through the story with a partner before any writing starts.

Q: Why use First, Next, Then, and Last in first grade stories?

These sequence words give young writers a ready-made order to follow. Each word starts a new event, so students learn that a story moves forward one step at a time. They also make a story easy for a listener to follow. Once students use them comfortably, try swapping in words like after that or finally for variety.

Q: How do I help first graders describe characters and setting in a story?

Ask two questions for every scene: Who is here? and Where are they? When students pick a place and the people in it, they have something concrete to describe. Prompt for one detail at a time, such as how a character feels or what the place looks like, and have students say the detail out loud before they add it to their sentence.

Q: What are good ways to support English learners when planning a story?

Use sentence frames , pictures, and partner talk. A frame like “First, ___.” gives every student a starting point, and choosing a familiar school scene supplies vocabulary they can name and point to. Let students tell their story aloud, in any language, before they write, and accept short phrases at first. Then help them build each one into a full sentence.

Q: What should I look for when checking a first grader’s story plan?

Check for one clear event in each part , events in a logical order, and a picture that matches each sentence. Notice whether the student names who is in the story and where it happens. Use the plan for quick, friendly feedback and conferring, not a grade. Save scoring for the finished story, where students show what they can do on their own.

Q: How can a story about a day at school connect to a neighborhood unit?

A school is a small community , a lot like a neighborhood. Invite students to include a moment when someone helped them, such as a friend, a bus driver, or a librarian. That ties their personal story to the big question of how neighbors help each other and gives you a natural way to talk about kindness and the helpers in their own community.

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Lesson Plan Overview

Template and Class Instructions

Lesson Plan Overview

This unit asks first graders “What is a neighborhood?” and opens with the question “How can neighbors help each other?” For the unit’s writing project, students write a story about a day at school. In this activity, they plan that story in a four-cell storyboard with cells titled First, Next, Then, and Last. The teacher models first. Then students pick a school scene for each cell (classroom, cafeteria, playground, library, or bus), add the characters, and finish the sentence frame typed into each cell: “First, ___.” “Next, ___.” “Then, ___.” “Last, ___.” Storyboard That puts the whole story in front of students in order before they write, and choosing who is in each scene and where it happens gives them something to point to as they practice describing characters and setting.

In the sample, a girl named Maya rides the bus to school, reads a book about frogs with her class, falls down at recess and gets help up from her friend Leo, and then draws a picture of Leo in art class. Use the storyboard at the Plan stage of the writing project, then keep it out while students write. Look for one event in each cell, events in order with First, Next, Then, and Last, and a scene and characters that match each sentence. The storyboard is the plan, not the graded piece: students still draw and write their story, and the published story is scored with the unit’s Writing Rubric. For another option, pairs can make a three-cell storyboard (Who, Where they work, How they help) as research notes for the unit’s neighborhood worker project, which keeps its own rubric.

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Template and Class Instructions

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Due Date:

Objective: Plan your story about a day at school.

Student Instructions

Think of one day at school.
In each cell, pick a place at school.
Add the people in your story.
Show what happens first, next, then, and last.
Finish the sentence in each cell.
Read your story plan to a partner, then use it to write your story.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level K-1

Difficulty Level 1 (Introducing / Reinforcing)

Type of Assignment Group

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Lesson Plan Overview

Copy Activity

Template and Class Instructions

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Due Date:

Objective: Plan your story about a day at school.

Student Instructions

Think of one day at school.
In each cell, pick a place at school.
Add the people in your story.
Show what happens first, next, then, and last.
Finish the sentence in each cell.
Read your story plan to a partner, then use it to write your story.

More options

Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level K-1

Difficulty Level 1 (Introducing / Reinforcing)

Type of Assignment Group

Copy Activity

Model a First Grade Story Plan Out Loud, One Cell at a Time

Choose a short, simple story to model.

Pick a small moment from your own school day with four clear events. Keep it ordinary and relatable, such as arriving at school, lunch, recess, and going home, so students focus on how you plan rather than on a complicated plot.

Think aloud as you pick a scene for the first cell.

Say your choices out loud: “My story starts on the bus, so I’ll pick the bus scene.” Hearing your reasoning shows students that the setting comes from what happens in the story.

Add characters and describe them as you go.

Place each character and say one detail about them, such as how they feel or what they are doing. This models describing characters and shows that every person in the picture belongs in the story.

Write the sentence frame together with the class.

Read the frame aloud and ask students to help finish it. Type their words, then reread the sentence and check that it matches the picture. Repeat for each cell, saying the sequence word with extra emphasis.

Reread the whole plan from start to finish.

Point to each cell as you read the story aloud. Ask, “Does this make sense in this order?” Move a cell or change a sentence if needed, so students see that a plan can change before writing begins.

Have partners tell their own stories before they build.

Pair students to say their four events out loud using First, Next, Then, and Last. Talking first gives every child a story in mind, so they start building their own storyboard with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions about First Grade Story Sequencing

How can first graders plan a story before they write it?

Give them a simple story map with one box for each event. First graders say what happens, show it in a picture, and add one short sentence per box. A four-cell storyboard works well because students can see the beginning, middle, and end at once, move events around, and talk through the story with a partner before any writing starts.

Why use First, Next, Then, and Last in first grade stories?

These sequence words give young writers a ready-made order to follow. Each word starts a new event, so students learn that a story moves forward one step at a time. They also make a story easy for a listener to follow. Once students use them comfortably, try swapping in words like after that or finally for variety.

How do I help first graders describe characters and setting in a story?

Ask two questions for every scene: Who is here? and Where are they? When students pick a place and the people in it, they have something concrete to describe. Prompt for one detail at a time, such as how a character feels or what the place looks like, and have students say the detail out loud before they add it to their sentence.

What are good ways to support English learners when planning a story?

Use sentence frames, pictures, and partner talk. A frame like “First, ___.” gives every student a starting point, and choosing a familiar school scene supplies vocabulary they can name and point to. Let students tell their story aloud, in any language, before they write, and accept short phrases at first. Then help them build each one into a full sentence.

What should I look for when checking a first grader’s story plan?

Check for one clear event in each part, events in a logical order, and a picture that matches each sentence. Notice whether the student names who is in the story and where it happens. Use the plan for quick, friendly feedback and conferring, not a grade. Save scoring for the finished story, where students show what they can do on their own.

How can a story about a day at school connect to a neighborhood unit?

A school is a small community, a lot like a neighborhood. Invite students to include a moment when someone helped them, such as a friend, a bus driver, or a librarian. That ties their personal story to the big question of how neighbors help each other and gives you a natural way to talk about kindness and the helpers in their own community.