Story Talk 2: Help Children Tell Wonderful Stories Using a Narrative Structure
An oral storytelling kit that aligns with the Australian Curriculum. Includes magnetic shapes, a Story Star, Bendy the character and a load of downloadable resources. All together these systematically step students through the structural elements of a story, helping them tell clear, cohesive and imaginative stories.
The elements of story structure
Each magnetic shape in the kit represents an element of a story's structure. Each element is then explored in-depth with the plentiful worksheets and stimulus pictures provided in the program.
Students progress through the elements to building well-structured narratives - from isolated descriptions through to complete story episodes.
Character — Who is in the story?
The oval magnetic frame represents the main character. Students learn to describe appearance, personality, traits and interests - building a rich picture that drives the story. The kit includes Bendy, a neutral character for modelled storytelling, plus three small circles for additional characters.
Setting — Where and when?
The rectangular frame sets the scene. Students learn to identify and describe when and where a story takes place, using vivid language to orient the listener. Setting images in the kit can be placed beneath the magnetic frame on a whiteboard.
Action Events — What happens?
Four triangle shapes represent the sequence of events that form the backbone of the story. Students learn to identify and order events logically, building narrative coherence as the plot unfolds across time.
Feelings — How do they feel?
The heart shape represents character emotions. Students explore how feelings change throughout the story, building empathy and emotional vocabulary. Understanding character feelings adds depth and makes stories more engaging.
Thoughts — What are they thinking?
The thought bubble shape represents a character's internal thinking. Students learn to infer and express what characters might be thinking and why - a key skill for both comprehension and expressive storytelling that reveals motivation and intention.
Problem — What goes wrong?
The zigzag shape represents the central conflict. Every good story has a problem that drives the narrative forward. Students learn to identify and create challenges that make stories engaging and purposeful. Prompt cards in the kit help spark problem ideas.
Ending — How is it resolved?
The stop sign shape signals the resolution. Students learn to craft satisfying endings that address the problem and bring the narrative to a close, developing a sense of story completeness and cohesion.
Who uses Story Talk 2?
Story Talk 2 is used by speech pathologists in individual sessions and schools in whole-class programming. It supports oral storytelling and narrative writing for students in early to middle primary school, but can be used with older clients with expressive language difficulties.
Speech Pathologists
Use Story Talk 2 to target oral narrative production in therapy sessions.
The Story Grammar framework provides a structured, evidence-informed approach to building storytelling and retelling abilities. Ideal for students with developmental language disorder or narrative difficulties, with activities spanning descriptive language through to complete story episodes.
Teachers
Story Talk 2 aligns with the Australian Curriculum: English (Foundation–Year 3), supporting students to understand and create narratives through explicit teaching of characters, settings, problems, events and resolutions.
The kit is used from Tier 1 (whole-class), through to Tier 3 programming.
Parents and Tutors
Support a student's storytelling development at home with hands-on activities. The magnetic frames and Bendy character make story structure tangible and fun.
The Story Star signals whose turn it is to tell the story, making it a natural fit for family storytelling time. Best used with guidance from a teacher or speech pathologist.
Story Talk 2 links to the Australian Curriculum
Story Talk 2 aligns with the Australian Curriculum: English (Foundation–Year 3), supporting students to understand and create narratives through explicit teaching of characters, settings, problems, events and resolutions.
Foundation (Prep)
- AC9EFLY05 Listen to and interact with others to share ideas about texts and experiences.
- AC9EFLY06 Retell or recreate familiar texts, including stories.
- AC9EFLA03 Understand that texts can have different purposes and structures.
- AC9EFLE03 Share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters in texts.
Year 1
- AC9E1LY05 Use interaction skills when discussing characters, events and settings in texts.
- AC9E1LY06 Retell or recreate events from a text in sequence.
- AC9E1LY07 Create short spoken or written texts including simple narratives.
- AC9E1LE03 Discuss characters and events in stories.
Year 2
- AC9E2LY06 Create spoken and written texts including simple narratives.
- AC9E2LY05 Use interaction skills to discuss characters, events and ideas in texts.
- AC9E2LA04 Understand how texts are organised depending on their purpose.
- AC9E2LE03 Discuss how characters and events are represented in texts.
Year 3
- AC9E3LY06 Plan, create and edit imaginative texts including narratives.
- AC9E3LY05 Use interaction skills to contribute to discussions about texts and ideas.
- AC9E3LA03 Understand how text structures organise ideas in texts.
- AC9E3LE03 Discuss characters, settings and events in narratives.
Grounded in the Story Grammar model
Systematic, Structured Instruction
Story Talk 2 is built on a well-established framework for understanding and teaching narrative structure. Research consistently shows a strong relationship between oral language development and subsequent literacy development in both reading and writing.
Oral storytelling is the first developmental language form that requires a child to give an extended monologue. It is an essential precursor to written storytelling, yet too often students are expected to write stories without adequate opportunity to tell their own stories orally first. Story Talk 2 bridges this gap with systematic, structured steps.
The original Story Talk was released by speech pathologists Elizabeth Love and Sue Reilly in 2006. Story Talk 2 is the updated edition with more activities and more story-stimulating images, current research links and downloadable digital resources.
What's included
A physical storytelling kit posted to you plus three downloadable digital sections.
The physical kit contains
- Magnetic frames and shapes representing each story element (character, setting, events, problem, feelings, thoughts, ending)
- A Story Star soft toy - given to the storyteller to hold, signalling whose turn it is
- Bendy - a flexible figure to act as the "character" in some of the activities
The downloadable resources
The downloadables contain instructions, worksheets, cards and pictures that focus on each element of the story initially and then entire stories. Some items are printed out - others can be viewed on a device (interactive whiteboard, tablet, Smart TV).
- Section 1: Overview, theory, research links and Australian Curriculum alignment
- Section 2: 46 pages of structured activities and step-by-step instructions
- Section 3: 99 pages of resources - blackline masters, story-planning templates, prompt cards, picture stimuli for each section, stories for modelling and story starter prompts and more
A peek inside Story Talk 2
Three downloadable resource sections packed with activities, images, stories for modelling and blackline masters.
Works alongside Alien Talk
Alien Talk focuses on sentence-level writing - building clear, grammatically correct sentences. Story Talk 2 then pulls those sentences together into complete, well-structured stories. The two programs complement each other, and relevant links to Alien Talk are made throughout the Story Talk 2 program.
Learn more about Alien TalkCreated by a speech pathologist
Originally created by speech pathologists Elizabeth Love and Sue Reilly in 2006, Story Talk 2 is the updated edition with new images, research links and digital resources.
Lucia Smith
Speech Pathologist
Lucia is an Australian Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with over 30 years' experience.
She has been writing and illustrating for Pelican Talk Speech Therapy Resources since 2012, drawing on evidence-based practice and her extensive clinical work with children across a wide range of settings and age groups.
Lucia is also the developer of a specialist training program focused on using puppets to support social and emotional learning. This program has been listed on the Victorian School Readiness Funding Menu since 2021.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from educators, therapists and parents about Story Talk 2.
What age group is Story Talk 2 suitable for?
What is the Story Grammar model?
Can I use Story Talk 2 in a whole-class setting?
Do I need to be a speech pathologist to use Story Talk 2?
What is included in the kit?
Can Story Talk 2 be used for both oral and written stories?
What types of stories does the program cover?
Is Story Talk 2 suitable for students with language difficulties?
How does Story Talk 2 relate to Alien Talk?
Get Story Talk 2
Everything you need to get started with structured storytelling. Physical kit plus full digital download.
Story Talk 2 Kit
Physical kit posted to you plus instant digital download of all resources.
- Magnetic frames and shapes for whiteboard
- Story Star soft toy for turn-taking
- Bendy character for modelled storytelling
- 3 digital download sections via your account
- 46 pages of structured activities
- 99 pages of printable resources
All prices in Australian dollars. Instant digital download after purchase.
Related resources
Other Pelican Talk resources that complement Story Talk 2.
Alien Talk - For Sentences that are Out of This World!
Target the building blocks of sentences Never has grammar been so fun! This popular resource is for school-aged children. It targets expressive language and comprehension for both oral and written tasks.The program is FUN using a coloured alien to explore each semantic component of a sentence. Each alien covers vocabulary, spelling and grammar relating to their favourite sentence part.It is easily adaptable for children functioning at different levels - from children who have little speech to children who need to extend their sentences. This program consists of:instant digital download of the full program via your account a USB stick full of goodies to view and to print out a set of 10 colourful alien cards a "sentence spaceship"Read an overview here. How to Use Alien Talk
Daisy Dog's Days
Daisy Dog's Days is a very versatile language resource for use with preschool children to early primary students. It promotes storytelling, sequencing, vocabulary as well as incorporating some barrier game activities. It's a favourite of speech pathologists.It follows the adventures of Daisy the Dog over seven days. When you purchase this program, you will receive a cute little daisy pouch in the mail. It contains 35 sequence cards and a card with 4 X Daisy and 4 X bones to be used in barrier games . You will also receive downloadable activities to print and use in sessions. These appear in the Downloads section of your online account after purchase. Activities: Sequencing cards (7 x 5 part sequences) - in your pouchThree full page scenes for barrier games4 bones and 4 Daisy Dogs for use in barrier games - in your pouch7 stories with an incomplete ending to be used as an oral or written taskA page of feelings words relating to the storiesA storytelling guide with prompts7 pages of "cut-up" story strips to arrange and match to photosA Week chart to rehearse recall24 Picture cards to practise recall and to enhance vocabulary learningInstructions for Use
Fun With Sequences
TARGET AREAS:Oral narrative incorporating a clear order of events, a start and a finish.Using terms such as “first” “then” “finally”.Understanding terms such as “before” and “after”.Using time phrases.Self-monitoring of speech.USB CONTENTS:33 three-part sequences plus 10 two-part sequences with a choice of ending All pictures provided in ready-to-print cards but also as JPEG images to view as slideshows All pictures provided in colour and blackline Cards to print and use in the prompting of words/phrases such as “last night”, “then”, “every day”EASILY INSERT PICS INTO A POWERPOINT & RECORD A NARRATION! THIS IS GREAT FOR SELF-MONITORING.Note: If you purchase more than one resource on this site, they may be included on the same USB stick in easy-to-access folders.
Ready to bring stories to life?
A structured, hands-on way to help students learn storytelling and narrative writing. Story Talk 2 makes story structure visible, tangible and fun.
Get Story Talk 2