Dear Therapist,

Attached please find narrative checklists I’ve

created to assist with evaluating a child’s narrative
skills. You can use it over time to compare
narrative skills after a period of time, or using it as
a dynamic assessment measure to see if they
improve on story-telling following immediate
instruction. It is adaptable for you to use however
you like; you can put checkmarks, write yes/no, or
put notes in the columns. I hope you find it useful
in your assessments.

Best,

Joanna Lamb
 Narrative Checklist
Episodic Structure 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

Episodes were complete? (A complete episode contains

an initiating event, consequences, and at least two of the
following: internal response, character plan, and
character attempts/actions; a skill that typically emerges
between ages 7 and 8.)

Episodes were minimally complete? (A minimally

complete episode contains an initiating event,
attempts/actions, and consequences and emerges between
ages 4 and 6.)

Stage 1 Elements (expected in preschool) 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Characters Referenced

● Setting Stated

Stage 2 Elements (expected in preschool) 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Character Actions

Stage 3 Elements (expected in preschool) 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Initiating Events

● Character Reactions

Stage 4 Elements (expected in early elementary) 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Character Feelings

● Causal Relationships

● Direct Consequences

Stage 5 Elements (expected in late elementary) 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Planned Attempts

● Perspective Taking

● Resolution
Conjunctive Cohesion 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● lacks inter-sentential links and connectors; uses

mainly simple sentences

● Coordinating forms used ( "and," "but," "so,"

etc.)

● Adverbial forms used ("next," "later,"

"therefore," etc.)

● Subordinating forms used (“because,” “while,”

“since”, etc.)

● Literate types of connectors (e.g. suddenly)

Referential Cohesion 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Fails to indicate referent clearly resulting in a

confusing story

● Referencing is attempted but use is inconsistent

or inappropriate

● Appropriate pronominal referencing

● Personal pronouns used appropriately

● Demonstrative pronouns used appropriately

(“that,” “this,” those,” etc.)

Sentence Types 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Extremely reduced utterances in responses to

continuous prompting, or tangential and not
constrained by prompting?

● Simple Sentences # #

● Compound Sentences # #

● Complex Sentences # #

● Compound/Complex Sentences # #
Word and Sentence Usage 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● non-specific or inappropriate vocabulary used;

mostly labeling and over use of empty terms (e.g.
there, something, stuff)

● Linguistic verbs used (e.g. said, told, etc.)

● Mental verbs used (e.g. thought, believed, hoped,

etc.)

● Modals (could, would, etc.)

● Elaborated Noun Phrases

● Elaborated Verb Phrases

● Sentences are complete

● Verb tenses used correctly

● Verb tenses consistent? Indicate tense used

Story Register and Pragmatics 1st Narrative 2nd Narrative

● Included characters’ thoughts, theory of mind

● Included dialogue

● Made inferences regarding actions or thoughts

not depicted in the images

● Made a logical prediction regarding future events

not depicted

● Including traditional story openers/closers (e.g.

Once upon a time, The end)