Resolution is in the Story The Story Grammar Marker and Comic Strip Conversations for Conflict Resolution and Social Skills Development Power Point Presentation by Thea K. Burton, M.A. CCC-Sp, M.Ed 2013

Story Grammar Marker Developed by Mindwing Concepts, Inc. (Maryellen Rooney Moreau) is a tool to help us tell, retell, and write stories. describe the social parameters of situations. identify differing persepctives.

The Story Grammar Marker (SGM) Each symbol or icon on SGM represents an element of a story. The Story Grammar Marker Character Setting Kick Off Feelings Plan Actions/Attempts ( the details) Consequence Resolution

The Character / The Face Who is the story about? Think about : person, animal, or being age/gender physical description likes and dislikes personality

The Setting / The Star Where and When does the story take place? Think about the “ho-hum” day in the setting.

Kick-Off / The Shoe The Initiating Event: What good or bad event happened to the Character to cause him/her to do something? Think about a football game and how the kick-off starts the game. The Kick-Off is the part of the story that changes the typical or “ho-hum” day. It’s a “ho-hum” day UNTIL…. The Kick-Off is often something that one does not expect to happen.

Feelings / The Heart Internal Response: What are the Character’s feelings about what happened? Emotions, goals, intentions, or thoughts. (happy, sad, mad, surprised, disgusted, afraid, embarrassed, proud, lonely)

The Plan / The Hand STOP - THINK What does the Character want to do? Think about the kick- off and the internal response? What does the Character want to achieve?

Critical Thinking Triangle Initiating Event Feeling Words (happy, sad, angry, jealous, surprised, scared) Planning Words (want, decide, plan, desire, intend, need) Thinking verbs (know, realize, think, understand, remember, believe)

Attempts or Actions / The Rings What action does the Character take to achieve the plan? Attempt 1 Attempt 2 Attempt 3 ….. May involve multiple plans, or attempts at the plan. The DETAILS … ( To begin with, First, Then, Next, Furthermore, Finally)

Direct Consequence / The Bow What happened as a result of the Character’s plan and attempts ? The “tie-up” As a result….

Resolution / Hearts and Strings How does the Character feel about the direct consequence? Think about… - feelings - lesson learned - moral of the story

SGM Review Face = Character Star = Setting Shoe = Kick-Off Heart = Feelings Hand = Plan Rings = Actions/Attempts Bow = Direct Consequence Hearts & Strings = Resolution

Practice You have now learned the icons that make up Story Grammar Marker (SGM). Use these icons to: - help you understand the elements in a story - recall information to retell a story - create / write your own story

Perspective shift Student A tells the story from his/her perspective Student B tells the story from his/her perspective Together students A & B tell the story and change it so that the outcome is a positive one for both.

Comic Strip Conversations Devised by Carol Gray. are conversations between two or more people shown in simple drawings. Incorporate symbols and colour to illustrate detail, ideas, and abstract concepts. systematically identify what people say, do and think.

Comic Strip Conversations Devised by Carol Gray. represent emotions by using colour help student understand where they are coming from. help student understand where others are coming from.

Draw as you talk Use stick figures and symbols. Conversation symbols dictionary TalkThought

Example

Questions Questions that guide a Comic Strip Conversation: Look familiar? Where is the student? Who else is there? What is the student doing? What happened? What did the student think? What did others do? What did others say and think?

Color = Motive Use colour to visually define the feelings and intentions of a speaker. Carol Gray (1994) suggested: Green – good ideas, happy, friendly Red – bad ideas, teasing, anger Brown – comfortable, cosy Purple – proud Yellow – frightened Black – facts, things we know Orange – questions Combination of colours - confused

Symbols

Practice Let’s draw the situation we told a story about.

SGM & CSC Together After telling the story using SGM Draw the story using CSC Create a Social Story that reinforces the general social/behavioral learning that has occurred.

Resolution When we understand each other, we are more likely to behave in a way that resolves conflicts. How we tell the story helps improve understanding and how we interact with each other.