Story Sparks: Practice with oral and written narratives for grades 3-5
Story Sparks: Practice with oral and written narratives for grades 6-8
(2005). By Michael Paulus and Cherie Godar. Thinking Publications, 424 Galloway Street, Eau Claire, WI 54702-0163, (800) 225-GROW. $18. Reviewed by Kristin Keegan, Waltham, MA.

Story Sparks, grades 3-5 and 6-8, are books that include reproducible sheets to help students produce clear, successful oral and written narratives. The books include three sections, Little Glimmers, Memory Matches, and Super Sparkles. Each section systematically decreases the amount of support a student receives to produce a narrative. There are also appendices, all reproducible, that include a story map, a rubric for assessing a student's progress, and a word bank, or word sparks as the book calls them, to help with word choice. As stated in the titles, these books are for children grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. The books are to be used as a companion to a written language curriculum in regular and special education classroom/therapy settings. Although the product is geared for school use, they could also be used in private setting as an adjunct to what is being taught in the academic setting. The authors state that users of these books should possess an education or speech-language pathology background.

The clear, concise, and progressive nature of the Story Sparks books slowly and methodically lead students to independence in creating narratives and understanding the parts/information necessary in a sequential, informative story. The items are easy to use and understand. Both Story Sparks books begin with a thorough introduction - explaining narratives, their parts, why they are important, assessment of narratives, and other important information related to the subject. Research on the topic and resources for extension activities are also cited. These items are inexpensive and worthwhile. The one caveat is that being soft covered the books will wear quickly. When considering the price, this is a minor negative.

Story Sparks, grades 3-5 and 6-8, are products that provide a great deal of information and activities for professionals, especially speech-language pathologists who are or will be adding written language to their services delivery. However, some of the stories and story starters are far-fetched and some students, who are functioning at a more concrete level, may not take to the fantastic nature.  The product accomplishes what it has set out to do and provides professionals with additional avenues to pursue.

This product gets an A.