Story grammar evolved from analyses

Story grammar evolved from analyses of folktales conducted by anthropologists in the early 1900s. They found that, regardless of age or culture, when individuals retell stories, the retells follow a pattern. This pattern is referred to as story grammar. Story grammar involves expression of the character’s problem or conflict, a description of attempts to solve the problem, and an analysis of the chain of events that lead to resolution. Story grammar also involves analysis of how characters react to the events in the story (Dimino, Gersten, Carnine, Blake, 1990). Mandler and Johnson (1977) found that children of all ages used their knowledge of how stories are structured to help them remember important details.