Story Skills Poster | Printable Literacy Anchor for Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Our Story Thinking Skills Chart is a bright, engaging visual tool that helps children understand the building blocks of stories.

Aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy, this poster supports learners as they move from recalling details to analysing, evaluating, and creating, making it ideal for developing deep comprehension and higher-order thinking.

With fun and easy to understand icons, the chart breaks story learning into bite-size thinking skills such as retelling, paraphrasing, exploring theme, analysing context, making inferences, and creating new ideas. It works wonderfully as an anchor chart for reading lessons, writing tasks, group discussions, and independent work.

Educators and parents love how flexible this resource is.

• Use the full-colour poster as a classroom display, the black-and-white version for colouring and discussion, or the blank version to let children design their own icons and take ownership of their learning.
• It’s perfect for classrooms, homeschooling spaces, tutoring rooms, and literacy corners.

Designed to grow with learners, this chart supports comprehension, critical thinking, and creativity across a wide range of ages and abilities.

What’s included in your instant digital download:

✨ Full-colour Story Thinking Skills Chart

✨ Black & white version for colouring and annotation

✨ Blank version for students to draw their own icons

✨ 6 print sizes for flexible use: A4, A3, A2, US Letter, US Tabloid, and 18 × 24 inches

Tip: Print large for a statement classroom display, or laminate smaller sizes for table-top reference and small-group work.

ACARA (English)

This chart supports English learning for Years 3–8 by helping students identify and explain key ideas and information in texts. It encourages learners to analyse narrative structure, themes, and context while practising essential comprehension strategies such as summarising, paraphrasing, inferring, and justifying their ideas. The chart also supports rich classroom discussion, helping students express interpretations clearly and confidently.

US Common Core (ELA)

Aligned with Common Core ELA standards for Grades 3–8, this resource supports reading comprehension and the analysis of literary texts. Students are guided to retell, summarise, and interpret key ideas, make inferences, and support their responses with evidence. The chart also promotes strong speaking and listening skills through discussion, explanation, and collaborative learning.

UK National Curriculum (English)

Ideal for Key Stages 2–3, this chart supports students in understanding and discussing a wide range of texts. It helps learners identify themes, ideas, and structural features, infer meaning, and explain their interpretations. Through regular use, students also develop spoken language skills and critical thinking in a supportive and engaging way.