The Role of Story Maps in Improving Primary School Students’ Skills in Determining the Main Idea in Narrative Texts
Keywords:
Story map, Reading comprehension, Determining the main idea, Visual learning strategies, Primary school students, Teaching TurkishAbstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the story map method applied to fourth-grade primary school students on the students' ability to determine the main idea in narrative texts. The study was conducted within the scope of a quasi-experimental design, one of the quantitative research methods; a matched control group post-test model was used. The sample of the study consists of a total of 80 students (experiment = 40, control = 40) studying at a state primary school in Antalya, Turkiye. The "Reading Comprehension and Main Idea Determination Scale" consisting of open-ended questions was used as the data collection tool. The application process lasted eight weeks; the instruction supported by the story map method was carried out in the experimental group, while the traditional methods were carried out in the control group.
Shapiro-Wilk test, t-test for independent samples and Mann-Whitney U test were used in the analysis of the data. The findings revealed that the students who received education with the story map method showed significantly higher success compared to the control group both at the sub-problem level and in total test scores. Especially the high eta-squared values show that the application has a strong educational effect.
This study shows that structured strategies with visual support, such as story maps, are an effective method for developing the skill of determining the main idea at the primary school level. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating constructivist and visual-based approaches in teaching Turkish and contribute to the development of educational programs.
Downloads
References
Akça, G. (2002). The Effect of the Story Map Strategy on Fourth Grade Primary School Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills [Master’s Thesis]. Institute of Educational Sciences.
Alturki, N. (2017). The effectiveness of using group story-mapping strategy to improve reading comprehension of students with learning disabilities.
Amlund, J. T., Gaffney, J., & Kulhavy, R. W. (1985). Map Feature Content and Text Recall of Good and Poor Readers. Journal of Reading Behavior, 17(4), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10862968509547548
Babyak, A. E., Koorland, M., & Mathes, P. G. (2000). The Effects of Story Mapping Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Behavioral Disorders. CoLab. https://colab.ws/articles/10.1177%2F019874290002500301
Beyhatın, F., & Özdemir, O. (2023). Effects of Story Map Method on Listening and Reading Comprehension of 1st Grade Elementary School Students | Beyhatın | International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies. 11(3). https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.11n.3p.136
Boulineau, T., Fore, C., Hagan-Burke, S., & Burke, M. D. (2004). Use of Story-Mapping to Increase the Story-Grammar Text Comprehension of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27(2), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.2307/1593645
Bulduk, S. (2003). Experimental Research Methods in Psychology. Çantay Kitabevi.
Chitsaz, F., bafroie, K. B., & zare, M. (2023). The Effectiveness of Story Mapping and Comprehension Sterategies to Improve Reading Skills for Students with Reading Problems. Psychology of Exceptional Individuals, 13(49), 173–207. https://doi.org/10.22054/jpe.2023.69792.2480
Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203771587/statistical-power-analysis-behavioral-sciences-jacob-cohen
Dermitzaki, I. (2025). Fostering Elementary School Students’ Self-Regulation Skills in Reading Comprehension: Effects on Text Comprehension, Strategy Use, and Self-Efficacy. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020101
Duke, N. K., Ward, A. E., & Pearson, P. D. (2021). The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction. The Reading Teacher, 74(6), 663–672. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1993
Franciscone, J. (2008). The effectiveness of using story mapping as a supplemental tool to improve reading comprehension [Master’s Thesis, Caldwell College]. https://search.proquest.com/openview/2c9e1798854fb73aa5778d3dc20ff279/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
Gardill, M. C., & Jitendra, A. K. (1999). Advanced Story Map Instruction: Effects on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 33(1), 2–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246699903300101
Guo, D., Zhang, S., Wright, K. L., & McTigue, E. M. (2020). Do You Get the Picture? A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Graphics on Reading Comprehension. 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420901696
Hudson, A. K., Owens, J., Moore, K. A., Lambright, K., & Wijekumar, K. (Kay). (2021). “What’s the Main Idea?”: Using Text Structure to Build Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 75(1), 113–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2016
Hwang, L. L., & Park, H. S. (2004). The effect of story mapping strategy instruction on reading comprehension and listening comprehension of elementary students with reading disability. Communication Sciences & Disorders, 9(2), 156–170. http://www.e-csd.org/journal/view.php?number=247
Işikdoğan, N. (2009). The Effectiveness of the Story Map Technique in Developing Reading Comprehension Skills of Students with Intellectual Disabilities [Master’s Thesis, Ankara University]. https://search.proquest.com/openview/fc3e51cb83353a92d7f6878e04e2b01f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y
Jiang, X., & Grabe, W. (2007). Graphic organizers in reading instruction: Research findings and issues. Reading in a Foreign Language, 19.
Özkara, Y., & Şahin, İ. (2013). The Effect of Story Maps on Students’ Ability to Identify the Main Idea in Narrative Texts. Selçuk University Journal of Turkic Studies, 33, 175–187. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/206955
Peng, P., Wang, W., Filderman, M. J., Zhang, W., & Lin, L. (2023). The Active Ingredient in Reading Comprehension Strategy Intervention for Struggling Readers: A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis—Peng Peng, Wei Wang, Marissa J. Filderman, Wenxiu Zhang, Lifeng Lin, 2024. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543231171345
Pilten, G. (2007). The effect of teaching the main idea finding strategy on finding the main idea and reading comprehension [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]. Gazi University.
Prasansaph, S. (2024). The Effects of a Task-Based Learning Approach and a Graphic Organizer Technique on the Development of Teacher Professional Competency in English Reading and Writing Skills of Student Teachers. 17(2).
Praveen, S. D., & Rajan, P. (2013). Using Graphic Organizers to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills for the Middle School ESL Students. English Language Teaching, 6(2), 155–170. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1076955
Reed, D. K., & Vaughn, S. (2012). Retell as an Indicator of Reading Comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16(3), 187–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2010.538780
Stetter, M. E., & Hughes, M. T. (2010). Using story grammar to assist students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties improve their comprehension. Education and Treatment of Children, 33(1), 115–151. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/20/article/369896/summary
Sugandi, R., Juniardi, Y., & Rahmawati, E. (2022). The Effectıveness Of Usıng Story Map Technıque To Students’ Readıng Comprehensıon On Narratıve Text. Lingua Scientia, 29, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.23887/ls.v29i1
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (Vol. 86). Harvard university press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=RxjjUefze_oC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Mind+in+society:+The+development+of+higher+psychological+processes.+&ots=okzYT4q4aq&sig=qDFVyHrqz1WKgA8Hh5tOoc7NW94
Williams, J. P., Kao, J. C., Pao, L. S., Ordynans, J. G., Atkins, J. G., Cheng, R., & DeBonis, D. (2016). Close analysis of texts with structure (CATS): An intervention to teach reading comprehension to at-risk second graders. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(8), 1061. https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/108/8/1061/
Wulandari, N. (2019). Implementation of Story Mapping and Mind Mapping toward Students’ Reading Comprehension Enhancement: A Comparative Study. Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature and Culture, 4(1), 23–31. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1305454
