THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STORIES

I have given several presentations and workshops over the years on "The Secret Language of Stories," exploring the plotting secrets of professional writers. In addition to working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist and as a private dyslexia therapist, I have published three young adult novels. (Find out more about my novels HERE.)

In 2021, I combined my love of writing with my experiences working with struggling readers and writers to create Story Frames: Enhancing Student Learning Through the Power of Storytelling. It is a twelve-step story analysis I created that is inspired by The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler and various other books on story plotting for professional writers (See my blog post about How Screenwriting and Novel Writing Strategies Influenced Story Frames). I use the Story Frames method to create my novels and teach writing to kids of all ages and adults. I teach students storyboarding and a strategy called Pictography to capture important plot points through quick sketches. 

My method is broken down into twelve basic elements or Story Frames. Stories don’t necessarily contain all of the components, and they don’t always occur in the order given here. In longer stories, many of the elements are repeated. The twelve basic elements for the COMPLETE Storyboard are below:

BEGINNING:

1. Ordinary World

2. Call and Response

3. Mentors, Guides, and Gifts

4. Crossing

MIDDLE:

5. New World

6. Problems, Prizes, and Plans

7. Midpoint Attempt

8. Downtime

END:

9. Chase and Escape

10. Death and Transformation

11. Climax: The Final Test

12. Final Reward

For younger students or when analyzing simpler stories, I use a BASIC storyboard containing eight elements:

1. Ordinary World

2. Call and Response

3. Problem and Prize

4. Plan

5. Attempt 1

6. Attempt 2

7. Climax - The Final Test

8. Reward

This year, my blog posts will focus on sharing a variety of children's books that I have analyzed using this structure.  I'm always looking for ways to make the writing process fun and engaging. Chapter 6 of my Story Frames book focuses on "From Speaking to Writing: Sentences, Paragraphs, and Stories." One of the many downloadable resources from that chapter is a Story Ad Lib. It's a fun, fill-in-the-blank story writing activity similar to commercial Mad Lib games. My version gives students a fun way to practice working with narrative structure. This year, I will be giving away several PDF activities in my monthly newsletter based on Story Ad Libs. The first will come out on February 27, 2026. Sign up HERE if you would like to receive my newsletter and receive those free PDFs.

Go to Brooke's Publishing for more information about Story Frames.

Twelve Writing Prompts to Start the New Year Right - One for Every Month

Start the new year right with Twelve Different Writing Prompts - One for Every Month by revisiting my 2024 Year of AWE - Authentic Writing Experiences below. 

January - Explore how to turn thank-you notes into a powerful literacy experience. Find highlights in my January 2024 Blog.

February - An Acrostic Valentine Activity inspired by Edgar Allan Poe is available on my February Blog.

March - Get ideas for using food and recipe writing to celebrate culture. Students learn how to write step-by-step directions for a practical and fun purpose. Find highlights HERE.

April - Download the FREE poetry writing PDF Activity called Pandora's Lunch Box. Inspired by my decodable book, Gods and Gifts: Three Greek Myths Retold. Learn how to write List Poems HERE.

May - Explore using summer vacation themes to research topics and create information posters HERE.

June - Create a Nature Journal and encourage students write down their observations about the natural world HERE. 

July - Stimulate the imagination of young people by exploring inventions at your local fair. If you don't have the opportunity to go to a real fair, read the book, Mr. Ferris and His Wheel. Read more HERE.

August - Read a book and write a letter to the author. Discover tips for connecting with authors and for writing multi-paragraph letters HERE.

September - Plan a day at the museum and discover tips for using photographs and captions to summarize the experience HERE.

October - Based on my book, The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles, this month's Authentic Writing Experience is about Scary Stories. Find it HERE.

November - In addition to being a famous poet and short story writer, Poe was also a magazine editor and literary critic. Visit my BLOG for details about Poe's other career and to discover tips for helping students write book reviews.

December - Learn how to write song spoofs HERE by enjoying this Edgar Allan Poe-inspired rendition of "Jingle Bells."

Sign up HERE for the Carolee Dean, Author newsletter and receive a FREE digital copy of my book, No Gift for Man. You will also receive monthly updates

ONLINE MASTER'S DEGREE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION WITH A DYSLEXIA CREDENTIAL

If you have a bachelor's degree in education, are currently a state-certified teacher, and are interested in pursuing a Master's Degree (M.Ed.) with a built-in Level 1 Dyslexia credential, I highly recommend the program offered by Providence College in Rhode Island. You can complete the program in person or online. If you would like more information, contact the program director, Marcy Zipke, before December 31, 2025, at mzipke@providence.edu or the graduate admissions office at gradschool@providence.edu. You may also reference the QR code below.

I teach an online course as an adjunct instructor in this program each fall, entitled Language-Based Learning: Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Written Language. As someone who has specialized in the field of dyslexia as both a certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) and a certified academic language therapist (CALT), I highly recommend the program offered at Providence College.

Please forward this information to anyone who might be interested. Reach out to Marcy Zipke before the end of the year at mzipke@providence.edu.  Also, visit the QR code above or go to  https://graduate.providence.edu/master-of-education-in-special-education-with-dyslexia-credential/

 

HOW TO SUPPORT LOCAL BOOKSTORES

Order books from the Author Page for Carolee Dean at Bookshop.org, and 30% of the profits will go to support your favorite local bookstore. This is an ongoing option to help support local bookstores that is available for almost all books. My decodable books may also be purchased from the ONLINE STORE on my website at wordtravelpress.com. 

    

If you order Story Frames directly from Brookes Publishing, use the code AF at Brookes to get a 10% discount.

Don't forget about my Young Adult novels from Simon and Schuster.

TAKE ME THERE - A boy who can't read or write dreams of being a poet, but one fateful night has him on the run, travelling to find his estranged father, who is in prison in Texas for murder.  A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Bookshop.org

FORGET ME NOT - A novel in verse about a girl who is literally pushed over the edge, explores themes of cyberbullying and suicide, hope and redemption. Amazon

Highlights from NCTE25

This past weekend, I served on two author panels during the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) 2025 Conference. I also had a booth in the exhibit hall, where I had the opportunity to chat with educators about decodable books and the foundational components of reading (phonological awareness, morphology, vocabulary, sentence structure, and more). More and more educators are embracing the power of Structured Literacy to create lifelong readers. 

One of the highlights of the conference was catching up with old friends and acquaintances.

The activities I presented for my two panels may be found at the links below.

During my panel for "Poetry Clubs: Reading and Writing Poetry to Promote Inclusion and Improve Writing Skills," I shared an analysis of the structure of "The Raven" along with tips for creating POE POETRY SPOOFS.  Lesley Roessing, who has a Chapter in my book Story Frames for Teaching Literacy, invited me to join the panel. Other children's authors included Jo Hackl, Landra Jennings, and Laura Shovan.

My second panel, "Threads of Possibility: Author/Educator Panel for Dream Weavers," focused on using picture books for students of all ages. I shared how to write HAIKU STORY SUMMARIES, an activity from Chapter 10 of Story Frames entitled "Poetry: Exploring the Power of Language and Story Through Verse." Other panelists included Colorado authors Beth Anderson and Jolene Gutierrez, author/illustrator Dow Phumiruk, and New Mexico author Laurel Goodluck.

The most exciting announcement at the conference was the list of 2026 Notable Children's Verse Novels. I had the chance to read Radiant by my old New Mexico friend, Vaunda Michaeux Nelson, this summer, and I highly recommend it, along with the other books on the list.

Last but not least, I just had to take the opportunity for a photo op with the Big Blue Bear outside of the Colorado Convention Center and my decodable book, Hank the Tank a chapter book about a real bear whose life was spared through DNA analysis.

In 2026, my newsletter will focus on sharing stories and activities from Story Frames for Teaching Literacy. Sign up for my newsletter HERE so you don't miss any fun freebies.

Poe Poetry Spoofs and NCTE

If you are at NCTE, check out my Friday morning poetry panel at 9:30 with Lesley Roessing, Jo Hackl, Landra Jennings, and Laura Shovan. We will be discussing using poetry clubs to promote writing skills. Below is a preview of one of my activities.  It's from my decodable book, The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles. Try creating your own Raven-inspired spoof.

At 3:30 on Friday, I will have a session with Colorado and New Mexico Authors on "Threads of Possibility." Get details HERE. 

Sign up for my newsletter HERE and receive a free copy of my first decodable book, No Gift for Man. Don't miss any of the fun-filled activities coming up.

COR - The Components of Reading and Writing - Part 7 - Creative Writing

Through our COR (Components of Reading) series, we have spent this year focusing on the building blocks of both reading and writing, starting with phonological awareness, morphology, and vocabulary, and moving on to sentence, paragraph, and story writing. These are categories found across the Activity Books I create for my Decodable Chapter Books in the HOT ROD series (Higher Order Thinking through the Reading Of Decodables). Read about HOT RODs on the website for Word Travel Press.

One of the most enjoyable activities I explore for each story are a creative writing projects based on the content of the book. Each activity is still highly structured, but it encourages students to use their imaginations. Here is a sample from each book:

The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles. Last week's writing activity was on Writing Scary Stories. Find the activity HERE. Depending on the ages of your students, you may also enjoy reading about an Edgar Allan Poe Valentine Scandal and get tips for creating acrostic poems. Find that activity HERE.

Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight is about a real bear accused of breaking into houses in Lake Tahoe. Find a description of the award-winning activity book HERE, along with a link to the mini Activity Guide that includes my Snack Attack Word Mashup writing activity.

Gods and Gifts: Three Greek Myths Retold features the Greek creation myth, including Pandora's Box. Download the FREE poetry writing PDF Activity called Pandora's Lunch Box. Learn how to write List Poems HERE.

Sign up HERE for the Carolee Dean, Author newsletter and receive a FREE digital copy of my book, No Gift for Man. You will also receive monthly updates.