How to Write a Social Story — With Templates!

In our article What is a Social Story? Featuring Carol Gray, we break down what a Social Story™ is and how creator Carol Gray’s guidelines can help us make the Social Story process a positive experience for children, and ourselves. To recap, Social Stories explain what's going on and what to expect in situations that might seem a bit confusing or stressful.

After reading Carol Gray’s Social Story criteria, you might be wondering: how do I use this information to actually write a Social Story for my child? You’re in the right place. Read on to follow us as we create our very own Social Story. And if this guide helps you create your own, we’d love to read yours too!

Let’s write a Social Story for Lucy

Lucy’s mother was very upset because Lucy, age 10, got into trouble at school. She hit her aide and ran away. This was not like Lucy. The aide told Lucy’s mother that the incident started when Lucy took pizza from the trash can in the lunch area. The aide took the pizza away and put it back in the trash.

We would like to show how a Social Story might help Lucy in this situation. We’re going to follow Carol Gray’s Social Story criteria to help us work through the problem.

Step 1. Always be guided by the philosophy of social humility.

Lucy has Down syndrome. While most of us react to eating food from the trash can with disgust, Lucy didn’t have the same feeling about the pizza in the trash can and didn’t understand why there was anything wrong with eating it. Eating from the trash could make her sick, however, and we need Lucy to learn this information.

Step 2. Gather information.

This is a two-step process:

1. Gather relevant information to improve the author’s understanding of the audience in relation to a situation, skill, or concept.

To improve our understanding of Lucy, we spoke to her mom and found out a few things:

• Lucy loves pizza; it's her favorite food.
• Mom spoke to Lucy the day of the incident and asked her why she took pizza from the trash can. “I wanted more pizza,” Lucy answered. When her mom told her, “Eating food from the trash can makes you sick,” Lucy started to cry and said, “I didn't know.”
• This isn't the first time Lucy has taken food from the trash can. Mom is worried that the aide at school will not be vigilant enough to notice if Lucy takes food from the trash again.
• Lucy is good about washing her hands before eating lunch and after playing outside. She knows this as a routine and as a rule.
• The kids get pizza at school every Friday.

We also looked up some information about bacteria. We asked ChatGBT to write facts about bacteria for a first grade reading level. Here is what it told us:

• Tiny Living Things: bacteria are very tiny living things. You need a microscope to see them because they are so small.
• Everywhere Around Us: bacteria are everywhere! They are in the air, in the water, on your skin, and even inside your body.
• Shapes and Sizes: bacteria come in different shapes, like little balls, rods, and spirals.
• Good and Bad Bacteria: some bacteria are good for us and help our bodies. Other bacteria can make us sick.
• Helpful Bacteria: good bacteria help us digest food and keep us healthy. They can also be used to make yummy foods like yogurt and cheese.
• Harmful Bacteria: bad bacteria can cause infections and illnesses, but doctors can give us medicine called antibiotics to help us get better.
• Quick Multipliers: bacteria can grow and multiply very quickly. One bacterium can become millions in just a few hours!
• Ancient Life: bacteria are very old. They have been on Earth for billions of years, even before dinosaurs!
• Remember, washing your hands can help keep bad bacteria away and keep you healthy!

We can use some of these facts in our Social Story.

2. Identify the specific topic(s) and the most critical information (focus).

The missing information for Lucy is that food can make us sick when it gets bacteria on it. We decided to make a story about bacteria and food safety. The most critical information is to not eat food that is dirty.

Step 3. Use one title and descriptive and coaching sentences only.

A Social Story title meaningfully represents the topic.

We chose the title Lucy’s Book on Bacteria and Food Safety.

A Social Story consists of descriptive sentences and may also have one or more coaching sentence(s). All sentences adhere to all applicable Social Story criteria.

Our descriptive sentences will be facts about bacteria. Our coaching sentence will encourage Lucy to advocate for herself when she is still hungry.

A Social Story has three parts: an introduction that describes the topic, a body that adds detail, and a conclusion that reinforces and summarizes the information.

• Bacteria are very tiny living things. We cannot see them with our eyes.
• A microscope is a machine that lets us see tiny things. We can see bacteria through a microscope.
• Bacteria are everywhere! They are in the air, in the water, on our skin, and even inside our bodies.

• Lucy likes pizza and so do bacteria!
• We often have a lot of bacteria on our hands because we touch a lot of things. When we have pizza at school, lots of bacteria gets on the pizza from the kid’s hands. Each bite gets bacteria from a kid’s mouth. When it falls on the floor, the bacteria from our shoes and from birds and animals gets on the pizza.
• Bacteria can grow very quickly by splitting in two until there are millions!
• Bacteria grow fastest when they are warm, a little wet, and have food to use for energy. The trash can in the school lunch area is the bacteria’s happy place — warm, wet, and lots of yummy pizza.
• Some bacteria are good for us and help our bodies. Good bacteria can help us break up food in our tummy. Bacteria can also be used to make yummy foods like yogurt and cheese.
• Bad bacteria can make people sick. Some bacteria will make a person very sick and they will need medicine. Most bacteria that grows on food will give a person a sore tummy and make them throw up.
• People are most likely to get sick from bacteria when they eat food that is old, has spoiled, or has been left in a warm or wet place.
• Most bacteria are killed by soap and warm water. We can keep safe from bacteria by washing our hands before we eat, after we go to the bathroom, or after we play outside.

Conclusion (coaching sentences):

• When I see lots of leftover pizza in the trash can at school, it might look yummy, but I remember that it can make me very sick.
• If I am still hungry, I can ask for more food that is safe.

Step 4. Tailor the format to the child.

Lucy can read at a first grade level, so we use simple terms. If we need complicated words, we explain them. Lucy is a visual learner, so we are going to use pictures to support her learning.

Step 5. Use appropriate voice and vocabulary.

• We went through our first draft and found lots of “you” statements that came from ChatGBT. We changed these to “our” or “we” statements or used “people.”
• We struggled with the word “digest.” Would Lucy know what this meant? We changed it to “break down in your tummy.”
• We noted that the bacteria makes people throw up. Should we also mention diarrhea? We will leave this out but the parent can mention it.
• We are tempted to write, “Never eat food from the trash,” but this would be a script that tells Lucy how to respond. This is not something that should be in a Social Story. Let Lucy come to this conclusion herself.

Step 6. Answer “WH-” questions about the context.

We made sure to include who, what, when, where, why, and how.

• Who: The story is about Lucy.
• What: We explain what bacteria are.
• When: This information is about lunchtime.
• Where: We talk specifically about the lunch area at school and the trash cans there.
• Why: We explain that food from the trash can can make Lucy sick.
• How: We explain that bacteria grows on food in the trash can. We also explain how to avoid getting sick by asking for safe food and washing hands.

Step 7. Celebrate the child’s strengths.

We know that Lucy is already a good hand washer and always washes hands before eating, so emphasizing this will make her feel good about her skills.

Step 8. Use a coaching sentence.

We used two coaching sentences. We had 26 descriptive sentences, so we are well within the ratio of descriptive sentences to coaching sentences.

Step 9. Review and revise.

Here’s the Social Story we came up with for Lucy:

We re-read it a few times to make sure it met all the Social Story criteria.

Step 10. Implement it following Social Story guidance.

We showed Lucy’s mom our Social Story and recommended a plan to introduce it by reading it together during Lucy’s normal bedtime reading routine. Lucy’s mom made a plan to read it together on Thursday night before pizza day at school on Friday. Then, she wants to talk to Lucy the next day before school to review what she learned. Lucy’s mom also plans to show the school aide a copy of the Social Story.

Conclusion

There are plenty of Social Stories online to help kids manage expectations and learn new skills, but you may want to try using this process to create one specifically for your child. You know your child’s needs and strengths best, and you’ll gain a better understanding of your child’s perspective navigating new situations.

Need a step-by-step walkthrough for a DIY Social Story? Use this printable worksheet to help!