Social Stories: A Classroom Template and 8 School Examples

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

Social stories are short, individualized stories that describe a social situation from the student’s point of view: what happens, what other people may think or feel and what the student can do, so the student knows what to expect before it happens. The approach was developed by Carol Gray, whose trademarked Social Stories™ follow defining criteria she publishes on her official site; this guide uses “social stories” in the generic sense of classroom social narratives. It covers the evidence, a template, eight school examples, how to introduce and fade a story, data and IEP goals.

Executive Summary

Of the 8.2 million students ages 3 to 21 served under IDEA in 2024-25, 15% were served under the autism category, and 68% of students ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21 spent 80% or more of the day in regular classes, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Fire drills, substitute teachers, lunchrooms and recess happen in those shared settings, and social stories prepare students for them.

The evidence is real but modest. The National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP) lists social narratives among its 28 evidence-based practices for autistic learners. A 2025 trial in 87 UK primary schools found that children met their individual social-emotional goals more often with Social Stories, without a clinically evident change in broader social responsiveness. A story works best as one part of a plan: read before the situation, practiced, prompted and measured.

What Are Social Stories?

A social story is a short, individualized description of a social situation, usually written in the first person, that highlights the cues that matter and offers examples of what the student can do.

The 2020 NCAEP report defines social narratives as interventions that “describe social situations in order to highlight relevant features of a target behavior or skill and offer examples of appropriate responding.” They are typically short, often include pictures and describe the situation, suggest responses and describe what other people think and feel.

Carol Gray and Social Stories™

Carol Gray, a teacher of autistic students at Jenison Public Schools in Michigan, developed Social Stories in 1990, according to her site. Social Stories™ is her trademark. She defines a Social Story as a process that results in a story that “accurately describes a personally relevant topic” according to ten defining criteria, most recently updated as Social Stories 10.4 in 2023, and she distinguishes genuine Social Stories from social scripts, skill checklists and stories that do not meet the definition. This guide does not reproduce her criteria; read them on her site before calling a story a Social Story. The examples below are generic classroom social narratives.

Social Stories and Other Social Narratives

The AFIRM social narratives brief (2025 update) lists several types and notes that research supports two of them, Social Stories and Power Cards.

What the Evidence Says About Social Stories

According to AFIRM, social narratives meet NCAEP’s evidence-based practice criteria with 20 single-case and 1 group design studies, with learners from preschool (3 to 5) through high school (15 to 18). Outcomes include social, communication, behavior, school readiness, academic and adaptive skills. NCAEP also classifies Social Stories™ as a manualized intervention that meets its criteria on its own.

Reviews of the research add caution:

• Reynhout and Carter (2006) found effects “highly variable” and limited data on maintenance and generalization.
• Kokina and Kern (2010), a meta-analysis of single-subject studies, found “low to questionable overall effectiveness,” with better results for reducing inappropriate behaviors than for teaching social skills, and in general education settings.
• Guo et al. (2026), a meta-analysis of 21 single-case studies with 61 participants, found a moderate overall effect, strongest for school-aged children 7 to 12, with positive effects on social skills, safety skills and problem behaviors but not on classroom adaptive skills.
• The ASSSIST-2 trial (2025) randomized 87 UK primary schools with 249 autistic children ages 4 to 11. Children in the Social Stories group met their individual social-emotional goals more often; there was no clinically evident effect on social responsiveness, anxiety or depression.

For schools, the message is consistent: use a story for an individual target, pair it with practice and judge it by data. The evidence comes from studies of autistic learners; for other students, the IEP team decides.

How to Write a Social Story: A Classroom Template

These steps follow the AFIRM planning sequence and NCAEP’s description of social narratives:

1. Start from data. Identify the situation and the target behavior from baseline observation.
2. Watch the situation: who is there, what happens and what is hard for this student.
3. Write in the first person, short and at the student’s comprehension level.
4. Describe before you suggest. Explain what happens and what others think or feel, then offer one or two things the student can do.
5. Add pictures of the real place and people where they help, and include the student in writing it when appropriate.

This outline is a generic teaching template, not Gray’s criteria:

8 Social Stories Examples for School

These stories are original examples written for this guide, each for a fictional student. Adapt the details to your school’s real routines and the student’s own words, and add photos of the real places. They sit alongside the visual schedules and supports described in our guide to autism classroom setup.

Keeping My Hands to Myself

For Mateo, kindergarten. At school I sit near my friends on the rug and stand near them in line. Sometimes my hands want to touch my friends or their things. Some kids do not like to be touched. When my hands want to move, I can hold them together, squeeze my fidget or put them in my pockets. If I want a friend to look at me, I can say their name. My friends feel comfortable when I keep my hands to myself.

When the Fire Alarm Rings

For Ava, first grade. Sometimes the fire alarm rings at school. It is very loud. The alarm helps everyone practice how to stay safe. When it rings, my teacher says, “Line up.” I can cover my ears or wear my headphones. My class walks outside to our spot by the fence and stands together while my teacher counts us. When the drill is over, we walk back inside to our room.

Following Directions

For Liam, second grade. My teacher gives directions to help the class learn. Directions tell us what to do next, like “Take out your math book.” When my teacher gives a direction, I can stop, look and listen. I can check the board if I forget. If I do not understand, I can raise my hand and ask. My teacher is glad when I try the direction or ask a question.

Waiting for My Turn

For Zoe, pre-K. At school we take turns with the slide, the paint and the talking stick. Taking turns means one friend goes, then the next friend goes. Waiting can feel long. While I wait, I can watch my friend, count to ten or hold my turn card. My turn always comes. When it is my turn, I go, and then I pass the turn to the next friend.

When We Have a Substitute Teacher

For Noah, third grade. Sometimes my teacher is away for a day. Then a substitute teacher comes to my class. The substitute may do some things differently, but my schedule and my classmates stay the same. I can look at my schedule, follow the substitute’s directions and ask for help if I need it. My teacher will come back.

Recess

For Isaac, fourth grade. Recess is free time outside after lunch. Some kids play alone and some play together. If I want to join a game, I can walk up, wait for a pause and ask, “Can I play?” If they say no, I can try another game or ask an adult on duty. When the whistle blows, recess is over and I line up.

The Lunchroom

For Priya, fifth grade. At lunch, many classes eat in the cafeteria at the same time. It can be noisy and crowded. I walk in with my class, get my lunch and sit at our table. I can talk with the person next to me or eat quietly. If the noise feels too big, I can wear my headphones or ask to sit at the quieter end. Lunch ends when the bell rings.

Staying With My Class

For Owen, first grade. My class walks in the hallway to go to music, the library and the playground. When we walk, we stay together in a line. My teacher counts everyone to keep us safe. Sometimes I want to go somewhere else. When I want to go somewhere, I can tell my teacher or show my “I want to go” card, and my teacher will tell me when. Staying with my class keeps me safe.

A story like Owen’s supports, and never replaces, a safety plan. When a student leaves areas without permission, the team needs a functional behavior assessment and a behavior intervention plan.

How to Introduce, Review and Fade a Social Story

AFIRM describes five implementation steps:

1. Introduce the story in a quiet space and explain what it is about.
2. Read it with the student, or let the student read alone, ideally before the situation.
3. Check understanding with a few questions, reread any part answered incorrectly and consider a short role-play.
4. Create the situation, so the student can use the skill right away.
5. Prompt and reinforce the target behavior as needed.

AFIRM also suggests opportunities to read the story throughout the day. AFIRM describes no fading procedure and reviews report limited maintenance data, so a cautious approach is to fade the reading, not the support: once data are stable, move from daily reading to reading before harder days, then to the student keeping the story to read alone, and return to daily reading if the data slip. Tablet stories are an option; in Guo et al. (2026), digital and paper formats did not differ significantly.

Collecting Data on Social Stories

AFIRM recommends a baseline from direct observation and frequency data on the target behavior during the situation. If a student is not progressing, check whether the behavior is well defined, whether the story fits the student’s development, whether the student understood it and whether it was read before the situation. This sample layout is an example to adapt:

Graph the behavior, not the readings. Event recording, duration and latency formats are in IEP data collection sheets; a planned order of prompts is explained in our guide to the prompt hierarchy.

Linking Social Stories to IEP Goals

A story is a strategy, not a goal. The goal names the behavior the student will show; the story is one of the services or supports the team lists, which IDEA asks to be “based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” (34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)). These goals are original examples to adapt:

1. Hands to self: By the annual review, during 15-minute rug and line routines, Mateo will keep his hands to himself with no more than one reminder in 4 of 5 observed routines, as measured by event recording.
2. Fire drill: By the annual review, during fire drills and other unplanned alarms, Ava will line up and walk outside with her class within 1 minute of the alarm, using a coping strategy as needed, in 3 of 4 drills, as measured by latency recording.
3. Lunchroom: By the annual review, Priya will remain at her lunch table for the full lunch period, using headphones or requesting a quieter seat when needed, on 4 of 5 days, as measured by duration recording.

Goals that reduce a behavior need a replacement skill; see behavior IEP goals and social emotional IEP goals. Stories can also prepare students for conversation skills practice and are one of the four practices behind our social skills activities. The Following Directions story above can lead into following directions activities in class.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Writing a list of rules. A social story describes the situation and other people’s perspectives before it suggests anything.
2. One story for the whole class. Social narratives are individualized.
3. Reading the story after the behavior. It works as preparation, read before the situation, not as a consequence.
4. Skipping the comprehension check. A story the student did not understand cannot change behavior.
5. Calling every story a Social Story. That name belongs to stories that meet Gray’s criteria.
6. Using a story alone for unsafe behavior. Pair it with an assessment and a plan.
7. No data. Without a baseline, nobody knows whether the story helps.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are social stories?

Social stories are short, individualized stories that describe a social situation from the student’s point of view, including what happens, what others may think or feel and what the student can do. Teachers use them before events such as fire drills or recess. The term comes from Carol Gray’s trademarked Social Stories, which follow her defining criteria.

Who created social stories?

Carol Gray, a teacher of autistic students at Jenison Public Schools in Michigan, developed Social Stories in 1990. Social Stories™ is her trademark, and she publishes the criteria that define a genuine Social Story, most recently updated as Social Stories 10.4 in 2023, on her official site, carolgraysocialstories.com.

Are social stories evidence-based for autism?

Yes, with caveats. NCAEP’s 2020 review lists social narratives as an evidence-based practice for autistic learners ages 3 to 18 and classifies Social Stories as a manualized intervention that meets its criteria. Reviews report variable effects; one found them stronger for reducing problem behaviors than for teaching social skills, and a 2025 school trial found gains on individual goals rather than on broad measures.

How do you write a social story?

Start from observation: choose one situation and one target behavior. Write in the first person at the student’s level: say where and when, describe what happens and what others think or feel, offer one or two things the student can do and end calmly. Add photos of the real place, read it with the student before the situation and check understanding.

Do social stories work for kindergarteners?

They can. NCAEP and AFIRM report positive outcomes for preschoolers ages 3 to 5 as well as older students. For kindergarten, keep it to a few short sentences, use photos of the child’s own classroom, read it right before the routine, such as lining up, and pair it with modeling and praise.

Can AI help write social stories?

An AI tool can draft a first version of a story about a routine, suggest simpler wording or produce versions at different reading levels, which the teacher then checks against what really happens at school. Describe the situation without names or identifying details, use district-approved tools and review every sentence. See our ChatGPT for teachers guide.

Related Resources

• Social Skills Activities by Age
• Conversation Skills
• Behavior IEP Goals
• Autism Classroom Setup
• Social Emotional IEP Goals
• Prompt Hierarchy

Conclusion

Social stories help a student know what will happen and what to do before a hard moment arrives. Credit Carol Gray, write each story from data for one student and one situation, read it just before the situation, check understanding, then practice, prompt and count the behavior.

Sources: Carol Gray, Social Stories; Carol Gray, Social Stories 10.4 (2023); Steinbrenner et al., Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism, NCAEP (2020); AFIRM, Social Narratives Brief Packet (2025 update); Reynhout and Carter, Social Stories for Children with Disabilities (2006); Kokina and Kern, Social Story Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-Analysis (2010); Guo et al., The Effects of Social Story Interventions on Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Influencing Factors: A Meta-Analysis of Single-Case Experimental Studies (2026); Wright et al., Autism Spectrum Social Stories in Schools Trial 2 (ASSSIST-2) (2025); U.S. Department of Education, OSEP, 2024-25 Static Tables (Part B Child Count & Educational Environments). 34 CFR 300.320 is linked where it is cited.

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A social story prepares a student for a moment, but the skill itself grows through many calm rehearsals, more than one adult can offer each student. Telo AI is being adapted for students with IEPs: patient, 1-on-1 practice aligned to each student’s IEP goals, including social-emotional learning. We are inviting districts to shape it with us in a 2027 pilot.

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