Free Narrative Language Sampling Resources for SLPs
If you're a pediatric SLP, you know how valuable narrative language samples can be. They give us a window into how students use and understand complex language—the same kind of language they need to succeed in the classroom (Johnston, 2008; Westby, 1991; Westby, Maggart, & Van Dongen, 1984). When we look at how a child tells a story, we can get a clearer picture of their academic language skills and tailor our support to meet real classroom demands. In fact, Kapantzoglou et al. (2017) found that narrative tasks could accurately differentiate children with and without language impairments about 80% to 90% of the time.
Narrative language sampling can be fast and efficient. Still, many SLPs hesitate to use language sample analysis because it feels too time-consuming to transcribe, analyze, and apply multiple measures. Even when language samples are collected, they often end up being observational only, with no objective scoring applied. That means we might be missing valuable data that could support our decision-making and help show progress.
But here’s the good news: narrative tasks offer a manageable solution. They have a natural beginning, middle, and end, which means fewer prompts and a clearer structure for both you and the student. And when we use standardized tools, we can analyze these samples more efficiently and track progress more consistently.
The best part? You don’t need to spend a dime. Because narrative tasks are often used in research, there are several high-quality, free tools out there that come with prompts, pictures, and even scoring rubrics.
Choosing the Right Narrative Task
The narrative tool you use should match your goals.
If your focus is on grammar and syntax, try using a wordless picture book rather than sequenced picture cards. Kids tend to give short, picture-by-picture descriptions with sequenced cards, but wordless books encourage more connected and complex storytelling.
Here are a few of my go-to tools when I want a deeper language sample:
ENNI: Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument — Comes with stories, pictures, scoring guides, and transcription tips. Solid choice for grammar and story structure analysis.
EPIC — A digital library with tons of picture books. Great for digital sessions or in-person work. You can get an account for free with your educator email. The Field Trip series are on Epic and I love them for a free resource.
The Frog Series by Mercer Mayer* — Wordless classics like Frog, Where Are You? are widely used in research and great for looking at PGU (percent grammatical utterances), sentence structure, and overall organization. While these books are inexpensive, they aren’t free, so I will create a separate post about these another time :)
These tools are especially helpful for students who are highly verbal but struggle with grammar or narrative flow.
If you're short on time or working with students who may provide less output or need more structure, you might prefer tools with built-in scoring and comprehension questions:
MAIN: Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives — Offers stories, questions, and rubrics in multiple languages. Easy to use and great for diverse populations.
SLAM: School-Age Language Assessment Measures — Includes printable and BOOM card formats with story grammar rubrics. Quick, flexible, and practical.
Also worth adding to your toolkit: the CUBED-3. This free, paper-and-pencil assessment is available in English and Spanish and functions as both a screener and benchmark measure. It's especially useful for progress monitoring in early elementary students.
Personally, I use ENNI or the Frog Series most often for the in-depth data. MAIN and SLAM are my favorites when I am screening multi-lingual students.
Download our updated handout with all of these free narrative tools in one place—perfect for team sharing or quick reference!
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