Creating an Interactive PowerPoint: Story Map

  1. Open PowerPoint. A new blank presentation should open automatically.

2. Go to Slide Show -> Set Up Show, and choose “Browsed from Kiosk” from the menu that appears. This makes it so that the show only advances if people click on links or action buttons.

  1. From the layouts, scroll down to the section called “Other layouts” and choose the slide that has a title and a diagram. (For other interactive presentations, you would choose a slide that has room for text and content.)
  1. Double click on the small picture to choose the diagram you need. For this project, choose the one that looks like a flower.
  1. In the toolbar that pops up next, click “Insert Shape” twice to get a total of five nodes.

Your slide should now look like this:

  1. In the center bubble, type the name of the story or book. In the outer bubbles, add these subjects: Setting, Characters, Problem, Resolution, and Plot. Your slide will look like this:
  1. Click “New Slide”, and use the layout that pops up. It will have space for a title and text. In the title section, type “Setting.”
  1. Go to Slide Show -> Action Buttons and click on the house icon. When the cross pops up, draw a box in a bottom corner of your slide. A house icon will appear.
  1. When you have finished making the house box, an “Action Settings” box will appear. Keep “Hyperlink to” checked, and choose “Slide” from the pull down menu underneath. Then select “2. Story Map” and hit OK. You have told the computer that when someone clicks on the house, go back to the screen with the Story Map diagram.

  1. Now that we have a slide the way we want it, we are going to copy that slide. In the slide pane on the left, click on the “Setting” slide, then hit Control-C to copy it (or Edit -> Copy). Hit Control-V (or Edit -> Paste) to paste it four times. You should now have 5 identical slides.
  1. Go to each slide and change the titles to match the bubbles in the story map diagram. You will then have one slide for each bubble.
  1. Go back to the Story Map diagram slide. In the “Setting” bubble, highlight the word. Then go to

Insert -> Hyperlink. In the box that pops up, select “Place in this Document” and choose the slide that says “Setting” from the menu on the right.

We have now linked the word “Setting” to the slide with information about the setting. If someone clicks on “Setting” they will be taken to that page.

  1. Repeat the process to link the other bubbles to the right pages.
  1. We are going to make an Exit button, so viewers can leave the show. Go back to the Story Map diagram slide. Choose Slide Show -> Action Buttons and choose the blank button. When the cross pops up, draw a button. In the Action Settings box that appears, choose “Hyperlink to” and select “End Show.”
  1. To make sure people know there’s an Exit button, we need to add a label using a Text Box. Go to

Insert -> Text Box and draw a box on the button. Type the word “Exit” in the box.

  1. To check your links, go to Slide Show -> View Show.

This same process can be used to make many different interactive presentations. To create links between pages, simply highlight the text, insert a link, and link the text to the desired slide.

Be sure to add Home and Exit buttons to make navigation easier.

PowerPoint in the ClassroomTheresa NierlichCCCOE1