The aim of the present study was to analyze the relative effectiveness of two first grade instruction programs: a developmental program that focused on the structural and social-psychological components of stories and their cohesion and a process oriented approach. A total of 43 children participated in daily sessions over 3 months (experimental group N = 22, comparison group N = 21). Measures of conceptual language and oral narrative were obtained and participants' protocols were analyzed for plot and coherence. Statistical analyses showed that the developmental method was more effective than the process approach in advancing the complexity and cohesion of children's narratives. To explore the interactions between instruction and learning, a time series analysis was conducted with seven randomly selected experimental group participants. These results showed that gains did not follow a linear pattern and that performance was shaped by the cognitive complexity of task demands. Implications for the development of narrative thought and classroom instruction are discussed.