The following is adapted from Literacy Moves Outdoors by Valerie Bang-Jensen.
Picture this: It’s Spring and everyone is eager to get outside. Your students pick up their clipboards and pencils and head out to the park next to the school. In front of a big tree is the cover of a book, Mama Built a Little Nest (Ward 2014), and page one is visible a few paces away, enticing students to walk along a path that will reveal page by page the ways that different birds build their nests. It’s easy to imagine how this book would compel readers to look carefully at the trees and shrubs around them to see whether they could find any nests.
Invented by Anne Ferguson (www.kellogghubbard.org/storywalk), StoryWalks—simple but ingenious—invite readers to walk along a path with staked pages of an engaging book related to the setting. Like Mama Built a Little Nest (Ward 2014), whose exploration of birds and their nests matches up perfectly with a walk near trees, the best walk books deepen the reader’s understanding of place. StoryWalks® entice families, classes, and individuals as a perfect way to experience the outdoors together, to get some exercise, and to share the rewards that stories offer regardless of setting.
How to Make a Story Walk:
- You’ll need two copies of the book because pictures are printed on both sides; you may want to have a third copy for revisiting in the classroom.
- To make sure your outdoor story withstands weather, laminate the pages with the thickest possible laminating sheets so you can use them multiple times.
- For outdoor settings, StoryWalk pages can use stakes or fences; indoor walks can be displayed on walls or bulletin boards.
- To display the pages, use clips on chain link fences, plywood/Lucite on stakes or landscape poles for a permanent display, and for an indoor walk, try tape or “command” fasteners on walls.
Why Read and Walk?
In the garden of a local elementary school, Kate Messner’s Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt (2015) offers readers a glimpse into those parts of the garden that we can’t usually see. The illustrations take us down into the soil, showing us the components of the unseen garden ecosystem. Seeing both views of the garden—the visible live plants above the ground and the illustrated world below the soil—enriches our understanding of the whole garden.
Whether looking for nests, working in a garden, or walking along a school hallway, a StoryWalk® not only adds to the enjoyment of the moment but shows us the power of books to offer information that enhances our lived experiences. The nest and garden books, and an indoor walk showcasing a powerful book like The Day You Begin (Woodson 2018), all engage students because they speak to the moment and place, connecting reader and book in an immediate and authentic setting. Even when we reach the end of the book, StoryWalks® have staying power because they invite readers to appreciate the universality that literature offers: I see my experience in this book and likewise, characters in a book are having an experience similar to my own. In other words, StoryWalks® can reflect one’s own experience, but also deepen this experience through new information or perspectives.
What Makes a Good StoryWalk Book?
The books above are examples of perfect picks. There are so many great books and once you and your students have the chance to try out a few you will see possibilities everywhere. Here are a few ways to get you started thinking about selecting books:
- Provide a deeper look or connection into a setting. These might be nonfiction books about ecosystems, history of a place, or characteristics of a neighborhood. Books like Mama Built a Little Nest (Ward 2014), Small in the City (Smith 2019), or Planting a Rainbow (Ehlert 1988) offer ways to connect, wonder, and imagine in a particular setting.
- Support exploration of a curricular or social goal. These can be fiction or nonfiction with a focus on academic or social curricula and can be focused on a science topic. Books like The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter (Larkin 2019) Alma and How She Got Her Name (Martinez-Neal 2018) help set an inclusive tone for the school community.
- Offer a sense that their experience is universal. These books might present family and friends going on picnics, playing games, being with friends, facing struggles, and celebrating, all relatable for many children. Look for books like Pie Is for Sharing (Ledyard 2018), Saturday (Mora 2019), and Big Red Lollipop (Khan 2010).
Once your students have experienced a few StoryWalks, offer them a chance to display their own writing, poetry and artwork by posting their own pages.
