Recently, I’ve noticed how many students in almost every grade constantly need to be reminded to stay “on task.”
Many sit for hours, working through repetitive drills, bland texts, and worksheets that focus on “building skills” rather than sparking their imagination.
Truth is, they’re bored. And despite all those hours, many still struggle to read well.
The Literacy Pendulum
As teaching literacy continues to swing between instructional extremes, too many kids are still falling through the cracks. On one side, phonics-heavy programs can over-emphasize sounds, blends, and spelling patterns until reading becomes a decoding exercise.
On the other end, a whole-language-only approach exposes children to many books and stories (which is good) but often narrows the vocabulary to “grade-level texts” to make them comprehensible. That means students don’t encounter the more challenging narratives and content that are – well, more interesting.
And neither approach makes much room for curiosity.
When lessons become scripted routines or leveled-down for easier reading, even the bright students lose interest. Stories — once a child’s first love — become just another task to finish.
The Spark That’s Missing
Research shows that stories activate far more of the brain than isolated instruction. When a child listens to a story, they imagine, empathize, predict, and recall — all the processes that make learning stick.
The stories themselves matter too! When the texts are superficial and presented only for decoding or ease of reading — at the detriment of significance — they become bland and uninteresting.
What’s missing? Relevance. Kids crave meaning. They want to understand why something matters, not just how to do it.
The Magic of Stories
Every story — whether it’s about science, math, social studies or just a fictional tale — is a glorious invitation to think, wonder, and explore new ideas.
Instead of drilling words in isolation, children can strengthen language skills, develop richer vocabulary and understand content more deeply — all through the learning power of stories.
StoryWorld’s Literacy Ecosystem
At StoryWorld, each of our stories intentionally opens an ecosystem of literacy — with follow-up activities that encourage listening, speaking, and writing. A learner might retell a story in their own words, record a narration, or write and illustrate a related personal story.
Instead of drilling words in isolation, children learn through the story. Each narrative is rich in vocabulary, visuals, and meaning — and every new word appears in a context that makes sense.
Kids can click any unfamiliar word to hear it aloud, see it used again, or explore how it connects to the larger story. They don’t just memorize; they understand.
These multimodal experiences engage more of the brain and keep curiosity alive.
From obligation to adventure
When children feel empowered to ask questions and make new connections, reading transforms from an obligation into an adventure — from a disconnected exercise to a rewarding experience.
That’s the magic that creates a curious mind for the rest of their lives.
Cynthia Harrison Barbera
Cynthia Harrison Barbera is President and CEO, StoryWorld International. She served as VP Educational Technology for Scholastic and is the recipient of two US Presidential awards for educational programs. An Emmy-award winner for a television series on education, she has taught English to native-speakers and ELL students in the US and overseas.