The Story Walk Project

"I really liked walking and listening to books. When we walked, I could focus and not get bored. I could listen a lot longer than reading a book in print, too." - 10th grade English student

“Reading changes your life. Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking travelers around the world and through time. Reading helps you escape the confines of school and pursue your own education.” – Donalyn Miller

“I believe each of my students must craft an individual reading life of challenge, whim, curiosity, and hunger." -Penny Kittle, Book Love, 2013.

Free PDF from Penny Kittle's Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers. Whether independent reading projects are a new experiment for you or something that's "old hat;" check it out! Kittle shares how to help students test their reading rate, model book talks, offer fiction and non-fiction booklists, and conference with peers and teachers, and "read like a writer."

The Story Walk Project

What will your students read in the summer? What will they read outside of your classroom? What will they read after they graduate?

The "Story-Walk Project" is for teachers who see the big picture of literacy-- reading as a lifetime practice that we help build beyond the classroom walls. It's a chance for students to try print and audio platforms for reading and help students see how there are ways to incorporate reading in the midst of their busy lives.

Guidelines:

Take time to share "book talks" with students that include pictures of the book jacket and what Kelly Gallagher calls "beautiful words"-- a sample of favorite passage of a book.
Allow students to choose a book they want to read. They can switch books or table books at any time. Good readers do this.
Provide consistent, daily time for students to read their choice-book in class. This is not a waste of time; it's an investment in their future reading.
Keep accompanying assignments to an absolute minimum. If students are always assigned work with their reading, they view reading as work. What if students could learn that reading can be pleasurable?
Require students to have an audio version of the book they want to read (downloadable if they don't have cellular data) and headphones that work with their device for a weekly "book walk."
Choose a safe place to walk where students can wear headphones and listen to their story as they walk. We walk a sidewalk around the school grounds or on a trail near the school.

What Students Have to Say About the Project:

Dear Rich Wallace,

I’m not a usual reader. I probably read about once a year, and that’s because I have to in English. Since I found your books, I’ve been reading a lot lately. I’m pretty much writing to say I love your books… and I wish I could write like you so I could get an ‘A’ in this class.

...

Dear Ellen Hopkins,

I’m in the 10^th grade, and for English I had to pick a book to read and so I decided to read your book, and this is the first time I’ve ever read a book of yours. I got so into your books that I read for hours and put myself in the story. Some of your books explain me. Things that have happened to your characters in your books have happened to me. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m reading, it feels like I’m actually in the book, and because of that, I enjoy your books a lot more than others… I wish I would have started reading your books earlier because these are the first books I’ve read in forever that have interested me.

...

Dear Peg Kehet,

When Bonnie’s mom said to him, “The hardest thing in life is to accept the truth.” That was my favorite line out of your whole book. Your book told me not to run away from my problems but go ahead and face them. Thank you for writing a wonderful book.

I loved the independent reading project. I always liked to read, but since we started that, I’ve been reading a lot more. I have read about twenty or more books this semester. I thought the program was a good idea and it really helped me. It taught me the joy of reading again, and also, you can never judge a book by its cover. There’s always a book out there for anyone; you just have to go out there and find it.

For Further Study: Allowing students to write about their reading experience and address the author seemed like a valuable way to analyze and respond to the story. Their reflections suggest that perceived or actual communication with the writer or some connection with the story is important in reading. Reading is an isolated activity, but it can be relational. Further studies could explore this reader-author relationship, using control groups, visiting authors, and other communication with authors and other readers.

Evidence-Based Research

Best, Emily, and National Literacy Trust (United Kingdom). “Audiobooks and Literacy: A Rapid Review of the Literature. A National Literacy Trust Research Report.” National Literacy Trust, National Literacy Trust, 1 Feb. 2020. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.waterfield.murraystate.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED607775&login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Research shows that audio books can be deployed in a way that helps students increase vocabulary, access higher level texts, improve comprehension, as well as boost many intrinsic factors tied to literacy including facilitating the sharing of stories, increasing motivation, and engaging the emotional cortex of the brain. Best cites a recent neurological study (2019), published in the Society of Neuroscience, revealing that "the brain registers and recognizes words and information in almost identical ways whether written or spoken."

Digital Reading Platforms

Explore your local library and your school's audiobook collection. Many of these streaming books can also be downloaded for students on school-issued iPads or phones. Downloaded books are needed for students who cannot access cellular data on a walk.

Free Trial Book with Audible

Audible offers a free, downloadable book for families who create an account. Students can keep the book even if the account is cancelled, and it can be downloaded on multiple devices. A credit card number must be given for a trial account.

Self-Paced Learning Projects

Evidence-Based Research:

Daud, Afrianto, and Mirza Hardian. “The Application of Basic Principles of Online Learning Through Google Suite for Education During COVID19 Outbreak.” Ta’dib 24.1 (2021): 111–. Web.

Teachers must allow students to explore material independently and collaboratively with other students, as well as with the teacher as "facilitator" rather than "lecturer." Carefully crafted units can helps students engage in material in a way that builds social, emotional and cognitive connections. Afrianto and Hardian address the power of G-Suite as a learning management system (LMS); however, even if schools are using other LMS systems, many Google tools like "Forms," "Slides" or "Docs" can be integrated for collaborative presentations, as a way to gather feedback or work collaboratively on a document.

Davis, Jim, Raquel Cook, and Jon Ostenson. “Empowering Stereotyped Readers through Self-Directed Learning.” English journal 105.1 (2015): 42–47. Web.

The authors break stereotypes about students who are "deficient" by allowing ninth grade students to select and pursue their own research, as well as create their own rubrics. Students became active, engaged, more confident learners.

Dehler, Gordon E., and M. Ann Welsh. “Against Spoon-Feeding. For Learning. Reflections on Students’ Claims to Knowledge.” Journal of Management Education, vol. 38, no. 6, Dec. 2014, pp. 875–893, doi:10.1177/1052562913511436.

Kellen, Katherine, and Pavlo Antonenko. “The Role of Scaffold Interactivity in Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in a Community College Online Composition Course.” Journal of computing in higher education 30.2 (2017): 187–210. Web.

Zhu, Meina, Curtis J Bonk, and Min Young Doo. “Self-Directed Learning in MOOCs: Exploring the Relationships Among Motivation, Self-Monitoring, and Self-Management.” Educational technology research and development 68.5 (2020): 2073–2093. Web.