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All the resources you need for early literacy — one story at a time

Bring research-backed methods to your ELA curriculum with our multilingual, award-winning program for K-2 literacy.

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Nurture literacy skills for all students through the magic of stories

StoryWorld weaves together language comprehension and phonics —
focusing on the mastery of one story a week.

Language comprehension in all modalities

Our engaging, interactive library encourages learning in all modalities: reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

Phonics integrated with stories

Each story is paired with phonics lessons to build a strong foundation in literacy (96 lessons.)

Reading Rope
  • Gough and Tunmer, Simple View of Reading (1986.)  Image inspired by Scarborough’s Reading Rope.

“I’ve never seen anything like this—it models what a teacher does.”

— Teacher participant in WestEd Research

Inspire a love of reading in every student

StoryWorld is designed to support each student’s unique learning journey at any stage.
Ideal for early readers, struggling readers or multilingual learners.

Reach every student, including ELLs, with stories that spark their interests

StoryWorld ebooks are not passive read-aloud books. Instead, story narratives are supported by interactive and multi-sensory features that are especially helpful for ELLs and reluctant readers. Importantly, students can click any unfamiliar word or phrase to hear how it sounds, supporting word recognition and reading fluency.

This on-demand, word-by-word audio support allows students at any skill level to go at their own pace and discover the sounds of the words by themselves.

English language learners have further support with word-by-word translations in both text and audio. Our stories include bilingual scaffolds in over 10 languages.

Support languages in: Arabic, Korean, Polish, Tagalog, Bengali, Mandarin, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Dari, Pashto, Spanish, Vietnamese.

Grow literacy skills by engaging all modalities + 96 weekly phonics units

Every online storybook is immediately followed by a series of comprehension questions that engage students in all modalities: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Questions include depth of knowledge, “inference” and opinion.

For phonics integration, every online storybook is paired with a letterbook and wordbook for additional support in phonics and vocabulary.

Every Dolch word is covered in our collection of stories and highlighted in each weekly phonics unit lesson plan.

Measure & succeed with results

Our easy-to-use Formative Evaluation Dashboard helps identify where students are succeeding or struggling.

Aligned with standards, the dashboard displays just-in-time information to identify students at risk of falling behind. Pinpoint where students struggle most: vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, or speaking.

Listen to recordings of student voices or read written responses and score according to standards.

Then, celebrate student success as results show!

30% increase in language proficiency in 4 weeks

ESL students at Fairview School district improved over 30% in overall English proficiency (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) in only 4 weeks.

*Signore, K (2022). Utilizing Technology to Increase Language Understanding for ELL students 

proficiency

Discover a Diverse Collection of Authentic Stories

Assign stories to multiple classes or sections and choose from 24 themes, including science,
social studies
, and culture. All stories have language scaffolds and are leveled by Lexile®.

Students listening to a quiz question about the story.

Engage all modalities: reading, listening, speaking, and writing

StoryWorld includes practice in all language domains to strengthen language proficiency and support a well-rounded approach to early literacy.

All student responses are recorded in our dashboard. These responses drive performance data and progress monitoring for immediate teacher review and scoring according to standards.

Throughout all activities, students collect motivating stars and points.

reading

Reading

Students build reading skills by reading the story. Word-by-word highlights support reading fluency. Language scaffolds allow students to click any word to hear the pronunciation. ELL students can click the word again for translation.

After the story, students can practice reading the text aloud.

Listening

Students build listening skills by listening to the story narrated by a native speaker. This allows learners to absorb the natural cadence and richness of the language.

After the story, students are prompted to answer questions that measure their listening comprehension of the material.

Speaking

Students build oral proficiency through prompts that allow them to record their voices: retelling the story, reading a passage aloud, and responding orally to depth-of-knowledge questions.

When they are finished, they send their responses to the teacher for scoring according to standards.

Writing

Students build writing skills by responding to prompts online. These questions dig deeper into inference and opinion to ensure students fully comprehend the text.

Off-screen, print materials with each story reinforce comprehension and extend learning with creative expression.

“StoryWorld was a reinforcement of everything we were working on in class: sequential language, translating words, retelling a story, asking further questions, reading the story out loud,
and then writing about it.”

— Teacher participant in WestEd Research

Printable resources with every online storybook, wordbook, and letterbook

There’s no need to spend extra prep time searching for support materials. All of our online Storybooks, Wordbooks, and Letterbooks come with companion printable activity sheets that engage students in creative work off-screen as they practice and reinforce new literacy concepts and skills.

Reinforce new vocabulary through writing

Key words are emphasized to help students build confidence and master vocabulary.

Promote comprehension and reflection

Questions assure students fully comprehend the text. Exercises prompt students to reflect on the story and practice writing.

Build decoding and grammar skills

Students construct sentences from key vocabulary. Drawing activities support learning recall.

Develop creativity with original storytelling

Students are encouraged to think "beyond the text” as they outline, write, and illustrate their own related short story.

Try us FREE for 2 months

Experience StoryWorld with your students for free for 60 days. After that, you can purchase or keep using our gift of 8 ebooks.

Extra help for multilingual learners

Multilingual learners are the heart and soul of StoryWorld. We make every word, every sentence, every page, and every narrative comprehensible.

Switch languages at any time

Language learners advance more quickly when they understand what the text is communicating. Using a simple language toggle at the top of every page, our stories allow ELLs to first listen and read the story in English, then listen and read in the home language for comprehension, then go back to listening and reading again in English.

Word-by-word translations

For most language learners, vocabulary is key to early success. All of our stories include word-by-word translations - in context. Learners can click the word to hear its pronunciation in English, than click again to hear and read the translation in their native language.

Individualized vocabulary “Words Clicked”

Every word clicked for help is presented in bilingual form – with audio – at the end of each story. All words are also displayed in the teacher dashborad for follow-up.

Bring it all together: lesson plans blend stories with phonics

Rooted in the mastery of one story a week, our method of Integrated Phonics creates an explicit, systematic, and content-rich approach to literacy that integrates the magic of stories with essential phonics skills.

Lesson plans are flexible and free up prep time

Each weekly unit covers the “5 E’s” with explicit focus on a different modality each day: Engage (listen), Explore (read), Express (speak), Elaborate (write), Evaluate (review & reflect).

Online activities are rewarding and fun!

Deepen comprehension with thematically-related, non-threatening online games after each story. Games reinforce key vocabulary and sentence construction.

96 Weekly Units: Stories with Integrated Phonics

Units are designed for Pre-Readers, Emerging Readers, Reading Fluency

1 Storybook + 1 Letterbook + 1 Wordbook

6 Printable Activity Sheets with each E-book

5-day phonics lesson plans

Games support vocabulary and sentence construction

96 Weekly Units: Stories with Integrated Phonics

Units are designed for Pre-Readers, Emerging Readers, and Reading Fluency

1 Storybook + 1 Letterbook + 1 Wordbook

6 Printable Activity Sheets with each ebook

5-day phonics lesson plans

Games support vocabulary and sentence construction

Everything you need to succeed with your unique class

StoryWorld adapts easily to diverse classroom environments.

Educator-friendly online reports save time and align with standards

Our Formative Evaluation Dashboard displays at-a-glance insights to keep you updated on student progress.

* Standards alignment include: CA-ELD/CA-CCSS; CCSS; ELPA21; NY-ELA; ACTFL: TEXAS-ELPS; WIDA. Any standards not listed is available upon request.

StoryWorld works on any device connected to wifi: computers, chromebooks, tablets, & phones.

Versatile for whole class, small group, and independent learning

StoryWorld can be used effectively in a wide variety of learning environments—no individual devices needed.

Professional learning with every school purchase

We include a virtual 60-minute introductory Professional Learning session with every school or district purchase. Each session covers:

Try us FREE for 2 months

Experience StoryWorld with your students at no cost for 60 days. After that, you can purchase or keep using our gift of 8 online stories.

“StoryWorld motivates students to read.”

(Research by WestEd)

Students experienced statistically significant gains in reading outcomes in less than one month according to research by WestEd.

5%
Increase

Reading Motivation for below-average performers.

7.5%

Increase

Value of Reading for below-average performers.

2.5%

Increase

Reading Motivation for all students.

Developed with support from the U.S. Department of Education

StoryWorld was developed with R&D funding from the U.S. Department of Education with 3-years of research provided by WestEd.

Supports independent learning

“Students using StoryWorld performed as well as those with a book and teacher support...the program allows students to learn independently in formal and informal settings.”

Encourages a love for reading

“Students demonstrated statistically significant increases in their motivation to read, Self-Concept as a Reader, and Value of Reading. Students eagerly read multiple books in a single session, going beyond the prescribed requirement of only one book.”

Quickly integrates into curriculum

“Teachers articulated that the StoryWorld product would be a very useful tool in their classrooms and could be integrated into their curriculum for ELA or ELD support.”

“StoryWorld incorporates the ideal approaches that research shows are the ways to make language learning come to life.

Dr. Jenni Trujillo

Dean of the School of Education at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado

Voted #1 Literacy Solution by Superintendents

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FAQs

Find answers to all your questions on our main FAQ page or reach out to our friendly team in the form below.

Can I get StoryWorld free for my class?

Yes. When you sign up for a teacher account, you will get our Premium service at no cost for 2 months. After 2 months, your can choose to upgrade to Premium or continue to use your free account.

What grade levels are best for StoryWorld?

StoryWorld supports early literacy for all students in grades K-2 and includes special features specifically designed for ELL/MLLs appropriate for grades K-5. StoryWorld can be used for middle or high school students because basic vocabulary and English competency in all modalities apply to every language learner.

Does StoryWorld align with my state standards?

Reports on our Formative Evaluation Dashboard align with the following standards: ELPA-21, ACTFL, WIDA, CCSS, CA-ELD/CA-CCSS, NY-ELA, and TexasELPS. If you do not see your state standards listed, contact us in the form below and we will add it to the program.

What makes StoryWorld different from other programs?

To our knowledge, no other ebook library offers word-by-word translations in both text and audio. This kind of instant support enables learners transfer their language skills from their home language to a new language—an approach backed by academic research.

Does StoryWorld support the Science of Reading?

Yes. StoryWorld supports explicit instruction in the 5 Components of Literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension through the magic of stories and a blend of online and off-screen activities that engage all language modalities.

Does StoryWorld qualify for Title I, Title III, and other funding?

Yes, StoryWorld qualifies for most state and federal funding. Our program qualifies for Title III because it can be used in after-school settings, and StoryWorld’s bilingual scaffolds encourage parent involvement at home.

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