The Storypath Approach

Students taking ownership for their learning

Originally developed in Scotland during the 1960s, Storypath draws support from decades of experience with teachers and students in highly diverse settings nationally and internationally. The approach has its roots in these beliefs about students and learning:

The world is complex and presents many layers of information. Students know a good deal about how the world works and have a reservoir of knowledge that is often untapped in the classroom.
When students build on that knowledge through activities such as questioning and researching, new understandings are acquired, and literacy skills are meaningfully applied to the process. Because students construct their own knowledge and understanding of their world, their learning is more personally meaningful and memorable.
Problem solving and creativity are natural and powerful human endeavors. When students are engaged in creative problem solving, they take ownership for their learning.
The story form integrates content and skills from many disciplines and provides a context for students to gain a deeper, more complex understanding of their world.

Ask their own questions and think critically about what they know

Use their prior knowledge to make sense of new information

Connect personally to important social studies concepts and use literacy skills in context

Compelling questions posed by both teacher and students are a key component of Storypath. Through the story structure and the discourse it creates, the teacher fosters students’ agency in their search for meaning and understanding as they acquire new knowledge and skills. Your questions, and the discussions they engender, cause students to:

Storypath is an Inquiry Approach

The story structure and inquiry guided by unit goals provide the framework for students to integrate skills and complex content through problems they encounter. As they do so, their understanding of important concepts is extended and key connections are made.

The Story Structure

For thousands of years, stories have helped us create order and make connections between and among events. Storypath’s narrative structure helps students understand concepts that they often find difficult to comprehend in the traditional social studies curriculum.

Each PBL Storypath unit centers on a unique and engaging story that provides a concrete context for learning the social studies content. The story may be based on actual historical or everyday events that create a context for students meaningfully learning content. The story also enables students to simultaneously develop and apply an understanding of key social studies concepts and skills. The story structure of setting, characters, and plot grounds and guides the PBL process.

Creating the Setting

Students create the setting by completing a mural or three-dimensional rendition of the place.

Creating the Characters

Students create characters for the story whose roles they will play during subsequent episodes.

Building Context

Students are involved in activities such as reading and writing thereby engaging them more deeply in learning about the people and the place they have created.

Critical Incidents

Characters confront problems typical of those faced by people of that time and place.

Concluding Event

Students plan and participate in an activity that brings closure to the story.

Preparing Students for Living in a Democratic Society and Globally Interdependent World

PBL Storypaths are created to develop students’ understanding and appreciation for democratic principles. Each unit is designed for students to practice their civic skills in the context of the storyline. Grounded in the inquiry arc of the National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework, compelling questions guide the learning and prepare students for taking informed action.

At the end of each unit, suggestions are provided to extend the learning beyond the classroom. Practical and doable activities are described that build on the unit’s goals allowing students to engage in taking informed action to foster civic engagement.