Stepping into the Story

This month, Fay’s Primary School unveiled a new StoryWalk® installation that encourages young readers to interact and connect with a book in new and varied ways. Head of Primary School Katie Knuppel and Director of Equity and Inclusion Jill Anthony introduced students to the history and experience of a StoryWalk® at Primary Morning Meeting.

StoryWalks® support literacy by creating shared and interactive reading experiences. The Primary StoryWalk® begins on the main staircase and extends through the second floor of the Primary School. At each of the 25 panels, students read the next page or pages in the book and respond to a discussion question or activity prompt. The Primary School’s first StoryWalk® book is After the Fall (How Humpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Santat. The story is an epilogue to the famous nursery rhyme, imagining how Humpty faced his fears after the famous fall. Students experience the StoryWalk® at their own pace and in groups. 

Second graders have been taking time in Reading class to complete the StoryWalk® in small groups. Students take turns reading the next panel in the story and then sharing the discussion or activity prompt with their classmates. Each prompt builds off a plot point in the story as Humpty strives to overcome his fear of heights. They include discussing a time they faced a fear, learning how to build a paper airplane and seeing which could fly the furthest, and writing about what perseverance feels like in their Jot Journals. Later this term, Primary School students will discuss the book’s themes, the StoryWalk® experience, and the discussion prompts as a community.