Learn More About Our Story Genres

Storyworks is a multigenre ELA magazine for upper elementary students. Genres featured in the magazine include Mini ReadBig ReadFictionPast to PresentPoetry, DebatePaired TextPlay, and Background Builder. Here is an overview of what you’ll find in every issue!

Mini Read

The Mini Read is a short, high-interest nonfiction article that “warms up kids’ reading muscles” and also builds knowledge. Each Mini Read has a showstopping photo and nonfiction text features. 

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Comprehension, key details, grammar/punctuation

Big Read

Our Big Read is a work of fascinating narrative nonfiction that brings important topics to life. Each article explores a highly engaging subject connected to social studies and science standards, making nonfiction feel like a story. Big Reads are rich with text features—including maps, headlines, and captions—and are paired with a background-building video to support comprehension.

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Comprehension text features, main idea, text structure, summarizing, author's craft, vocabulary

Fiction

Storyworks Fiction connects with kids through relatable experiences such as friendships and school. Students read genres such as realistic fiction, fairy tales, fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction. Each text is paired with an ELA video focused on either the genre itself or an essential literary concept, such as plot or character traits. 

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Comprehension, plot, character, setting, genre, problem/solution, theme

Past to Present

This short nonfiction text tackles the social studies standard of how things change over time. Students read about the history of things that are familiar in their everyday lives such as school buses, erasers, and ice cream. Each article includes a timeline text feature. 

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Comprehension, sequencing

Poetry

The poems introduce students to poetry standards like rhyme, rhythm, and repetition.The poems make great texts for fluency reading practice.They also help prepare students to analyze poetry in state tests. 

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Elements of poetry

Debate

Each debate explores a fun, age-appropriate topic that kids will love. Students learn that every issue has more than one point of view and that strong opinions should be supported with reasons and evidence. Each debate also includes an opinion-writing activity. 

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Opinion writing

Paired Texts

The Paired Texts presents two short nonfiction articles connected by a shared topic or theme. Students compare ideas and synthesize information across both texts. This feature also helps prepare students for standardized tests.

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Compare/contrast, synthesizing

Background Builder

This short nonfiction feature is written in chunks that are easy for kids to navigate and read. It provides background knowledge for the fiction or the play. Research shows that having background knowledge about a subject increases comprehension.

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Comprehension, key details

Play

Often covering classic fables, folktales, myths, and fairy tales from all around the world, our read-aloud plays are perfect to practice fluency and learn about features of drama. Plus, it makes a joyful class activity!

Skills covered in lesson plans and skill sheets: Comprehension, fluency, genre, character, theme