SPI's New K-3 Learning Lab Website Has Launched!
New stories, simple navigation, and a great new look!
Just in time for the 2022/2023 academic year, our new K-3 Storytelling Learning Lab website has launched, and we couldn’t be more pleased! It's easy to navigate, a visual knockout, and is chock-a-block with stories and related materials designed to engage the hearts and the minds of early learners. Go to SPI’s website and follow the prompts to the new K-3 site.
The K-3 project is all about early childhood literacy.
SPI works in collaboration with an ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse group of master storytellers along with an ASL story-signer to bring traditional folklore and contemporary tales of enchantment into PreK-3 classrooms and homes. SPI believes that stories, when told and made visual by master tellers, captivate young minds and spark imagination. Through their telling, young children come to know the magic and power of story, resulting in an increased interest and proficiency in language and literacy.
World-Class Tellers Enchant with Stories from Around the Globe
Shown top (l-r): Charlotte Blake-Alston shares traditional African and African-American folktales, Carrie Sue Ayvar delights with bi-lingual stories from Latin America, Diane Ferlatte shares sing-alongs and fables for the Pre-K set, Jay O’Callahan lets his imagination soar with his original stories of enchantment.
Shown bottom (l-r): Odds Bodkin adds musical accompaniment and remarkable vocal transformations to his folktales from around the world, Dovie Thomason shares timeless stories grounded in Native American culture, Brenda Wong-Aoki tells traditional tales from the Pacific Rim, and ASL Storysigner Ian Sanborn shares a world of magic for deaf and hard-of-hearing kids.
Listen to a brief introduction to the project from one of our featured storytellers, Odds Bodkin: In His Own Words.
SPI supplements the stories in our collection with original materials for teachers and parents. These materials include recommended and theme-related books for read-aloud story time, as well as writing, oral storytelling, and collaborative art projects.
Shown: An original SPI mural template for a Classwide Mural Making Project based on Odds Bodkin’s telling of the African folktale, The Name of the Tree.
Or check out SPI’s Bi-Lingual Classic Story Mash-Up - Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos / Goldilocks and the Three Bears
By filling in the blanks with whatever words and/or characters they choose, students make this story their own. They can choose to be true to the original story – or create their own zany mash-up that’s fun to share! The only thing is they need to fill in the blanks using both Spanish and English words! Students can work together to help each other with translation. This can be either a written or oral project.
Our projects celebrate different cultures and traditions, are fun and engaging, and encourage collaboration and creative thinking.
Story Preservation Initiative makes its work available to all, free of charge.
Our Vision: Story Preservation Initiative believes in the transformative power of story to connect people around our common humanity and create a better future. We value generosity, diversity, inclusivity, and equity in our stories and in our outreach, exploring and illuminating the deepest levels of human potential.
Our Mission: Story Preservation Initiative is a leading producer and online distributor of original, content-rich stories for K-12 students. Our open-access stories and educational materials are used by educators around the world, engaging the hearts and minds of young people to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.
Please consider making a donation - in any amount - to help us keep the stories coming. To make a tax-deductible donation, click here.