About Story Cove
Story Cove was founded in 2004. The founders were committed to providing innovative ways for young children to enjoy timeless stories while nurturing their love of reading. Over the years, they developed these supplemental reading resources through pilot projects in schools and by incorporating proven learning principles throughout the design process.
One of the secrets to Story Cove’s ongoing success is the focus on folktales that have been passed down through generations of the world's great oral traditions. If these diverse stories weren’t such great tales, they wouldn’t have survived countless retellings as they were passed along to new generations of children.
Multiple Formats
This award-winning supplemental reading program offers a variety of ways for kids to experience these timeless folktales, including:
- 8x8 paperback picture books
- Animated version of each story
- Read-to-me version (audio with highlighted text and illustrations)
- Read-along version (child controls the pace of audio and turns each page)
- Leveled with Fountas & Pinnell (Guided Reading) and the Lexile Scale
- Differentiated lesson plans aligned with the Common Core Standards
- Learning activities for children to reinforce the themes of the stories
You can purchase the entire Story Cove book collection.
Building Connections
When children are learning to read, it can be helpful to incorporate multiple teaching methods that help stimulate and sustain their interest. When young children read stories without meaningful engagement, they frequently retain very little information, and quickly become bored or lose interest.
Combining multiple readings of a story with highly engaging exercises and structured learning assignments deepens a child's relationship with a story. When kids have a more personal connection with the characters and the plot line, they not only remember and comprehend more, they begin to see the subtle life lessons that are incorporated into each story.
Not surprisingly, having a deeper relationship with a story makes it easier for students to become more proficient in the fundamental reading skills they need to develop, in order to meet the requirements defined by the Common Core Standards.
Why Folktales
Folktales have been passed down for hundreds of years through the oral tradition. When stories are shared orally, they're developed for listening, and are easier to remember. These unique characteristics make it easier for children to decode, internalize, comprehend, and recall details. As a result, many educators find that folktales are ideal to use with emerging readers to help them strengthen their phonics and fluency skills.
In addition to entertaining kids, folktales also pass along universal values and cultural traditions. Each story subtly incorporates character traits and core values into the dramatic elements of the plot. Decision-making and reasoning skills are modeled throughout the structure of each story with good decisions leading to positive outcomes and poor decisions leading to negative consequences. These supplemental reading activities also promote vocabulary and comprehension for emerging readers.
The multicultural origin of these classic folktales also makes them relevant for all children since these diverse stories help kids build valuable connections to other cultures. As kids learn about other ways of seeing the world, they can gain valuable insights about their own family's heritage and traditions.
Awards
Our award-winning program has been recognized with awards from:
