Begin with a story
Read or tell a model story. Adapt the telling to learners’ experience and readiness, while retaining the storyteller’s meaning.
SCOTT SIMPSON & SHARLA STEEVER
STORYWORK
A Dynamic, Story-Based,
Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum
Real stories. Meaningful conversations.
A place to find a lesson—and shape one of your own.
Begin with
36 illustrated story-units7 five-unit clusters + a closing storyOriginal lessons & promptsYour stories can become units
UNDERSTAND THE APPROACH
A curriculum that keeps growing
For educators exploring the book,
and those ready to begin using it.
Storywork uses lived stories to make social-emotional learning concrete. Scott and Sharla’s model units help learners explore emotion, identity, relationships, and choices. Its deeper purpose is to help educators and learners become story-shapers themselves.
Connect it with learning
Use the original goal, discussion, and activity to examine a real encounter. Let different interpretations deepen understanding.
Make room for their stories
Spark and shutdown reflection invites learners to notice what opens or closes engagement. Offer writing, drawing, listening, and the option to pass.
Is Storywork a good fit for my setting?
This book offers model story-units and a flexible process for making new ones. You can select a unit around a current need or follow the book’s 36-week classroom sequence. It is particularly useful when you want SEL to connect with lived experience, relationships, and learner voice.
The book does not assign fixed grade bands to individual stories. Read the complete story and lesson before choosing it; some include bullying, humiliation, bereavement, abuse, or family hardship. Decide which details, questions, and activities fit the learners you know.
Its value in your setting will depend on the quality of facilitation, adaptation, and listening. Look for evidence in how learners name feelings, consider perspectives, make choices, and practice care—not in how much personal information they disclose.
Companion interpretation of the book’s purpose and use. SEL filter tags on this site are companion groupings; the original competency lists appear inside each unit.
READ. PLAN. ADAPT.
Find a story-unit
Open a card for the story, original lesson,
spark and shutdown prompts, and a teaching guide.
Follow the book’s 36-week path
Use one story-unit per week. The book groups the first 35 stories into seven five-lesson clusters, followed by “Starting Over from Memory” as a closing story of courage and hope. Adjust pacing to the time and support your group needs.
THE IDEAS BEHIND THE PRACTICE
Explore an SEL concept
Brief overviews open into deeper exploration,
related units, and a practice to try.
THE NEXT UNIT CAN BEGIN WITH YOU
Bring your story to Storywork
Prepare a brief here. Use the authors’ assistant
to develop and adapt your unit in ChatGPT.
Storywork SEL Unit Assistant
The custom GPT linked in the book guides educators through creating units from their own stories or adapting existing units for their learners.
Open the Storywork SEL Assistant ↗Opens in ChatGPT, where access follows your account’s availability and limits. The assistant conversation takes place there.
Prepare your planning brief
Choose your learners, goal, and a story you want to explore. The form below organizes your request; it does not generate an AI lesson. Copy the result into the assistant when you are ready.
Planning stays in this page and is not saved or sent automatically. Use non-identifying summaries when describing students or families.
SPARK. SHUTDOWN. REFLECT.
Questions from the book
Keep a response private, or use it as an invitation
to voluntary storytelling and discussion.
Original wording from the book, with spacing normalized. Sharing and reflection options are included. No journal responses are collected here.
MAKE THE EXPERIENCE YOUR OWN
A small beginning, a thoughtful return
Before the conversation
Read the story and prompts. Select one learning purpose and consider the group’s readiness. Name ways to participate, including reflection on the story, an imagined situation, or private writing.
During the experience
Tell, pause, and listen. Ask questions that leave room for more than one reading. Invite contribution without requiring a personal account or treating a learner’s disclosure as evidence of success.
Afterwards
Close with the book’s question or a chosen next action. Notice the language, perspectives, and care learners practiced. Reflect on what you should adapt before the next unit.
A 20-minute first experience
- 0–3 minutes: welcome, explain the purpose, and name the option to pass.
- 3–8 minutes: tell a selected story or an age-appropriate version.
- 8–12 minutes: explore one question about the story’s people and choices.
- 12–17 minutes: choose one spark or shutdown prompt, with drawing, writing, or optional sharing.
- 17–20 minutes: close with a question or small practice to carry forward.
Companion adaptation for a short introduction. It selects from a unit rather than completing all of its original activities.
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
Contact Scott & Sharla
Ask about the curriculum, educator learning,
or adapting Storywork in your setting.