The Paper + Pencil Editions
Immersive Storytelling
I didn’t coin the phrase immersive storytelling. In fact, with the development of AI, it’s everywhere. At least electronically. But my goal is to create immersive storytelling experiences with paper and pencil - books.
Why Immersive Storytelling?
Simply put, the best way to learn is by doing.
As a middle school language arts teacher, I worked with hundreds of students who honestly could not understand why an author would use a metaphor to reveal a character trait, or grasp that the tiny detail sprinkled on page 3 was foreshadowing, or how an author’s technique of describing the weather was a purposeful depiction to support (or juxtapose) an action.
I discovered that it was rarely because my students couldn’t read, it was that they had no true understanding of storytelling. In fact, asking a middle school student to fully grasp Orwell’s use of allusion in Animal Farm is akin to an average student understanding the many different brushstrokes of Monet.
At least in art, we hand a student a paint set so that they can try their hand at painting. In reading, we hand out books and definitions and hope for the best. Let’s be clear - ALL students are expected to read well, not ALL are expected to paint well.
Like immersive journaling, So Now What? books (the paper + pencil editions) will be a tandem project allowing children to not only have a choice in the story but a voice in the story. A place to become the reader and the writer simultaneously and learn by doing.
It’s time to make some literary “paint sets”.
Can’t wait to bring these to life!
Stay tuned.