Stories are at the foundation of human connection and meaning-making, offering readers of all ages insight into the specific and universal triumphs of being human. Young readers today have myriad stories available to them at their fingertips, but not all stories yield equal nourishment, especially for young learners. Discernment is critical in choosing content that piques curiosity while enhancing skill-set development with brain development. Passively staring at a screen is not going to develop reading comprehension. Pubbly meets the modern young reader with accessible online learning resources as well as a library of interactive classic and contemporary stories to create lifelong learners.
This is the fifth article in a six-part series exploring how Pubbly is reinventing the reading experience for all participants and audiences. Pubbly brings joy into reading with an expansive and diverse library, engaging and educating young readers everywhere.
Why Stories are Powerful Personally and Educationally
Stories evoke curiosity from a child, replacing passive boredom with wonder and active engagement. An enriching story comes alive for a child as they attempt to insert themselves into the context, growing along with a character or contemplating ideas they may not have yet experienced. Young children are active learners. Books open worlds to them, while stories offer paths of time, place, and character building — in life and on the page.
Educationally, different elements of a story appeal to different learning styles: auditory, kinesthetic, and visual. In “Leader as Storyteller,” Paul Smith explains that the auditory learner focuses on the words; the kinesthetic learner will drop into the story’s emotions, while the visual learner will enjoy the imagined depictions. Rather than only addressing the rote memory, stories engage the whole child, giving context to the learning, which incidentally catapults rates of comprehension and retention — core building blocks for young readers.
In recent years there has been a surge in supporting the “I PICK” strategy for reading. This is where a child is empowered to self-select stories of interest, with titles such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dog Man, for example. Writing for the Genie Academy blog, Aparjithi Suresh observes,
“By focusing on ensuring that each child is interested in the books they read (in addition to comprehension), these teachers have cultivated a generation of readers far more capable of and interested in the act of reading, in and of itself.”1
Modern animated stories for kids, speaking to a child’s current situations and written in a child’s vernacular, are fabulous and ignite joy. Pubbly houses a large library of contemporary stories, including The Fourth Little Pig, Boundless Brooklyn, and MomoTara. Having interactive books for kids with modern stories reflecting relatable dilemmas bolsters reading interest for entertainment and self-discovery.
On the other side of the shelf sit the classics. Timeless stories that have much to offer the young reader. Pubbly promotes the importance of classics and includes the Beatrix Potter series and other beloved tales. Pubbly curates interactive learning for kids to build reading comprehension while meeting brain development and personal curiosity at age-appropriate stages.
The Advantages of Reading Classic Stories
The neural plasticity of a child stretches and connects to encompass a wide net of experiential learning. It does well to challenge a child — but not too far — outside of their comfort zone. Optimally, a stretch builds secure confidence, like leaping over a stream. There’s a chance the child will get wet or wobble as they pick the right rock to leap from, but they overflow with pride when they accomplish a new level of learning.
The same holds true in reading texts that require more focus and patience. Through classics, children are exposed to alternative language choices that grow their own vocabulary and situations that expand outside their own world. Immersing themselves in other times and places cultivates empathy for characters that kids may not have been previously interested in, or may even spark a new curiosity to investigate! The world is much larger than our daily life, and while security and rhythm are necessary for the safety of a child’s perception, exposing them to wonder and worlds unknown can grow empathic and well-rounded learners.
Additionally, the initial challenge of a classic text creates a joyful learning leap through perseverance. All of the stories chosen by Pubbly for their platform are “stories worth showing and telling” — stories that offer lasting value to children through written and visual content. Pubbly makes a wide range of reading experiences available to children to both meet them where they are and expand their circle of knowledge.
Pubbly’s Easy-to-Use Educational Resources
With artistic animation and a wide variety of content, Pubbly animates stories for every child, with extension activities to scaffold their learning. The Pubbly library presents educational content for kids in an organized way, making online resources easy for parents and young readers alike.
Along with a large collection of modern and classic stories, Pubbly offers nonfiction books covering topics like weather and states of matter, graphic novels, famous biographies, and an abundance of educational activities and nonfiction resources. There are three levels of science, math, and reading comprehension books inside. Children can explore any level without restrictions. We let their curiosity lead their learning. There are also additional educational resources available for parent/teacher access, and so much more!
Get Your Hands on a Pubbly
Reading is believing. Pubbly is dedicated to having a portion of our animated books, educational programs, and games FREE and open to early learners everywhere. Sign up now to view on desktop or download our Pubbly Player on iOS, Kindle, or Android. The upcoming article spotlights Pubbly as the most accessible and forward-thinking interactive reading platform available today.
1: Aparajitha Suresh, December 03, 2019
https://www.mathgenie.com/blog/should-we-encourage-kids-to-read-the-classics
