World Making Through Stories

Too often in the classroom stories are treated as a means to an end. They are used to teach admittedly useful literary skills, yet they are much more than just teaching tools. Humans, to make sense of the world around them, utilize stories. We create stories to help ourselves come to an understanding about people and events that are occurring in our world. In Kathy G. Short’s article Story as World Making, she describes how stories can have an impact on the literacy education of children in elementary school. Her argument is in stark contrast to the “pressure of tests and standards” that many educators face today. The importance of stories in everyday life and in the classroom can be realized when stories are examined for meaning making, life making, and world making.

Meaning making through stories is an important part of a child’s education and is a primary source of knowing. Adults and children construct meaning from everything around them and their experiences. By using stories, children begin to organize their experiences in a sequence that makes sense to them. Children often use stories of the past to frame their understanding of the present. This use of stories assists children in attaching meaning to their everyday lives.

Literature can also be viewed through the lens of life making. Stories are a primary source for children as they begin to understand the world around them and how they fit into that world. When using this lens, Short explains that a “decision about whether to read literature to support students in learning content more effectively or to experience life is not an either/or opposition.” Literature can be used for both purposes as stories transport children outside of their boundaries and reveal different ways in which they can think about themselves and the world.

World making is yet another way literature can affect a young child’s life. In the classroom and at home, children must be immersed in stories that allow them to engage in cultures from around the globe. Involvement with culturally diverse literature appeals to children’s need to imagine other ways of life and draw conclusions about their own culture. The variety of stories that are available to children at a young age will have an influence by either widening or constraining their view of the world.

Literature is so often used for other purposes that educators overlook the value of stories and how they help children come to an understanding of their place in the world. Short’s article is a reminder that stories are not only an instructional tool, but also a world-making tool for children.