You spend hours planning lessons. Your pupils struggle to remember content. Abstract concepts don’t stick. The workload feels unsustainable.
Start with Story, the brand new book from the team behind Stories for Schools, is a three question framework that works with any story, any subject, any year group. No performance skills required. Just teaching that children remember.
Three Questions: Transform any story into powerful teaching. Works across all subjects and year groups.
Five-Minute Planning: Ready-to-use templates that save hours each week. No more late nights.
Whole Curriculum: From science to history to English. One framework for everything.
Evidence-Based: Built on how children naturally learn. Stories activate more of the brain than facts alone.
No Performance Skills: You don’t need to be a performer. Just use the framework to make content memorable.
Ready to Use: Examples linking stories to curriculum objectives. Start Monday morning.
At the heart of Start with Story is a simple, powerful framework:
1. What’s the story? Select the narrative that connects to your curriculum objective
2. Where’s the learning? Identify the specific curriculum objectives embedded in the story
3. How do we use it? Plan how pupils will demonstrate their learning through the narrative
Three questions. Five minutes. Any lesson.
What’s the story? A folk tale about a raindrop’s journey from cloud to earth and back again.
Where’s the learning? Evaporation, condensation, precipitation – the scientific water cycle.
How do we use it? Pupils retell the story, mapping the raindrop’s journey to scientific terms. They create their own “character journey” for a water molecule.
Result: Abstract science becomes memorable narrative that pupils can recall weeks later.
“I was hooked from the first moment. This book shows teachers how to use stories in ways that take minimal time but yield huge returns in children’s learning. If there’s one thing this made me wish, it was that I could go back into the classroom.” – Jean Gross CBE, Education expert and former government adviser
Brain Science – Narrative activates more areas of the brain than facts alone, creating stronger neural connections.
Memory – Information embedded in stories is easier to encode and recall. The narrative structure provides natural memory hooks.
Engagement – Children naturally lean in when they hear stories. It’s how humans have learned for millennia.
Accessibility – Narrative supports all learners, including those with SEND. Stories provide concrete contexts for abstract concepts.
Primary Teachers looking to make learning more memorable without increasing workload.
School Leaders seeking evidence-based pedagogical approaches that improve outcomes.
NQTs and ECTs wanting practical frameworks that build teaching confidence and save time.
SEND Coordinators looking for inclusive approaches that support all learners
EdTech Strategists interested in how narrative enhances digital learning experiences
Sita Brand –Storyteller and founder of award-winning Settle Stories. Sita brings decades of experience helping schools harness the power of narrative to deepen learning and inspire pupil voice.
Emma Thompson – Experienced primary teacher who has successfully implemented storytelling approaches across the curriculum, transforming learning outcomes for pupils.
Available in paperback and Kindle
Buy on Amazon UK | Buy on Amazon US
ISBN: 978-1-912121-54-0
Published by Settle Stories Press, 2025
Questions? Click here to get in touch.
