How does giving the audience real choices change what a story is?
Students will be able to
Understand how to create and use text variables to store player input.
Use template variables (e.g., {{name}} and {{role}}) to personalize story content.
Apply event-driven coding using blocks like <code class="events">On Click</code> and <code class="events">On Page Start</code> to change story outcomes.
Design an interactive experience that combines creative storytelling with basic coding logic.
Key vocabulary
strandedpublisherpath
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
The prompts are safe and clear, item-to-role relationships make sense, and the opening remains grammatical for varied names and roles. Name and role values save, update, and display in the intended places for every tested item choice.
The student journey
From reading to an interactive project
Elementari is a browser-based tool for creating illustrated, interactive stories and projects. Students plan their writing in the Student Kit, then add it to a digital project in the editor, called Studio.
1
📖
Read
The reading provides background knowledge or a model of writing for students to draw on. The lesson plan explains its connection to the project.
📖The Bedtime Story That Let the Listeners Take Over
In the late 1960s, a father named Edward Packard was telling his daughters a bedtime story about a traveler stranded on an island. Partway through, he ran out of ideas. So he did something desperate: he asked his listeners what the hero sho…
Students use the Student Kit's storyboard to plan and draft their project. Choose High Support, Guided Support, or Independent to adjust the writing scaffolds.
Student mission
Create a choose-your-path adventure that stars your player as the hero.
2Student Kit · sneak peek
High Support
We could call the hero something like ___ or ___ — what should we call them?
Key Words from the Passagestrandedpublisherpath
Glossary a kid-friendly definition for every key term
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 5
What Is Your Hero Name? 📝
Use the Create Text Variable block to make a new variable called name for the player’s name. Ask the player to type their name in the text box, then save it in the name variable.
Key words — tap to learncreate text variables
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 5 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1What Is Your Hero Name? 📝
2Set the Default Role 🧳
3Add the Magical Item 🌟
4Start the Adventure 🏰
5Add More To Your Game 🎨
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
Students finish and test their projects. Work submitted through a class goes to the teacher for review; publishing a project makes it public with a shareable link.
Open these resources as web pages, then use Print to print them or save a PDF. The Student Kit supports the writing; Studio provides the on-screen build steps.
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
One device per student or pair
Internet connection
Student Kit or printed organizer
A device per student or pair
Prep before class
1Preview the designated builder story.
2Review the ordered milestones and Student Kit.
3Decide whether students work independently or in pairs.
Teacher background
What you need to know
Key terms
stranded
stuck somewhere with no way to leave
publisher
a company that decides which books to print and sell
path
one of the different ways a story can go
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The prompt asks for the READER's real identity instead of a fictional character name. →Request a fictional first name or nickname and explicitly avoid private information.
✕
The magical item changes the variable but the displayed role or story does not change meaningfully. →Map each item to a distinct role and verify the final sentence after every choice.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA6CSTA10ISTE93 frameworks · 25 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
6 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Also addressedCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.6
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards
10 standards
1B-AP-09
Create programs that use variables to store and modify data.
1B-AP-15
Test and debug a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended.
2-AP-17
Systematically test and refine programs using a range of student-created inputs.
2-AP-11
Create clearly named variables that represent different data types and perform operations on their values.
Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
ISTE 1.4.c
Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
ISTE 1.6.d
Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
ISTE 1.5.d
Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Also addressedISTE 1.2.d · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Choose the writing support
These are the three support options in the Student Kit. Choose the scaffolds students need while keeping the same project.
High Support
More writing scaffolds
Sentence frames break the response into manageable parts
Supplied words and ideas help students get started
Students still have space to write their responses
Guided Support
A starting point for writing
Task prompts and selected sentence starters
Writing cues and word banks where supplied
Space to develop each response
Independent
Less scaffolding
The same project and required writing tasks
Open response space without the support frames
Students develop their own wording
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No prior coding knowledge is required to start. Students follow on-screen build steps in Studio. Coding difficulty describes the project's complexity; teachers may still need to help students test and revise. The lesson plan supports teaching, and the Answer Key provides sample writing responses.
How long does this lesson take?
About 50, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Use a Chromebook, laptop, desktop or tablet with a modern browser and an internet connection. The project editor does not support phones. Try the build on your class devices before teaching.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
The Student Kit has High Support, Guided Support and Independent writing profiles. They change the amount of scaffolding for the same project. Choose a profile in the kit before printing, and use the lesson plan's differentiation suggestions.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
