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
This is a build — not a worksheet packet
Every lesson runs like the story students are about to make: read it, write it, build it, polish it, publish it. The printables scaffold each stage — the published Elementari project is the destination.
1
📖
Read
Students read a short, high-interest passage — a real-world hook, not a dry textbook definition — to spark ideas for what they'll make.
📖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…
SourcesChooseco — History of Choose Your Own Adventure
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? 📝~15 min
2Set the Default Role 🧳~10 min
3Add the Magical Item 🌟~10 min
4Start the Adventure 🏰~5 min
5Add More To Your Game 🎨~10 min
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!
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
A device per student or pair
Internet connection
Prep · about 10 min
1Print the student kits
2Assign this lesson to your students
3Skim the build steps
Teacher background
What you need to know
Students learn that when a story addresses the reader as "you" and honors their decisions, the reader stops watching and starts inhabiting — every path must be written as a complete, satisfying branch. Packard's origin story shows the idea being born from listening to his daughters' different choices. Students go further than the books could: their story asks for the hero's name and choice of item, and weaves both into the adventure.
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
Built to reach every learner
One lesson, three built-in paths — with accessibility baked into the materials, not bolted on afterward.
Extra support
Emerging readers & writers
Read-aloud and multilingual support in the Elementari build
Studio Compass highlights one task at a time — including the coding
Sentence frames and a word bank so it is never a blank page
On grade
The core lesson
The passage and storyboard exactly as written
Model answers and “look-fors” in the answer key
Self-check chips at every milestone
Ready for more
Extension & challenge
Challenge vocabulary and a real-world extension question
Deepen one existing page or interaction — without changing the required mechanics
A longer, evidence-based reflection prompt
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. Coding concepts are introduced in plain language exactly when students need them, and Studio Compass confirms each milestone so students keep moving without you troubleshooting. The teacher guide walks you through the whole build, answers included.
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?
Students can read, write, code, and publish on Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, laptops, or desktops. All they need is a modern browser — nothing to download or install.
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?
This lesson includes read-to-me with synchronized highlighting, a built-in glossary, and picture-based storyboarding, with writing and coding scaffolds you can dial up or down. Students can work with guided support or more independently — and still finish the same project.
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.
