Exploring the World through Story is a secular world literature curriculum for grades K-8+, integrating expository writing, literary analysis, and memory work. Click below to start exploring, or download EWS Samples All Levels.
Folktales (Beginning Readers)
Level A: Fables and Pourquoi Tales
In Level A, you’ll share classic fables from Aesop and pourquoi (“how and why”) tales from around the world with your child. By the end of the year, students will have explored stories from more than a dozen different cultures, and they will be able to name and locate all of the continents and world oceans. This level is designed for pre-readers and students just beginning reading instruction; all stories are read aloud by the parent-instructor, with oral responses from the child.
Required texts: Aesop’s Fables for Children by Milo Winter, How and Why Stories by Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss, DK Countries of the World by Andrea Mills
Level B: Trickster Tales
In Level B, developing readers meet famous trickster characters from around the globe while expanding their knowledge of world geography. African and African-American tales take center stage this year. Students discover how geographers divide the globe with lines of latitude and longitude. All stories are read aloud by the parent-instructor; students narrate (retell and summarize) the tales orally.
Required texts: Trickster Tales by Josepha Sherman, The Adventures of Brer Rabbit and Friends by Karima Amin, African-American Folktales for Young Readers by Richard & Judy Dockery Young, DK Countries of the World by Andrea Mills
Level C: Wonder Tales
In Level C, students dive deep into the world of wonder tales, with a mix of classic stories from the European fairy tale canon and tales of imagination from every corner of the globe. By the end of the year, students will be able to identify twenty world regions and important countries in each. Written for advancing readers, this level has the parent-instructor reading all of the stories aloud. It can also be used by older students as an introduction to these classic tales.
Required texts: Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole, Wonder Tales from Around the World by Heather Forest, DK Countries of the World by Andrea Mills
Wisdom Tales (Advancing and Independent Readers)
Level D: Wisdom Tales 1
In Level D, students discover wisdom tales from the Hindu, ancient Egyptian, and Jewish traditions in beautifully illustrated children’s editions. Guided oral narrations, copywork, dictation, and varied sentence-level composition activities support student writing. Students master literary terms and cultural information through memory work. Parent-instructors read the stories aloud. This level can also be used by older beginners (ages 11+) and is a prerequisite for higher levels of EWS.
Required texts: Classic Tales from India by Vatsala Sperling & Harish Johari, Treasury of Egyptian Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli, Treasury of Bible Stories by Donna Jo Napoli
Level E: Wisdom Tales 2
In Level E, students read wisdom tales from the Buddhist, Christian, and ancient Greek traditions while they practice paragraph formation with dictation and varied writing activities. Memory work helps them learn key literary terms and cultural information. This level can also be used by older beginners (ages 11+) and is a prerequisite for higher levels of EWS.
Prerequisite: EWS Level D
Required texts: Buddha by Demi, Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat Khan, DK Illustrated Family Bible (1997 ed.) by Claude-Bernard Costecalde, DK Greek Myths by Jean Menzies
Level F: Wisdom Tales 3
In Level F, students read wisdom tales from the Islamic, Norse, and Chinese traditions. Dictation passages and scaffolded composition activities support student writing as students learn to expand simple paragraphs with examples from the text. Students master literary terms and cultural information through memory work. This level can also be used by older beginners (ages 11+) and is a prerequisite for higher levels of EWS.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D and E
Required texts: Muhammad by Demi, Tales from the Quran and Hadith by Rana Safvi, DK Norse Myths by Matt Ralphs, Tales of a Chinese Grandmother by Frances Carpenter, Chinese Myths and Legends by Shelley Fu
Heroic Tales (Independent Readers 11+)
Unit 1: Gilgamesh and Mwindo
In Level G, students explore what it means to be a hero. The first of the three units in this level introduces Gilgamesh and Mwindo as students learn how to expand a simple paragraph into a three-paragraph comparison essay.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-F; ability to write an expository paragraph of 5-8 sentences independently
Required texts: Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean, The Magic Flyswatter by Aaron Shepard
Unit 2: Beowulf and Popol Vuh
In Level G, students explore what it means to be a hero. The second of the three units in this level introduces warrior and trickster heroes from Beowulf and the Popol Vuh as students learn how to expand a simple paragraph into a three-paragraph contrast essay.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-F; ability to write an expository paragraph of 5-8 sentences independently
Required texts: Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo, Popol Vuh: A Retelling by Ilan Stavans
Unit 3: Antigone and Mulan
In Level G, students explore what it means to be a hero. The last of the three units in this level introduces moral heroism with Antigone and Mulan as students learn how to expand a simple paragraph into a three-paragraph compare-contrast essay. This level includes assigned film versions of both texts.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-F; ability to write an expository paragraph of 5-8 sentences independently
Required texts: Three Theban Plays by Robert Fagles (trans.), Mulan: Five Versions of a Classic Chinese Legend by Shiamin Kwa & Wilt L. Idema
Classical Epics (Independent Readers 12+)
Unit 1: Iliad and Mahabharata
In Level H, students explore the themes and structure of classical epics. The first of the three units in this level introduces the Iliad and the Mahabharata as students learn how to write a four-paragraph essay.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-G; ability to write a well-structured three-paragraph essay
Required texts: Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff, The Puffin Mahabharata by Namita Gokhale
Unit 2: Odyssey and Ramayana
In Level H, students explore the themes and structure of classical epics. The second of the three units in this level introduces the Odyssey and the Ramayana as students practice writing four-paragraph essays.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-G; ability to write a well-structured three-paragraph essay
Required texts: The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff, Ramayana: An Illustrated Retelling by Arshia Sattar
Unit 3: Aeneid and Shakuntala
In Level H, students explore the themes and structure of classical epics. The last of the three units in this level introduces two stories based on earlier epics, the Aeneid and Shakuntala, as students practice writing four-paragraph essays.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-G; ability to write a well-structured three-paragraph essay
Required texts: Virgil’s Aeneid Retold for Young Adults by Frank Hering, Shakuntala by Ashok Sinha (trans.)
Folk Heroes (Independent Readers 13+)
Unit 1: Robin Hood
In Level I, students engage with a variety of folk heroes. The first of the three units in this level introduces a popular English folk hero, Robin Hood, while students master the structure of the five-paragraph essay.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-H; ability to write a well-structured four-paragraph essay
Required text: The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Unit 2: The Water Margin
In Level I, students engage with a variety of folk heroes. The second of the three units in this level introduces The Water Margin, the classic Chinese novel that launched the martial arts genre and that shares many themes with Robin Hood. This unit also teaches alphanumeric outlining and ten types of transitions.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-H; EWS Level I, Unit 1 or the ability to write a well-structured five-paragraph essay
Required text: Outlaws of the Marsh retold by Wang Guozhen
Unit 3: Journey to the West
In Level I, students engage with a variety of folk heroes. The last of the three units in this level introduces Monkey King: Journey to the West, a classic 16th-century Chinese fantasy/adventure novel. This unit teaches students how to use hooks to add interest to their essays and explores the role of diction and syntax in academic writing.
Prerequisites: EWS Levels D-H; EWS Level I, Unit 1 or the ability to write a well-structured five-paragraph essay
Required text: Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en (trans. Julia Lovell)
EWS Bundles
Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Levels A-C
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Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Levels D-F
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Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Level G, Units 1-3
Buy all three Level G units and save!
Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Level H, Units 1-3
Buy all three Level H units and save!
Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Level I, Units 1-3
Buy all three Level I units and save!
Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Levels G through I
Buy all three complete levels and save!
Bundle: Exploring the World through Story, Levels A through I
Buy the entire EWS program—nine complete levels—and save!
Helpful Links
- EWS Samples with booklists for all levels
- EWS Placement Guide
- EWS Scope & Sequence
- Grammar & Writing with EWS
- ELA Skills Sequence
- EWS A-C Countries & Peoples
- EWS-E Jataka Tales Update
- Recommended PreK Read-Alouds
- Stone Soup Press Licensing Information
- EWS classes online: The Bookish Society (US), Epic Education Illawara (Australia)