Print it! Origami Page Markers
11 August, 2026 ● Written by Sarah Silverkey
This month at STORYVOR, we’re all about making things by hand. Writing stories and letters with pen and paper, drawing, coloring, crafting, creating. We believe all of it feeds into literacy in that it helps us, our children, and students slow down, persevere, express, and create something personal and true.
Our first craft of the month takes its inspiration from origami, the Japanese art of paper-folding. Where traditional origami transforms a single sheet into elaborate animals and shapes, ours stays simple and quick, and it doubles as a practical page marker for your current favorite read. Six creases, two tucks, and you’re ready to start decorating. The page marker is endlessly customizable. Decorate yours with markers, googly eyes, stickers, or whatever else you have on hand.
Creating the page markers works well as a group activity, as something to keep hands busy during a read-aloud, or as a station at a reading event. You can also send them home as a small treat paired with a library book or a Reading Challenge prize.
However you choose to use it, we hope this little folded creature brings some hand-made fun to your reading journeys this month.
Download your “Origami Page Marker” crafting guide here!
Print out our free, handy crafting guide in A4 and use it at home or in the classroom. More details on the research-based benefits of reading can be found here.
How to use Storyvor’s “Origami Page Marker” crafting guide
Prepare the right materials
We recommend buying an assortment of heavy, brightly colored paper sheets to create a vivid base. From there, the sky’s the limit. Have glue, tape, gel pens, markers, stickers, pipe cleaners, feathers, and anything else you can think of on hand to decorate. We especially recommend googly eyes to give each page marker a special touch.
Make each page marker a favorite character from a story
When using at home or in the classroom, recommend that students base theirs around a favorite literary character. Or encourage them to invent a character! Having to express a character through a folded, decorated piece of paper helps students think about storytelling and visual cues. It also encourages them to see the character and story in a new light, and to consider which features would make them come alive in a craft piece.Listening and focus activity
Hand out the guide and crafting materials during a read-aloud. Decorating keeps hands busy while listening. As the folding part might need assistance, we recommend completing that as a group before moving on to decorating individually.
Note: If you’d like to collaborate with us or get your own co-branded materials for encouraging literacy at your school, organization, or institution, reach out! We’re happy to work with you to inspire reading in your community, always free of charge, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Sarah Silverkey
Contributing editor
Sarah is an educator, writer, and artist with over 40 years of primary and secondary school teaching experience in the United States and in Switzerland. She’s a co-founder of the Homeschool Association Switzerland, and a fervent literacy advocate, believing that all good things (or at least, very many of them) come from an early exposure to books and stories.
