Mission 5 of 5 · about 5 minutes
Publish & Share
Your field report is written — now it's time to make it look sharp and send it out into the world. In this final mission you'll pick a theme, read your story like a visitor would, and publish it.
1
Pick a theme in the Design tab
Click Design in the header. This is where you choose a cover layout and a theme — the colors and style for your whole story. The Summit and Slate themes both have a nature feel that fits a rainforest report.
Try a couple of themes and keep the one that makes your photos and map look best.
2
Add a cover image (optional)
If you want, add a cover image — a big photo that greets readers at the top of your story. A photo you downloaded from Wild Files, or a public domain El Yunque photo from the U.S. Forest Service, works well.
This step is optional. Your story can publish without a cover image.
3
Preview your story
Click Preview to see your story exactly the way a reader will. Scroll all the way through and check your map pins, photos, and spelling. Pretend you're a visitor who has never even heard of a banana slug.
StoryMaps autosaves as you work, so any fixes you make are saved automatically — no save button needed.
4
Publish with the teacher's sharing setting
Click Publish. You'll see sharing choices such as Everyone (public) and Organization. Pick exactly the setting your teacher announces — don't guess. Then click Publish again.
The sharing setting controls who can read your story, so this is a follow-the-teacher moment.
5
Copy your story link
After your story publishes, copy the story URL. That link is how you turn in your work — paste it wherever your teacher collects assignments, like a shared doc or Google Classroom.
🎉 Mission 5 complete — your story is live!
That's the last mission at StoryMap HQ — there is no Mission 6, only the open trail. Send your story link to your teacher to turn in your work, and congratulations: you are now a published StoryMap author.