This article describes the findings of a qualitative phenomenographic study that explored students' engagement from the perspective of the students. It describes how the participants perceived their engagement when they learned social studies using GIS Story Maps. Qualitative data collection involved classroom observations, student-written reflections, and oral interviews with fourteen eighth-grade student-participants. The data analysis revealed that students perceive Story Maps as engaging in four qualitatively different ways: generating inquiry, visualizing information, mapping interactively, and cycling. Students also see a geographic and cultural connection between Story Maps and their lives, and additional connections beyond the classroom.