This study explored the impact of applying story-based inquiry teaching materials on 8th graders' learning engagement and achievement. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this study. One class of 8th graders was assigned as the experimental group (EG) and another class was assigned as the control group (CG). Both classes were taught by the same intern teacher. Researchers chose "the material world and aqueous solution" topic to design 11 hours of story-based inquiry teaching materials. In the experimental group, the teacher used the story inquiry teaching materials, while in the control group, the teacher used the textbook materials. Data collection included video-recording, students' worksheets and students' interview data, and achievement test results. All the qualitative data were analyzed by coding analysis. Findings indicated that students in both groups have oral engagement. The frequency of student's responses in the CG is higher than in the EG. However, students in the EG took longer to respond to the teacher, which reveals that using story-based inquiry can help the teacher in asking openended questions. Findings showed that the teacher's application of the blending of story and inquiry teaching materials into teaching can benefit students' learning and comprehension; especially the scenario of story-oriented materials encouraged the students become more active in learning. The achievement test results showed that students need time to adopt the new teaching materials, but once they were familiar, their achievement will increase. This study showed that using blended story and inquiry teaching materials can enhance students' learning and the quality of instruction.