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Writing Activity: writing a morality tale, with “Little Lies” by Meredith Proost, 12

Post Published August 2, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity This excellent story gets to the heart of why lying is wrong. Lying destroys trust between people. And when people don’t trust each other, they can never be really close—not even if they are family members.

Writing Activity: Bringing Animal Characters Alive Through Gesture

Post Published July 21, 2016 by William Rubel

Taking as inspiration the world of puppeteers for the play "War Horse" this activity teaches students how to use gesture to make animal characters more realistic. This 23-minute TED Talk is about how the puppet horse in the play War Horse is made to feel alive. Animals are common characters in stories written by kids, horses especially.

Using the Young Adult Author Resource Pages

Post Published June 10, 2016 by William Rubel

Writers are readers. The purpose of the Young Adult Author Resource Pages is to bring young writers closer to their favorite authors. Through social media and recorded interviews many authors offer fabulous advice on writing that are useful for writers of all ages. If you are a teacher, you can use the interviews in your classroom in the context of your creative writing curriculum.

Writing Activity: using a natural process to structure a short short story with “The Fire” by Campe Goodman, 12

Post Published May 20, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity This is a short short story about someone who lights a fire in a fireplace, watches it burn for a while, letting his imagination wander along with the flames, and then, bored, goes away from the fire to do something else. The character finally returns to the fireplace, but only after the fire is out.

Writing Activity: personal integrity and family history with “Homemade Crop Duster” by Vivek Maru, 10

Post Published May 20, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity This story by Vivek Maru is a moral tale. It is about personal integrity and the "right" way to live. "Homemade Crop Duster" may be a "true life" story or it may be "made up." Most probably, like many good stories, it is a mixture of both. Stories that have a moral often read more like lectures than works of fiction.

Writing Activity: exploring multi-layered meaning and limits with “The Captive” by Nicholaus Curby, 12

Post Published May 20, 2016 by William Rubel

This writing project explores the idea of captivity in many forms helping young authors think about different ways characters might not be free to do as they like. Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity In this story by Nicholaus Curby, the eagle, locked in its cage, is obviously a captive. The eagle is a captive in the same way a person in prison is a captive.

Writing Activity: biography, war, and the power of what is not said, with “My Story” by Yuthilcar Sokban, 12

Post Published May 20, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity Yuthilkar Sokban's story, simply titled "My Story," is about war. It starts in 1975, the year Yuthilkar was born and the year a group of people, the Khmer Rouge, led by a man named Pol Pot, came to power in Yuthikar's country, Cambodia.

Writing Activity: writing sequels, and increasing contrast, with “A Ride With Fate” by Robert Katzman, 12

Post Published May 17, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity “A Ride With Fate” is an emotionally powerful story about a boy who makes a couple of wrong decisions. The mistakes he makes lead to an accident in which he and someone he cares about are physically hurt, and an elderly man, a friend of Billy's, is made very sad. Project 1: Write a Sequel I care about Billy, and I care about Mr. Reed.

Writing Activity: unexpected perspectives, or the other side of the story, with “Blending In” by Jonathan Rosenbaum, 10

Post Published May 14, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity In "Blending In," by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Charlie is at camp where he is teased by Carl and Jeremy, as well as by other campers. Like most stories about teasing, "Blending In" is told from the perspective of the boy or girl who is teased. But what about Carl, Jeremy, and the others? What are they thinking and feeling?

Writing and Art Activity: illustrate your own story, with “The Adventures of Pumpkin and Seegartus” by Nicole Schmidt, 9

Post Published May 14, 2016 by William Rubel

Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing and Art Activity "The Adventures of Pumpkin and Seegartus" is about a friendship between two animals--a pony, Pumpkin, and a cat, Seegartus--both favorite pets of Mary. The author, Nicole Schmidt, begins her story with the birth of Pumpkin and his capture from a herd of semi-wild horses, and she ends it with an adventure that clearly establishes the depth of...

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