teaching writing

Curriculum· — The standard advice for new writers — “Write what you know” — is good advice for all writers. When you write about what you know first hand, you have your...

Curriculum· — Every once in a while a story comes along that is unlike any other. Dancing Birds, the featured story from our September/October 2015 issue, is such a story. What makes...

Curriculum· — I found a project through Twitter for teaching students to think like a filmmaker. The project, for grades 6 to 8, is  written by Judy Storm Fink and is published at...

Curriculum· — Let’s say you have a strong opinion about something you see happening in the world. You know it is wrong, and you want to speak out. The most direct way...

Curriculum· — In honor of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, we chose “Leprechaun Rain” as the featured story from our March/April 2015 issue. This is not a complex story. Emma lives...

Curriculum· — The United States is made up of people who immigrated here from all over the world. Some came a long time ago, some more recently. All of us are Americans,...

Curriculum· — Is it ever OK to break the rules? The two main characters in “Life Among the Whispers,” the featured story from the November/December 2014 issue of Stone Soup, make us...

Curriculum· — What makes a story interesting? Yes, it could be fun to read a story about a girl who spends two enjoyable weeks at summer camp, plays some archery, makes a...

Curriculum· — “Catching Mice,” by Eoin O’Mara, age 11, is the featured story from our July/August 2014 issue. It starts innocently enough. Eoin is visiting his grandparents in Colorado. It’s a beautiful...

Curriculum· — Can a boy dancer be cool? Yes he can! And yet Alex, the main character in “Standing Alone,” is teased mercilessly by his classmates because he likes to dance. They call...