Stone Soup for Teachers of Creative Writing

Stone Soup belongs in every classroom. With Stone Soup, your creative writing and language arts programs gain new meaning. Writing is not just for school, writing is for life. Six times a year, Stone Soup brings exciting new creative writing models to your students in the form of stories, poems, and book reviews, all written by other kids their age. Now there’s a reason to work hard on their creative writing assignments, to polish them and send them off to a real magazine for possible publication.

Creative Writing Models

The creative writing that appears in the pages of Stone Soup is the cream of the crop. From the hundreds of submissions we receive every month, only a handful are selected for publication. Family history, the loss of a beloved pet, starting over in a new school—these are just a few of the themes found in Stone Soup. Many teachers tell us they build their creative writing lessons around Stone Soup stories, focusing on such elements as plot, character development, dialogue, sense of place. A story in Stone Soup might remind a student of a similar experience in his or her own life that can form the basis of a story. Poems in Stone Soup are keenly observed, lyrical depictions of nature, the seasons, a special time of day, a life-changing moment. Are the trees bursting with color on a crisp fall day? With a Stone Soup poem as the starting point, take your students outside with pen and paper. Have them sit quietly for a while and write about what they see and feel. Back in the classroom, discuss what makes a good poem. How do your students’ poems compare with the poems in Stone Soup? How can they be better?

Book Reviews as Models

We’ve all had to write book reports as school assignments, but sometimes we wonder, what’s the point? Book reviews in Stone Soup are different. Time and time again we hear from young readers that our book reviews have inspired them to read the book. What makes a Stone Soup book review special? We ask our reviewers not to summarize the story but rather to write about how the book affects them personally. Reviewers are encouraged to compare the experiences of the characters in the book with their own experiences and to tell the reader what they like and dislike about the book. Opinions are supported by examples from the book. Stone Soup book reviews make great reading, whether you are familiar with the book being reviewed or not. They can serve two functions in your creative writing program: 1) as models for classroom book reviews, and 2) as motivation to write book reviews for the wider audience of Stone Soup readers. Students interested in reviewing books for Stone Soup may write to us, telling us a little about themselves, why they think they would make a good reviewer, and what kinds of books they like to read. Those who are selected will receive a review book from us, along with full instructions for their review.

Submitting Work for Publication

Stone Soup provides the opportunity for students to learn about the publication process. Our contributors’ guidelines include information about format, response time, and payment. It’s nice when submissions are accompanied by a cover letter; students can learn the proper way to write and format a professional letter. Because of the high volume of submissions received at Stone Soup, it’s a good idea to discuss expectations with your students. Even though a story is very good, it might not be accepted for publication. Editors are just people, like yourself, with personal tastes and opinions. It’s an adventure to send your work off to a magazine—you never know if you don’t try!