Every now and then, we love using a classic read aloud in the classroom. These are stories that stand the test of time and everyone can relate to. Classic children’s books are usually a great way to teach your students an important lesson. This week we are spotlighting one of our favorite classics, Stone Soup. We chose this book because it does a great job of teaching students the importance of sharing. There are many different versions of Stone Soup, we love the one written by Marcia Brown. However, if you have access to multiple versions you can use them to teach comparing and contrasting lessons with your students. For teachers that use Reader’s Theater, this story is a great choice for that, too! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
The folktale Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown, tells the story of three soldiers on their way home from war. Tired and hungry, the soldiers decide to stop in a village in search of food and a place to sleep. The villagers see the soldiers coming and begin to hide all their food because they too are hungry. After stopping at many houses in search for food, the soldiers stop. They announce to the villagers that they will make Stone Soup. The curious villagers gather around the soldiers to see what they are going to do. As they start making the soup the soldiers begin asking for different ingredients: first salt and pepper, then carrots, and eventually beef. Each time, villagers run back home to get the ingredients they’d hidden. Soon enough, the soldiers made a large, delicious soup. Together, the villagers and soldiers put together a feast and spend the night eating and dancing. Grateful for what the soldiers taught them, the villagers let them stay the night in the best beds in the village. Stone Soup is a great story to teach sharing and kindness.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
We love Stone Soup because it can be used to teach so many different lessons and strategies. You might choose to use it solely as a read aloud to practice reading comprehension strategies. However, it can also be used to engage your students in meaningful writing activities, teach grammar lessons, and social emotional skills. This book makes a great lesson for the day, or teachers can extend this book into a longer unit.
- Practice the important strategy of inferring as you make your way through the book.
- Examine the cause and effect of different actions and events in the story.
- Practice how-to writing by encouraging students to write the steps necessary to make stone soup.
- Teach students to write their opinions and back them up with reasons.
- Introduce a variety of pronouns and study prepositions.
- Teach new vocabulary.
- Discuss the lesson of sharing and compassion in the story and how it relates to students’ lives.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
We love Stone Soup because it is a timeless book you can use in your classroom year after year. Our Starts With a Story Book Companion is a resource you will be able to get so much use out of because you’ll be able to use it again and again.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- The Empty Pot by Demi
- The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
- Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
