Stone Soup— a tale of community collaboration where a small ingredient is contributed by each person that creates a delicious soup. This classic children’s story has been retold countless times by many authors; emphasizing that people can achieve great things by working together.
Teachers can use this story to teach comprehension, values of kindness and compassion, vocabulary, and story sequencing to students. This collection of 18 excellent classroom activities can help encourage teamwork and foster a sense of community.
1. Stone Soup Storytelling
This stone soup activity brings the story to life with storytelling props. Make a felt board or print out images of the characters and the ingredients to help students visualize the story and engage with it on a deeper level.
Learn More: Susan Crilley Creative Crafts for Kids
2. Activity Pack
Create an activity pack that includes different activities related to the story which will provide students with different learning opportunities. You may also want to buy the entire packet of Stone Soup folktale; an 18-piece set of pre-made digital activities.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
3. Emergent Reader
Create an emergent reader for younger students with simple sentences and pictures from the story. This is an excellent way to introduce new readers to the story and build their confidence.
Learn More: Google Drive
4. Stone Soup Scramble
Unscrambling words related to Stone Soup is a fun game that will also enhance vocabulary and spelling skills. Students can play this game individually or in teams and compete to be the fastest to unscramble the words.
Learn More: Study Stack
5. Slow Cooker Stone Soup
Make a savory slow cooker pot of vegetable soup with ingredients from the story. This culinary activity teaches kids about teamwork and healthy eating; making it a successful feast!
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6. Vocabulary Review Activities
Spice up your vocabulary lessons by creating vocabulary cards for keywords in the Stone Soup story. Turn it into a matching game or mix it up with a crossword or word search. Your students will gobble up new vocabulary from this tasty lesson!
Learn More: Quizlet
7. Stone Soup Handwriting Sheets
Have your students practice writing and illustrating their own soup recipes on Stone Soup-themed handwriting sheets. This activity will help them practice their handwriting skills and develop their creative writing skills.
Learn More: Lesson Planet
8. Classroom Discussion
Focus on comprehension and deeper moral lessons by analyzing the story! You can discuss characters and motivations and explain the concepts of cooperation and teamwork. Have students work together in small groups and share their thoughts.
Learn More: Study.com
9. Writing Prompts
Let your students be the storytellers! Using Stone Soup as a writing prompt is a great way to encourage creativity and imagination. Students can put their own spin on the story- creating unique characters and a new setting.
Learn More: DLTK Teach
10. Book Club
Start a book club and read different versions of the story, such as those written by Jess Stockholm and Jon J. Muth. Discussing the similarities and differences between these versions and the original story is an excellent way to build reading skills and promote critical thinking.
Learn More: Newton Libraries
11. Read-Aloud
Organize a read-along with all your students. Be sure to pause along the way to have them share what they’ve understood. You can also encourage them to re-enact the story if they’d like to!
Learn More: Read Works
12. Math Activities
Have your students count and sort ingredients, estimate amounts, and create fractions using measuring cups. With a pinch of creativity, this activity can add a dash of fun to any math objective! It’s the perfect activity to learn more about the vocabulary covered in the story!
Learn More: Play and Grow
13. Make Stone Soup-Themed Bookmarks or Book Covers
Stir up some creativity with Stone Soup bookmarks and book covers. Students can design and decorate their own bookmarks and covers however they’d like. and can be inspired by the classic tale.
Learn More: Twinkl
14. Make a Stone Soup Bulletin Board
A bulletin board featuring a Stone Soup recipe with pictures and descriptions of various ingredients is a clever way to teach cooperation and resourcefulness. Just don’t forget the most important ingredient: the stone that serves as the catalyst for a communal meal.
Learn More: Pinterest
15. Make a Class Mural Depicting the Stone Soup Story
Have your students create a mural to retell the story of Stone Soup. They can use different materials and techniques to make it colorful and eye-catching. This collaborative art project will help enhance creativity and foster a sense of community and teamwork.
Learn More: Pinterest
16. Stone Soup-Themed Scavenger Hunt
Create a Stone Soup-themed scavenger hunt in the classroom or around the school where students can search for hidden ingredients and clues to uncover the story’s moral. This activity not only promotes teamwork but also helps students develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Learn More: The Axel Show
17. Stone Soup Story Mapping And Awards
Spend a full day exploring Stone Soup by having the students retell the story the way they understand it and make the soup together. Finally, reward one student with a stone for their kindness and compassion; making sure that the other learners understand why the student is being rewarded.
Learn More: The Kindergarten’s Morga’s Board
18. Stone Soup: A Lesson in Sharing
Give different groups of students different art supplies, like crayons or glue, to make Stone Soup-inspired masterpieces. Encourage them to share their art supplies with other groups. This simple activity will help students learn the importance of sharing and collaborative effort.
Learn More: Wesleyca
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