Grade 3 - Chicken (Ginseng) Soup for the Soul

"What is a soul? It's like electricity - We don't know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room." -Ray Charles

    For the 3rd grade Christmas project, we created a compilation book of inspirational stories written by the students themselves. The project started by reading selections of inspirational stories from the actual Chicken Soup book. We discussed the themes and the lessons from each of the stories. 

     One objective was for the students to understand that the central themes of the stories stemmed from hardship and struggle. The post-discussions were meaningful and the students found themselves being able to find something that they can relate to each of the stories. Most importantly, the students were able to empathize deeply with the characters.

     To prepare, students practiced planning their stories with story structures and plot diagrams. We had also worked extensively with descriptive writing, focusing on scene descriptions and appropriate word choices. With in-class writing and fluency rewrites, their stories came together at last. 

     It was only later that I decided to compile all of the stories into a book. After reading through all the stories, it only felt right that they were meant to be shared, not only with the other 3rd grade classes, but also with anyone else curious enough to open this book. The stories they shared were often heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, and some just outright funny. Enjoy!