Fairy Tale Unit

--"Fairy Tales Get Real"

• Fairy Tale Museum- kids bring in props that have to do with the fairy tales they read in class. (Cinderella- pumpkin, glass slipper, mice Rumpelstiltskin- spinning wheel, hay, gold straw)

-- Comparing Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

• What common elements mark stories as a fairy tale? What do the stories have in common? How do you know a tale is a "version" of a familiar tale? What do the stories have in common? How do the stories differ in their depictions of the main characters? What do you see as important differences between the stories' themes?

--"Bluebeard" VISTA prompt

• You will write a riddle whose answer is _____
• Write a riddle or a poem that explains which story you were given by describing which stories this story is NOT. In other words, all of your clues must come from the stories that aren't your story. You may not use titles, but you may use characters' names.

Example:

He leaves me with the keys that involve no eggs.

He is definitely not a sorcerer that comes to beg.

No rhyming birds or riddles on the wall.

No hand, rings, or fingers involved at all.

--Rewriting Fairy Tales

• Compose your own revision of Cinderella (or another fairy tale) by writing a poem. You could imagine your version taking on the perspective of the prince, the step-sisters, step mother, mice, fairy, godmother, etc... Or chane the setting or tell us what happens after the wedding.

Example:

In Search of Cinderella-- Shel Silverstein

From dusk to dawn,

From town to town,

Without a single clue

I seek the tender, slender foot

To fit this crystal shoe.

From dusk to dawn,

I try it on

Each damsel that I meet.

And I still love her so, but oh,

I've started hating feet.

--readwritethink.org >>Lesson Plans

• Once Upon a Time Rethought: Writing Fractured Fairy Tales -- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/once-upon-time-rethought-853.html
• Enchanting Readers with Revisionist Fairy Tales -- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/enchanting-readers-with-revisionist-992.html
• The Big Bad Wolf: Analyzing Point of View in Texts -- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/wolf-analyzing-point-view-23.html

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf- Roald Dahl

As soon as Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma's door.
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, ``May I come in?''
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
``He's going to eat me up!'' she cried.

And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big bite.
But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfie wailed, ``That's not enough!
I haven't yet begun to feel
That I have had a decent meal!
''He ran around the kitchen yelping,
``I've got to have a second helping!''
Then added with a frightful leer,
``I'm therefore going to wait right here
Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
Comes home from walking in the wood.
''He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,
(Of course he hadn't eaten those).
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He put on shoes, and after that
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.
In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She stared. And then she said,
``What great big ears you have, Grandma.''
``All the better to hear you with,'' the Wolf replied.
``What great big eyes you have, Grandma.''
said Little Red Riding Hood.
``All the better to see you with,'' the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I'm going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma
She's going to taste like caviar.

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, ``But Grandma,
what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.''

``That's wrong!'' cried Wolf. ``Have you forgot
To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?
Ah well, no matter what you say,
I'm going to eat you anyway.
''The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature's head
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
A few weeks later, in the wood,
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, ``Hello, and do please note
My lovely furry wolfskin coat.''