Fairy Tales & Folktales

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Aesop
Links to online texts and lesson plans.

An African Folktale: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Designed for lower elementary students, this five-day series of lessons includes map study, vocabulary words, and reading skills.

American Folklore
Folksy retellings of a variety of tales: Native American myths and legends, weather folklore, ghost stories, and tall tales of Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and others.

Hans Christian Andersen
Links to the stories.

Born on a Mountaintop?: Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Students explore the conventions of tall tales and write one. This lesson is designed for grades 3-5.

Briar Rose
Follow links to listen to an audiofile OR to listen and read at the same time.

Cinderella
Links to lesson plans for comparing many versions of the Cinderella story from around the world.

Comparing Tales through Performance
"Students identify the similarities and differences between a traditional and contemporary version of "The Three Little Pigs." Students demonstrate comprehension by acting out scenes from each of the stories. They are assessed based on how well they are able to portray the differences between the characters, setting, and plot in the two versions of the story. Note: While this lesson focuses on The Three Little Pigs, it can be easily adapted to any well-known story or fairy tale."

Dramatizing Folktales, Legends, and Myths
Elementary students work together to research, select, and dramatize a Native American myth or legend.

East by Edith Pattou
This version of the "Sleeping Beauty" story is set in Scandinavia. Summary, book talk, and 7 discussion questions.

The Emperor's New Clothes
Follow the links to listen to an audio file OR to listen and read at the same time.

Fairy Tales
This WebQuest asks second graders to write their own fairy tales. It is standards-based and provides a rubric for evaluation.

Fairy Tales
Puzzles, pages to color, cross-curricular skill builders, and other resources to support young readers' study of fairy tales.

Fairy Tales Around the World
Students explore the commonalities of fairy tales around the world. Several links support this series of lessons.

"Ferradidledumday" and other Rumpelstiltskin Stories
Questions to help students compare and contrast the two stories.

Folklore and Mythology
A remarkable collection of links to stories from around the world.

The Folktale, Fable, and Parable
Students analyze and interpret a folktale that comments on a social attitude. They then write a true story illustrating the same attitude and explain how the true story relates to the folktale.

Goldilocks & the Three Bears Sentence Combining Practice
Students combine sentences to create a cohesive narrative.

Grimm Brothers' Home Page
A biographical timeline, publication information, and links to e-texts of the stories.

Grimms' Fairy Tales
This site includes 12 stories, some with audio.

The Grimm Truth: Comparing & Contrasting Children’s Stories and Fairy Tales in Cross-Cultural Texts at Different Points in Time
Summary, task, assessments, pacing guide, graphic organizers, and more. This unit is designed for a high school world literature class. This 13-page document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or compatible application for access.

Six-Trait Writing with Jack Prelutsky and the Brothers Grimm
This series of 6 lessons is designed for kindergarten students. It uses "The Bremen Town Musicians," "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids," and other literature. This 27-page handout requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or compatible application for access.

The Gingerbread Man
Designed for kindergarten students, this series of lessons introduces children to fairy tales, sequencing, and the difference between real and make-believe. Comes complete with a recipe for gingerbread and printable outlines of the gingerbread man.

More lesson plans for fairy tales and folktales >> | 1 | 2 |