Margaret Grabowsky's CU

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Fairy Tales in the Early Childhood Classroom

Margaret Grabowsky

Academic Setting

This unit will be used for full day kindergarten at Eubank Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At Eubank, we have adopted the Balanced Literacy model as our literacy program. This unit was written to conform to the components of Eubank’s Balanced Literacy, which are: read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading and skill development. Every child participates in ability- grouped literacy blocks for two hours each morning. Consequently, my literacy class students are comprised from all four kindergarten classes and a few from the first grade classes. The purpose for this school-wide literacy block is to have smaller classes to teach literacy. All certified support staff teach a literacy class. The level of the students in my literacy class is “reading readiness”. This means that they can recognize most upper case letters and some lower case letters. They do not have sound-symbol relationship yet, but can usually tell the difference between letters and numbers.

            Eubank is located in an older neighborhood of the city. There are not enough students in the neighborhood to support the school. Therefore, approximately eighty five to ninety percent of our students are bused from a different part of the city six miles away. Because of the physical distance from the students’ homes to the school, the school is not part of the students’ community. In fact, the school neighborhood is very different from their home neighborhood. Many of the parents do not own cars. Consequently, they can not easily become a part of the school community. Our PTA has very few parent members. Creating a sense of community is a challenge at this school. Many of our students come from subsidized apartments. Eighty five percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The mobility rate at Eubank is more than ninety percent. Often a student will leave our school for a period of time and then return later in the year. While the student was away, he may or may not have been enrolled in a school. We have a permanent social worker on staff at Eubank to work with families who are experiencing difficulties. Nearly every ethnicity is represented in the student population at Eubank. Approximately fifty percent of our students are Hispanic, thirty percent Anglo, ten percent African American, five percent Native American and five percent “other” ethnic backgrounds including Asian, Afghan, Croatian, and Arabian. Students with “Limited English Proficiency” comprise about fifty percent of the population.

Context and Background

When I think of fairy tales, I immediately think of childhood fantasies and happy endings. Disney books and movies seem to flood my thoughts of everything “good” in life. As a child, I knew that if I could just convince my parents to take me and my thirteen brothers and sisters to DisneyLand, our lives would be just like those in fairy tales. Sure, there would be some suffering or humiliation of some of the characters (mostly women) but in the end, everything would work out for the best. We really would live “happily every after.” Fairy tales seemed to be made for children, offering beautiful and often escapist fantasies. However, originally, fairy tales were not intended for children.

            When we speak of fairy tales we are referring to literary fairy tales. It is difficult to determine when the first literary fairy tale was conceived. We do know, however, that fairy tales are derived from oral folk tales, which contain elements of marvel and wonder and have existed for thousands of years. Oral tales were told by adults for adults. The purpose of the oral folk tale was to foster a sense of belonging and hope that miracles were possible for a better world (Zipes 2).   They were closely connected to the customs, beliefs and rituals of tribes and communities. Because the tales were oral, they had performance character; once the story was told, it was lost. The main theme and characters may be remembered, however, the exact story that was told could not have been repeated. Unlike a modern movie, oral folk tales were interactive. The audience could participate and even change parts of the story if they wished. In fact, different tribes or communities would modify the tales to fit the needs of the storytellers and the listeners (Zipes 2).

            A precursor to the literary fairy tale was the wonder tale. Wonder tales were oral tales based on a sense of wonder. Components of the wonder tale are integrated and changed by functions to promote the sense of wonder. This is what sets wonder tales apart from other oral tales such as myths, legends and fables. In his study, The Morphology of the Folk Tale (1968), Vladimir Propp outlined thirty one basic functions of a folk tale which typically move the action forward. Jack Zipes gives a summary of which I only include five functions that pertain to this unit.

1. Departure or banishment of the protagonist, who is either given a task or assumes a task related to the interdiction of prohibition.

2. Encounter with (a) villain; (b) mysterious individual or creature, who gives the protagonist gifts: The gifts are often magical agents, which bring about miraculous change.

3. The endowed protagonist is tested and moves on to battle and conquer the villain or inimical forces.

4. The villain is punished or the inimical forces are vanquished.

5. The success of the protagonist usually leads to (a) marriage, (b) the acquisition of money: (c) survival and wisdom; (d) any combination of the first three (Zipes 3-4).

Literary fairy tales appropriated wonder tales. Because printing technology did not flourish until the fifteenth century, literary works were not distributed greatly. However, the first literary fairy tale appeared in the second century by Apuleius, “Psyche and Cupid.” Beginning with “Psyche and Cupid”, the literary fairy tale changed the emphasis from humanization of natural forces in the wonder tale to the civilization of the protagonist who learns to respect social codes and laws to be accepted into society and/or united to reproduce and continue the progress of the world toward perfect happiness (Zipes 8).

The Italian writer, Giambattista Basile, whose collection of stories Lo Cunto de li Cunti, or The Pentameron, was published posthumously in 1634, was one of the first fairy tale authors. Basile was quite familiar with the customs of the Neapolitans. He was able to utilize folklore, anecdotes and events that reflected transformations and communion. His audience was the Italian aristocracy. It is thought that Italian fairy tales spread throughout Europe both in print and orally.

England also was dabbling in fairy tales. Fairy tale elements can be found in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (c. 1386-1400) and in many of Shakespeare’s plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Eve, The Tempest, and The Taming of the Shrew written between 1590 and 1611. England, however, was not conducive to the development of fairy tales because of the Puritan’s hostility toward amusement in the seventeenth century (Zipes11).

As a literary genre, fairy tales began to develop in France in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. During this time, France was considered to be the cultural center of and for Europe. In fact, French was the language of choice for the upper class. Literary salons began to emerge as a place for telling and acting out fairy tales. Generally created by women, literary salons gave aristocratic women a chance to show off their wit and intellect. The most famous author of fairy tales from this time is Catherine D’Aulnoy, who wrote and published four volumes of fairy tales between 1696 and 1698. Her stories focus on the question of true and natural feeling between a man and a woman. Another French fairy tale writer was Charles Perrault. He frequented literary salons in France and wrote two tales like “The Foolish Wishes” (1693) and “Donkey Skin” (1694). He later published famous renditions of “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and others. As Zipes points out,”He sought to establish the literary fairy tale as an innovative genre that exemplified a modern sensibility that was coming into its own and was to be equated with the greatness of French civilite” (Zipes 13). The literary fairy tale became an acceptable, social-symbolic form of writing that conventionalized motifs, characters, and plots that were comments on the civilizing process and that kept alive the possibility of miraculous change and a sense of wonder (Zipes 13). Perrault and other French writers really established the popularity of literary fairy tales. These first literary tales were meant for adult entertainment for the upper class.

Soon after the tales of D’Aulnoy and Perrault were published, they became available in inexpensive volumes that were rewritten in a more simplistic manner for the lower classes to be read to the illiterate and children (Zipes 15). Although many of these tales had not been edited for children yet, they were read to children of the upper class to instill in them a sense about the appropriate social norms, gender roles, and manners. Soon fairy tales for children became a popular form of literature for the aristocracy. However, the children’s fairy tales had to represent children according to stringent gender-specific roles and class codes. Often, the tales were read to children by nannies or governesses, while later, they were told to children by their mothers as bedtime stories.

In the early nineteenth century, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm from Germany collected fairy tales and rewrote them to preserve what they thought to be the Germanic fold heritage.   They collected fairy tales from various storytellers, revised them and wrote them down with the idea of exposing a part of a much needed sense of national identity. Although most of the stories actually came from France, the brothers claimed them as German fairy tales. They published Kinder-und Hausmarchen, (Children’s and Household Tales) in 1812. Although meant for adults, these tales quickly became very popular for children. Once the Grimms realized that their audience was children, they went on to publish several childrens’ editions, toning down the cruelty and bawdiness in the stories as they revised them for publication. Not surprisingly, they kept the often embellished magical elements. Although, wonder and fantasy were not widely accepted as appropriate educational material for children. In fact, it was not until the 1820’s and 1830’s that the fairy tale for children began to be accepted by the middle class (Zipes 20). “The reason for the more tolerant acceptance of the literary fairy tale for children may be attributed to the realization on the part of educators and parents. . . that fantasy literature and amusement would not necessarily destroy or pervert children’s minds” (Zipes 20). Before this time, wonderment and fantasy were considered paganistic elements in stories and if children were exposed to them they would conceive crazy ideas. From 1830 to 1900 the middle class began to rise in Europe and the literary fairy tale became an acceptable form of literature for children. In order to fully understand how fairy tales became incorporated into children’s literature, I find it necessary to include information concerning the development of the concept of child and childhood.

Concept of Child and Childhood

In today’s society, children are considered to be a separate group of beings from adults. They have their rooms in the house, their safety seats in the car and their recreation facilities. Commercial products are constantly appealing to the child consumer. Books, movies, clothes, toys, home decor, and food are all being marketed specifically to children.

Yet, before the seventeenth century, children were not considered as separate from adults and therefore not seen as having special needs. “One of the results of this outlook was the lack of an established educational system for children, and of books written specifically for them” (Shavit 318).   Home or no schooling was the norm because in the pre-industrial society, the family worked together to produce their income at home. There was no need to seek outside education.

Another factor that contributed to the idea that children were considered as little adults, was the grave living conditions common up until the seventeenth century. Typically, the extended family lived in one room houses. Whatever happened in the house happened in front of the children. They were neither sheltered or protected from events that affected the adults. Because the mortality rate in children was about fifty percent, the emotional attachment to children was possibly different than today.. If a child survived the first years of life, he was thrust into adult society at an immature age. In the upper classes, children entered society as active members at the young ages of 10- 13, while in the lower classes, children were needed to work at a juvenile age to help support the family (Shavit 318). It was common for children to be married at what we consider the age of puberty. Marriages generally took place when the bride and groom were only in their early teens.

As a consequence of the Industrial Revolution and the decrease in infant mortality, childhood and the concept of child slowly began to emerge. There were two concepts of children that were evident. “The first signs of the formation of this child concept, and the recognition that the child is a creature distinct from the adult, were already apparent at the end of the sixteenth century in the realm of painting” (Shavit 320). Much like the infant Jesus, children were portrayed as innocent, angelic and filled with wonder. These images later influenced the perception of how children are different from adults. Children were considered to be innocent and closer to God because they still had vivid imaginations. This concept of child adopted the philosophy that while they needed to be protected, children were a source of amusement for adults. In the upper classes, children were frequently called to the parlor so that adults would be amused by them (Shavit 321). In many ways they were treated like loved pets.

The second concept of child believed that children as needed to be educated with strict discipline. In fact, children needed books that were specifically written for them. In the nineteenth century, the Grimm brothers began to revise their collection of fairytales so that they would be suitable for children. This may have contributed to the popularity of fairy tales as children’s literature. After the brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen continued to produce popular fairy tales for children. As fairy tales evolved, they became more complex, complicated pieces of literature.

Why teach fairy tales?

In a kindergarten curriculum, it is easy to adapt any children’s story into a meaningful lesson or committee. However, unlike other stories, fairy tales give children an opportunity to seek their own solutions to inner conflicts through contemplating what the story seems to imply about themselves and their own inner conflicts at this moment in their life (Bettelheim 25). The fairy tale is suspended in time and place. It starts out with “once upon a time” and ends with the real beginning. “Once upon a time” and “in a place far away” mean that it happened once, somewhere, and it could happen again, now or in the future (Zipes 4). This circular structure gives children a window into another world, outside of their reality, yet inside of themselves. “In a Fairy tale, internal processes are externalized and become comprehensible as represented by the figures of the story and its events” (Bettelheim 25). Happy endings, which are typical for fairy tales provide a positive backdrop for overcoming a dangerous or adverse situation.

I have chosen to teach fairy tales in my kindergarten curriculum for three main reasons: 1) State and district standards can be addressed using fairy tales in my lessons. 2) My students may benefit emotionally and socially by studying fairy tales.   3) My teaching philosophy that young children learn through play, ties in naturally with fairy tales.

This unit on fairy tales meets many literacy standards. Since our school district has moved toward a standards-based curriculum, I have planned this unit by first looking at performance based standards that need to be met. These specific standards are listed in the implementation portion of this paper. To simplify reference, I have created my own number system for the standards concerned in this unit.

Children are experiencing anxieties that, according to Bettelheim, can be worked through (even if subconsciously) by brief exposure to fairy tales that address those anxieties in some way or other. The most common anxiety that I see in kindergarten students is separation anxiety. This is the first school experience for most of my students and they show their anxieties particularly at the beginning of the year. Many students cry, some louder than others. Some students physically hold on to their parents and have to be literally pulled from their mother’s arms. I have had students “escape” from the classroom to find their mothers. I have had mothers come to the classroom to ask me to get their child out of the car because the child refuses to come to school. Some students become attached to the first adult they see at school. If this adult is not present when the child returns to school the following day, the child acts out by crying, demands to go home. etc. At Eubank, the students begin their literacy class approximately three weeks after school has started. So, students who are experiencing separation anxiety go through this again when they have to leave their homeroom classroom to go to their literacy classroom. For some students, this can be extremely difficult. I have had students hide under tables, cling to doors, pillars and furniture just so they won’t have to leave my classroom. As a teacher and as a parent, I did not realize the extent of separation anxiety. With this unit, I hope to address those anxieties in a positive manner and foster a sense of belonging and community in my students. I want their first year of school to be tolerable, if not enjoyable.

Using fairy tales as a teaching tool ties in with my philosophy that young children learn through play. Thus, I plan to include dramatizations of fairy tales both structured and unstructured in this unit. When children play or pretend in the classroom, they often work through new material presented to them in a way that is meaningful to them.

Implementation

I will limit this unit to using two fairy tales, “The Three Little Pigs,” and “Hansel and Gretel.” It can be argued that “The Three Little Pigs” is not a fairy tale since it does not contain a magical element. “The Three Little Pigs,” although commonly and loosely referred to as a fairy tale, does not in fact retain an unvarying sequence of episodes or deeply magical happenings (Favat 7-8). However, more recently, “The Three Little Pigs,” is indeed included in fairy tale collections. I chose “The Three Little Pigs” and “Hansel and Gretel” because both stories deal with leaving home, an experience that can cause great separation anxiety. In “The Three Little Pigs,” the pigs leave their parent’s home and each has to build their own house. In “Hansel and Gretel,” the children leave their parent’s home and find another house made out of gingerbread and occupied by a witch.

            Within the framework of a unit, I generally follow a basic and consistent order. First I read a story aloud to the class. This is a different story each day, or as the students begin to obtain longer attention spans, an easy chapter book can be read over a period of days. The students role is just to listen. Then we have a short discussion about the story. We then go on to some movement with songs. After the students have had an opportunity for movement, I begin our shared reading. Shared reading employs a text that is visible to all students. The teacher reads most of the story the first day, tracking the print as she reads. Students are then asked to participate in some way during the next four readings of the same text. For this unit, “The Three Little Pigs” and “Hansel and Gretel” will be my shared readings. After whole-class work, the students are dismissed to their committees, where they do small group work. The committees work in the following way. The class is divided heterogeneously into four groups, each group will do one committee per day until every group has completed all four committees. When the students are done with their committees, they move to the work board. The work board is a menu of three different independent activities for each of the four groups. The work board activities change daily.

Committee Activities For “The Three Little Pigs”:

1. Students make a model of a house out of straw. Using clean milk cartons from the cafeteria, and a paper plate as a base, students will glue straw onto the milk carton until it is covered. Students will observe the texture, weight, color and smell of the straw. Students will observe the time it takes to complete their house.

2. Students make a model of a house out of sticks. Using clean milk cartons from the cafeteria, a paper plate for a base, and sticks collected by the students during a walking field trip, students will glue the sticks onto the milk carton until it is covered. Students observe the texture, weight, and color of the sticks. Students observe the time it takes to complete their house.

3. Students make a model of a house out of stones. Using clean milk cartons from the cafeteria, a paper plate for a base, and stones collected by the students during a walking field trip, students glue the stones onto the milk carton until it is covered. Students observe the texture, weight, and color of the stones. Students observe the time it takes to complete their house.

4. Students work with the assistant on recreating the pigs’ houses out of three large cardboard boxes, paint and markers. When they are complete, they will be used in the drama center.

Independent Work board Activities

Each committee group has three work board activities to do after they finish their committee work. They are:

1. Buddy Reading: These are books that are familiar to the students and are at the students’           independent reading level. At the beginning of the year, there are not many books that students can read by themselves. However, there are books that I have read to them during read aloud or shared reading that they can retell to each other and practice tracking print. There will be two groups who do this each day but at different times.

2. Computers: Students use computers to work on phonemic awareness. We have five computers in the classroom with various phonemic awareness programs. Two groups will do this activity, but at different times.

3. Read Around the Room: Students use wooden pointers made by the teacher to point to words as they “read” them. They read posters, student work, bulletin boards, the alphabet, etc. Two       groups will do this activity, but at different times.

4. Listening Center: Students listen to stories on tape and follow along in the book.                         One group will do this activity each day.

5. Writing Center: Students will “write” and draw about topic from the current unit. Alphabet stamps, markers, colored pencils, colored paper and thematic word wall with pictures are available as references for student use. Two groups will use this each day, but not at the same time.

6. Story Center: Finger puppets, puppet theater, and books are available for students to create oral stories on theme of current unit. One group per day will do this activity.

7. Art Center: Paper, markers, scissors, glue, craft sticks are available for students to create art, puppets, masks, etc. for theme of current unit. These can then be used in the story center. One group per day will do this activity.

8. Puzzles and Games: Large floor puzzles, small wooden puzzles, alphabet puzzles, and various games are available for student use. One group per day will do this activity.

9. Drama Center: After the three houses have been completed, they will be in the drama                 center for students to use in acting out stories. Two groups per day will do this activity, but at different times.

Lesson one

I start this lesson with a whole-class discussion about homes. Children have the opportunity to share who lives in their homes, what their bedrooms are like, if they share a bedroom with other siblings. Students draw a picture of their homes and who lives in them. Teacher and assistant take dictation from students about their art work. Student work is displayed in the classroom. Students share their pictures and dictated text with the class.

Lesson two

I conduct a picture walk of the big book “The Three Little Pigs” (Stoneway Books). Students provide predictions and prior knowledge of the story. I then begin a shared reading of “The Three Little Pigs,” inviting students to “read” along during the repetitive phrases:   “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin,” “ I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.” This is the first day of this committee cycle. After the whole-class shared reading of the story, I introduce the committees, and the students go to their assigned committee work tables.   After they have completed their committees, they proceed to the independent activities on the work board.

Lesson three

I read “The Three Little Pigs” published by Creative Learner with flannel board visuals. Then we do a shared reading of “The Three Little Pigs,” again, inviting students to join in on the repetitive phrases. We have a short class discussion on the differences and similarities of the two stories read. Students go to committees then to the work board.

Lesson four

I read aloud “The Three Little Pigs” by Gavin Bishop. We do a shared reading of “The Three Little Pigs,” students join in on the repetitive phrases. Students are picked at random to point to the first and last word on each page. Students are picked at random to find the word “pig” on various pages. Students go to committees then to the work board.

Lesson five

I read aloud “The Three Little Pigs, Nacho Tito, and Miguel” by Bobbi Salinas. We discuss the differences between this book and the other versions of The Three Little Pigs we have read. How is the story by Bobbie Salinas different from the rest we have read so far? What is different in the illustrations? Have they seen houses built from adobe here in Albuquerque? We do a shared reading of “The Three Little Pigs”. Some students are picked at random to use highlighter tape to find words with beginning sounds chosen by the class. Students are dismissed to committees and then to the work board.

Lesson six

I read aloud “The Three Little Pigs” by Paul Galdone . We have a class discussion about all of the versions we have read. We discuss a little history of fairy tales and why there are several different versions of the same story. I inform the students that fairy tales evolved from oral folk tales that were changed by the listeners to reflect their society. Students make paper plate masks of their favorite character from a version of the story. Students act out a story, which can be a combination of several versions, in small groups for the class using their masks they have made and the three houses made for the drama center. This lesson may take several days to complete, depending on how long the children work on their story to be performed. We will probably only have time for one or two performances a day. If time permits, we will invite other literacy classes to view the performances.

Lesson seven

I begin this lesson by asking the students if they have heard the story of “Hansel and Gretel.” The students share their knowledge of the story. I inform the students that “Hansel and Gretel” is a fairy tale that, as we have learned from “The Three Little Pigs,” there are many different version of this story as well. I proceed with a picture walk of the big book, “Hansel and Gretel: A Full Color Storybook” (Stoneway Books). I read the story aloud to the class. We have a short class discussion about the story. Is it the same story they had heard before? What was their favorite part or character? The students draw and “write” about their favorite part of the story. The students dictate to me and the assistant what they want to say about their drawing. Students share their work by “reading” their dictated text to the class. The students’ work is displayed in the classroom for “read around the room” work board activity.

Committees for “Hansel and Gretel”:

1. Using a Styrofoam plate as a base, students decorate an adobe style house previously made by me using graham crackers and icing. Students use decorating bags filled with icing to “glue” candies to their house. Students observe details of the gingerbread houses of different versions of “Hansel and Gretel” and adobe houses from various books and magazines, including      Bobbie Salinas’s version of “The Three Little Pigs.”

2. Students work with my assistant to transform two of the little pig houses made from large cardboard boxes into a gingerbread house and the parent’s house from “Hansel and Gretel.” The students will use paint, butcher paper, markers, etc.

3. Students make masks of characters from “Hansel and Gretel” using paper plates,               markers, buttons, various collage items. Students act out story or scenes from Hansel and Gretel.

4. Students draw a picture of the witch from the story of “Hansel and Gretel.” Students “write” about the witch using invented or “kid” writing. Students then make a witch from sugar cookie dough and decorate it how they please. Students make the witch disappear by eating their cookie.

Work board Activities for “Hansel and Gretel”

1. Listening Center: Students listen to “Hansel and Gretel” on tape and follow along in the book. Two groups do this each day, but at different times.

2.   Writing Center: Students write and draw about the story “Hansel and Gretel”   using markers, alphabet stamps, colored pencils, colored paper. One group does this per day.

3. Art Center: Students will create stick puppets using construction paper, markers, colored pencils, craft sticks to retell the story of “Hansel and Gretel.” One group will do this per day.

4. Read Around the Room: Same as for “The Three Little Pigs.” Two groups do this activity, but
not at the same time.

5. Buddy Reading: Same as for “The Three Little Pigs.” Two groups will do this activity, but not a
the same time.

6. Story Center: Students retell stories of “Hansel and Gretel” using finger puppets, stick puppets, and
puppet theater. One group does this per day.

7. Drama Center: Students act out the story of “Hansel and Gretel” using masks they made earlier
and the cardboard box houses made to represent the parents’ house and the gingerbread house.
One group does this per day.

8. Computers: Same as for “The Three Little Pigs.” Two groups do this per day.

Lesson eight

I read aloud the book, Hansel and Gretel by Jane Ray. We discuss the story and compare it to the big book of “Hansel and Gretel” we read yesterday. We do a shared reading of the the big book Hansel and Gretel. Students participate by locating letters, and words and placing wiki stiks around them directly on the pages of the book. Students are introduced to the new committees and then dismissed to work on committees, then work board activities.

Lesson nine

I read aloud the book, Hansel and Gretel by Linda Hayward. Students predict what will happen next in the story. Students compare illustrations in this story to illustrations in the other two versions we have already read. Student answer questions about the story. What does this story make you think of? Who do you want to be in the story? What would you do if you were Hansel, Gretel, Parents, Witch?   We reread the big book, Hansel and Gretel again as a shared reading, with students participating by predicting words that have been covered up using sticky notes with just the beginning sound exposed. Students are dismissed to committees and then to work board.

Lesson ten

I read aloud the book, Hansel and Gretel, a Read Easy Book with Color Illustrations (Samuel Lowe Company). We have a short class discussion about this version of the story. We reread the big book version of “Hansel and Gretel” as a shared reading. Students participate by some students pointing to the print as we read. Students are dismissed to committee work and work board.

Lesson eleven

I read the story, “Brother and Sister,” by the Brothers Grimm. I do not have an illustrated copy of this story, so the students will use their imaginations to think of how the characters and the setting might look. We have a class discussion about the story and compare it to the others we have already read. We do another shared reading of the big book of “Hansel and Gretel.” Students illustrate their favorite part of “Brother and Sister.” Students “write” about their favorite part of the story. Students are dismissed to committee work and work board. Students share illustrations and writings about Brother and Sister. “Student work is displayed in the classroom for “read around the room.”

Performance Assessment

We have a class discussion about the two stories The Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel. The students are reminded that these stories are very old and they were originally oral folk tales. Different tribes changed the stories to reflect their community. How are they alike? How are they different? What does each story make you think about? Who would you like to be in each story? If you could change one or both of the stories, what changes would you make? Did you like one story more than the others? Why? We do a shared writing activity and rewrite one of the stories to reflect our classroom community. As a class we decide how our new story will unfold. I do the writing on chart paper. Once our story is complete, the students create illustrations. Each committee group illustrates a portion of the story. I rewrite the story on plain white paper and paste the appropriate text to the illustrations. We read the story when it is completed and keep it in our classroom library for buddy reading. The chart paper I wrote the original story on is displayed in the room for read around the room.

District Standards

Kindergarten Language Arts Performance Standards

1. Recognizes beginning consonant letter-sound associations in one-syllable words
2. Follows words from left to right and top to bottom
3. Distinguishes between letters and words
4. Points out the spaces between words
5. Points to words using one-to-one correspondence
6. Reads or attempts to read own dictated story
7. Uses pictures, prior knowledge, and context to make predictions about story content
8. Uses prior knowledge to respond to texts
9. Asks and answers questions (e.g., who what when where why, how) about essential elements of text
10. Identifies the differences between the roles of author and illustrator
11. Compares different versions of the same story
12. Identifies characters, setting, and important events
13. Retells or dramatizes a variety of literature (e.g., stories, parts of stories, songs, rhymes, fairy tales)
14. Describes the beginning, middle, and end of a variety of stories
15. Recognizes similarities and differences of various cultures in a variety of texts
16. Represents spoken language through the use of phonemic awareness and letter recognition, using developmental and/or conventional spelling
17. Analyzes the sounds in a word and writes dominant consonant letters
18. Develops awareness of the elements of effective writing (i.e., idea, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions)
19. Writes or uses written symbols (e.g., drawings, letter strings, scribbles, letter approximations) to express meaning
20. Writes own name
21. Shares written work with others to express meaning
22. Dictates a story with a beginning, middle, and end based on own experience
23. Develops awareness of speaking strategies by taking turns, expressing ideas, asking and answering questions (e.g., who, what, when, where, why, how) to clarify understanding about a topic or essential elements in a text
24. Develops awareness of speaking and language conventions
o       uses correct words to name objects or describe action
o       uses a variety of sentence patterns
o       shares information and ideas using complete coherent sentences
25. Develops awareness of appropriate types of speaking for a variety of purposes:
o       retells or dramatizes stories or part of stories
o       uses speaking skills to connect related experiences and discover relationships

Documentation

Bibliography

Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.

Favat, F. Andre. Child and Tale: The Origins of Interest. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 1977.

Shavit, Zohar. “The Concept of Childhood and Children’s Folktales: Test Case - “Little Red Riding Hood.” The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. 317-332.

Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tale As Myth Myth as Fairy Tale. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1994.

Teacher Resources

Creative Learner. Favorite Flannel board Stories: The Three Little Pigs. Newark:
            Bemiss-Jason Corporation.

This is a flannel board story kit. It includes a story of “The Three Little Pigs,” flocked cardboard flannel board characters and scenes, flocked sight words, reproducible masters, and instruction guide.

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. “Brother and Sister.”

Hallett, Martin., Barbara Karasek. eds. Folk and Fairy Tales. Ontario: Broadview Press, 1998.

Includes many fairy tales throughout the history of the genre and critical articles.

Mallett, Carl-Heinz. Fairy Tales and Children: The Psychology of Children Revealed through Four of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. New York: Schocken Books, 1984.

         Mallett analyzes “Hansel and Gretel,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Boy Who Set Out to Learn Fear,” and “The Goose Girl.”

Sullivan, Donna. Make Your Own Fable and Fairy Tale Books. Huntington Beach: Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1987.

This is a reproducible book with several fairy tale book templates that children can color and write their own stories. Recommended for grades 1-4.

Tatar, Maria ed. The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.

            Several versions of many fairy tales are included in this collection. Many would not be appropriate for young children. However, this is a good read for teachers.

Zipes, Jack. Creative Storytelling : Building Community, Changing Lives. New York: Routledge, 1995.

This has a lot of good ideas for implementing storytelling and dramatizing stories in the classroom.

---. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion. New York: Routledge, 1991.

---. When Dreams Came True. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Classroom Resources

Bishop, Gavin. The Three Little Pigs. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1989.

The first two pigs get eaten by the wolf. The third pig tricks the wolf and ends up eating the wolf.

Celsi, Teresa. The Fourth Little Pig. Austin: Steck-Vaughn, 1992.

Traditional three pigs story where all three pigs seek refuge in the brick house. A fourth pig sister comes to visit the pigs and they are afraid to open the door. This story sends the message that you still need to live your life in spite of fears you may have.

Disney, Walt. The Three Little Pigs. Racine: Golden Press Western Publishing Company, Inc.,               1981.

Typical Disney book - the first two pigs escape to the third pig’s house. The wolf runs away after landing in a pot of boiling water.

Galdone, Paul. The Three Little Pigs. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1970.

First two pigs get eaten by the wolf. Third pig eats the wolf.

Gross, Ruth Belov. Hansel and Gretel. Scholastic Book Services.

With black and white illustrations, this book may be appropriate for grades 2-4.

Gross, Ruth Belov. Hansel and Gretel. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1988.

This book has full- color illustrations that K-2 students would enjoy.

Hayward, Linda. Hansel and Gretel. New York: Random House, 1974.

Lorenz, Albert. House. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1998.

            This book shows how people have lived throughout history with examples
                        drawn from the lives of legendary men and women. Although this book is far above the primary                           student’s reading level, children will enjoy looking at the beautiful illustrations of different houses                           as they build the pigs’ houses and the gingerbread house.

Marshall, James. Hansel and Gretel. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1990.

Basic “Hansel and Gretel” story with James Marshall’s wonderful illustrations.

Pollard, Nan. Illus. Hansel and Gretel. Kenosha: Samuel Lowe Company, 1974.

Large print makes this book appealing to students who are capable readers.

Ray, Jane. Hansel and Gretel. Cambridge: Candlewick Press,1997.

             Beautifully illustrated, this classic story is great for read alouds.

Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of The Three Little Pigs!. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1989.

Told from the wolf’s perspective, this is an interesting and humorous tale.

Three Little Pigs. Southeastern, PA: Stoneway Books, 1987.

This is a big book, great for shared reading. The first two pigs escape from the wolf and seek refuge in the third pig’s house. The wolf’s tail gets burned and he runs away.

Three Little Pigs. Los Angeles: Gallery Books, 1975.

The first two pigs escape from the wolf and find refuge in the third pig’s house. The wolf dies in a pot of boiling water.

Trivizas, Eugene. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. New York: Scholastic Inc.,                1993.

This book depicts the wolves as soft and cuddly creatures who set out to build their own house. Of course, there is a big bad pig in the neighborhood. It gets a little violent when the pig uses dynamite to blow up the wolves’ house. However, it does have a happy ending.

Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books, 2001.

The three pigs escape the wolf by jumping out of the story. They encounter other characters from different children’s stories.

Wolf, Tony. The Three Little Pigs. Montreal: Tormont Publications Inc., 1994.

This is a pop-up book. The first two pigs escape to the third pig’s house. The wolf runs away after he burns his tail in the fire.