Once Upon A Time

 

We are loving reading and learning about fairy tales.  Every day at read aloud we have been discovering a new tale and having lively discussions about the literary elements.  First,  though the children have to discover the day's fairy tale.  We have a mystery box with an artifact from a particular tale.  The students have to ask questions about the object in the box to solve the riddle.  For instance, of the tale Cinderella, there was a glass slipper in the box.  The students asked questions like, "Can you wear it?" and "Is it breakable?"  In the mystery box we have found The Three Bear's bowl, Jack's magic beans, Rumpelstiltskin's golden thread, Cinderella's shoe, the Emperor's invisible suit, and Rapunzel's long hair.  Besides read aloud, students have been reading fairy tales independently, with a partner, and even in plays.

In our fairy tale study, we have learned about the elements of a fairy tale.  For instance, in fairy tales there is usually magic and the numbers 3 or 7 are important.  We have also learned about the protagonist and and the antagonist.  After we read the story, we chart the different elements in the fairy tale.  The discussions have been so interesting.  We had a lengthy debate about Jack and the Beanstalk and whether or not Jack was really a "good" character.  Some students thought he shouldn't be the hero because he stole from the giant and became greedy.

 Through the discussions, the children are learning to share their opinions, justify their thoughts using text evidence, and respectfully agree and disagree with their classmates different points of view.  We  also, by making an fairy tale elements chart, have been able to compare and contrast the different fairy tales.  The children are enjoying the fairy tales so much, they have no idea how many language arts objectives they are learning. 

 

 

After reading several of the classic fairy tales, we began reading fractured fairy tales.  In the fractured fairy tales, the author takes a familiar tale and switches it up a bit.  For example, we read a books called Sleeping Ugly and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.  So fun!  They have been having so much fun in fact, they have been making up their own fairy tales during centers.  You can really see their great imaginations shining through.