Fractured Fairy Tale Activities

Today started much the same as our Fairy Tale Breakfast Morning on Thursday. We made porridge (oatmeal to be exact) and we went for a short walk to let it cool off a little. Sound familiar?
As soon as we had decided on oatmeal for breakfast, my 6 year old ran off to get the servings conversion chart she had made last week. She wanted to refer to it while she and her sister made breakfast for four.

My little KindergartenDropOut requested Goldilocks once again during breakfast but I had another book in mind - The True Story of the Three Little Pigs written by Jon Scieska. This was suitable for today's topic - fractured fairy tales.

The Telephone Game

To introduce the topic, I talked about how stories survived through the telling and retelling of fables. To illustrate how this may result in slightly different versions of stories, we played the 'telephone' game. One person whispers a sentence into someone's ear. That second person whispers it into the next person's ear. And so on if you have more players. The last person says it aloud. Then the first person reveals what they really said and everyone hears how the sentence changed after being retold several times.

What is a Fractured Fairytale?

Afterwards, we discussed... What is a fractured fairy tale? Then, using the book How to Write a Fractured Fairy Tale as reference, we talked about the different ways a fairy tale could be retold. We also noted that the story we just read was retold in a different point of view - that of the wolf.

Brainstorming Fractured Fairy Tale Titles

After breakfast, I took out the dry erase board and asked them to name some good characters, then bad characters, and last I asked for some settings. I wrote their responses into 3 columns. Here is what we ended up with...

*They added themselves to the list. I've replaced their names with the
nicknames I use for them on this blog. **The baby sea turtle is our mascot;
she is usually included in all of our activities.

Then, I told them, if read side by side, these could be titles of new fairy tales and a way to inspire some writing. So, for example, we could write a story about Snow White and the Evil KDO in the future!

They were excited to read each one through. Once reaching the bottom KDO decided to fill in the rest of the row that starts with Baby Turtle. She said "How about Baby Turtle and Dr. Doofenshmirtz Under the Sea?" Ballerina added "Baby Turtle could be like Perry." (Dr. Doofenshmirtz - an evil character - and Perry - a spy platypus - are characters from the tv show Phineas and Ferb).

I think this got them a little excited and they both told, out loud, their version of the 3 Little Pigs.

Fairy Tale Writing on a Dry Erase Board

Next, I asked them to come up with a fractured fairy tale or a whole new tale of their own. They were to write the When/Where (setting), Who (characters), What (problem/conflict), and the Ending of their stories. Instead of paper and pencil, we used dry erase board to make writing fun.

KDO's story map:
Once upon a time in a castle, far, far away
People that are horses and unicorns
want to cook but don't know what to cook
So they look in a cookbook
[They] cook[ed] eggy-potaty

Note: She calls egg salad "eggy-potaty"

I first took a smaller erase board to model what they needed to do and gave these examples:

When/Where: In the year 3214, under the sea

Who: there were 3 Baby Sea Turtles and the Big Bad Shark

What: The shark wanted to eat the poor baby turtles

Ending (KDO volunteered to finish the story map):
The baby turtles went to look for their mommy and daddy. They helped the baby turtles get to shore away from the shark.

Next they took turns on the dry erase board. To the left is KindergartenDropOut's story along with illustrations.

More Fractured Fairy Tale Ideas for a 10 year old

My ten-year-old Ballerina has been reading a series of books she found at the library. Her choosing of these books was one of the things that inspired me to do some fractured fairy tale activities. Here are the books she read:

When my kids come across a book they really enjoy, I look up activities or lessons online for ideas. I've discovered some times you can find lesson plans, study guides or book-related activities on the author's website or the publisher's website. The author of these particular books is Adam Gidwitz. On his website, you can find a teacher's guide for A Tale Dark and Grimm. It's filled with lesson plans to last your for a few weeks.

For my 10-year-old I chose 3 activities:

1 - I had my daughter choose some vocabulary words from one of the suggested lists in the guide. However, we used them to create vocabulary wands - a craft she chose to do after seeing how fun it was for her younger sister.

2 - I had her pick a fairy tale. This time to rewrite it's ending in the writing style of Adam Gidwitz.

3 - In her sketchbook, I asked her to draw an illustration of one of the characters using the character traits she read in the beginning chapter of A Tale Dark and Grimm.

If you like these activities make sure to check out our full list of fairy tale activities.

Enchanting Castle Posters: Fairytale Story Map Project

Welcome back to our fairy tale lesson plan series. My kids have been reading several classic fairy tale books. I asked them to choose one of the stories to create a fairy tale poster.

Originally, I was looking online for a free printable story map, but as it usually happens - I didn't print it out.

Don't get me wrong, I did find something I liked.

I liked this one from education.com

... and this one from Simply Sweet Teaching

But my kids have made it perfectly clear that they "love art" and "making stuff." So... I tend to use worksheets as guides or to get ideas of what to teach next. Instead of giving the kids, say, a printed chart, I have them draw it. And just about every time, writing has to be coupled with drawing. So inspired by these two cute castle story maps, I came up with this fairy tale project

Castle Story Map Poster

I gave them a big white paper, construction paper, pencils, markers, glue, and crayons. I had cut a few shapes out of color paper to show them how they could be pieced together to make a castle. My instructions were simple: use any color construction paper to make the pieces for your castle. The shapes I cut can be used as templates, if they wished, but they had to make their own. I usually don't give lots of instruction and I only help if they ask for it. This is how I choose to help them become good problem solvers.

Quick Q&A (what my 6 year old asked):
Q. Can my castle be different than yours? A. Yes
Q. Can I use glitter? A. Yes

For the writing portion of this project. I asked them to write the title, setting, magical elements, bad characters, good characters, the problem, and the ending (how the problem got solved). Along with the writing, I suggested they add illustrations, maybe a favorite character, and a favorite scene.

MyBallerina chose "The Three Little Pigs." Here's her poster:

KinderDropOut chose "Goldilocks." Here's her poster:

Goldilocks Inspired Tea Party

As part of our Fairy Tale Theme Unit,
we had a Tea Party à la Goldilocks!

After our first Fairy Tale Lesson, my KinderDropOut (age 6) read Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson. The story ends with the 3 Bears and Goldilocks having blueberry muffins and tea. This inspired our outdoor tea party. The girls made muffins, using the recipe - Papa Bear's Blueberry Muffins - included at the end of the book. While they worked together, I prepared a non-caffeinated tea I already had in my cupboards.

Recipe can be found at the end of the book - Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson.

By cooking together, my hope is that the girls will build a strong bond as sisters and learn to work well as a team.

I filled a tote bag with a bottle of honey, a bottle of milk, muffins in tupperware, a blanket, tea cups, napkins, and the Goldilocks book. With tote bag and tea kettle in hand, we headed outside.

My toddler sipped almond milk instead of tea.

While they sipped their tea and had blueberry muffins topped with honey, I read Goldilocks. After tea, they played and enjoyed being outdoors.

Learning Spanish with Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The day ended nicely with a bedtime story of Goldilocks in Spanish. I used a board book titled: Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Ositos. My kids speak some Spanish but they don't read Spanish independently yet. 

For beginning Spanish students, try reading a baby board book (a Spanish version of something you already read) then have your kids use the pictures as clues to what the words mean. It's ok if they don't understand all the words. And don't worry too much about pronunciation, if you're just getting started. Naturally, we all learn to speak first; pronunciation and writing comes later. Treat Spanish-learning in terms of baby steps (first words), toddler stage (phrases & short sentences), and school age (pronunciation, reading, and writing).

Make sure to check out the rest of our fairy tale activities!

Once Upon A Fairy Tale Lesson...

What is a Fairy Tale?

We started our fairy tale unit, outside, in the fresh air. We sat in our backyard on a beach mat. First, I asked the kids "What is a Fairy Tale?" and "What do we know about Fairy Tales?" After hearing their responses, we discussed what things one might find in a fairy tale.

What Might you Find in a Fairy Tale?

I took three stories and read only the first and last sentence of each. Cinderella, Snow White, and The Three Little Pigs all started with a version of "Once Upon A Time.." and ended with something similar to "happily ever after." I also noted how there are sets of threes in The 3 Little Pigs, Goldilocks, and The 3 Billy Goats Gruff. I went on to list common elements and they came up with a few on their own such as "princesses being kissed by a prince."

List of Common Elements in Fairy Tales:

• Begins with "Once upon a time..." or take place long ago.
• Ends with "happily ever after" or a happy ending.
• Reoccurring elements or sets of three's or seven's (three bears, seven dwarfs)
• Good characters such as a hero or prince
• Bad characters such as a witch or evil stepmother
• Magical elements, fantasy such as talking animals
• Setting in a castle, or forest
• The story has problem or conflict
• The problem is solved

To conclude,  I read to them The Three Little Pigs. Afterwards, I showed them a collection of books - all fairy tales - we had at home and some I checked out at the library. I left it up to them to choose which and when to read.

List of Fairy Tale Books we used:

Disney's Magical Tales Set:
Charming Tales & Enchanted Tales

Fairy Tale Paper Basket Activity

I read The Three Billy Goats Gruff to my toddler right before his nap. Then, during his nap the girls worked on the small woven paper basket craft that I posted a few weeks ago.

We usually do a craft project while he sleeps because the girls stay concentrated and keep quiet for their little brother. I did not plan the baskets as part of our fairy tale unit but it went so well with it because the kids noticed baskets and weaving in a couple of stories they read.

These are perfect for going outside to collect flowers. Click here for the paper basket tutorial for kids.

For all our fairy tale activities go to Fairy Tale Unit Activities.

Fun Fairy Tale Inspired Activities

We recently finished our Fairy Tale Unit. It was lots of fun with a variety of projects from baking to video-logging. I'm sure we covered science, math, art, reading, writing, and more.

I'm working on posting all our activities. As I get them done, I'll be posting links to each below. The basket craft is already linked. Make sure to come back for the next installment of this adventure.

Our activities included:

1. Re-Discovering Your Favorite Fairy Tales

Answering the question "What is a Fairy Tale?" then finding common elements in your favorite classic fairy tale stories.

2. Small Paper Basket Craft
This craft fits nicely with a fairy tale unit as some characters have baskets and there is mention of weaving. For this project all you need is recycled magazine pages and glue!

3. Goldilocks-Inspired Tea Party
Baking muffins, learning Spanish and an outdoor tea party - all inspired by the fairy tale story of Goldilocks.

4. Fairytale Breakfast

Servings conversion chart (math activity), and cooking porridge.

5. Fairy Tale Castle Poster

Map out elements of a fairy tale story using construction paper.

6. Fractured Fairy Tale Activities

Discussion of What is a Fractured Fairy Tale? How to Write a Fractured Fairy Tale? Playing the telephone game, writing and art activities.

7. Video-Logging

Hear about some of these activities from the kids!
My girls have been video-logging their days and responding to their projects. I'm excited to share these soon.