“Chicken Little” is a very good story for young students, with its high level of repetition and simple, cumulative story. But I also like it as a lead-in to science and lifeskill issues for the older ones. “Chicken Little” is also sometimes called “Chicken Licken” or “Henny Penny.” By any… Continue reading
“Cinderella” is one of the best-known and best-loved of all fairy tales, and for good reason. It’s a dramatic story with a strong moral. The story tells of a virtuous, hard-working young girl who is mistreated by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters and forced to sit among the ashes and… Continue reading
Folk and fairy tales are suggested in our state frameworks for students from kindergarten through middle school. They are a good example of a literary form, great for studying story elements, and always bring up interesting character points. One fairy tale that’s well suited to multiple grade levels is Jack and… Continue reading
“The Princess and the Pea” is another tale by Hans Christian Andersen, though he himself said that it was a story he remembered from his childhood. The Brothers Grimm included a similar story in one of their collections in the 1840s, but removed it when they found that Andersen had… Continue reading
Beauty and the Beast” is, along with “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Little Mermaid,” a popular fairy tale that has an author. While it has been suggested that “Cupid and Psyche” must be the original “Beauty and the Beast,” the story that we know was written by Madame Leprince de… Continue reading
Folk and fairy tales are in our state’s standards up to 7th grade, and Rapunzel is an ideal fairy tale for use with older students. Preschool teacher Margaret Elkins says she uses it with the younger ones, too, by focusing on the theme of love. The husband loved his wife… Continue reading
Writing well involves choosing the right words — exactly the right words — to say what you want to say. This is easier if you know more words. For that reason, as well as the benefit for a reader or test taker of having a large vocabulary, it’s worth studying… Continue reading
“The Ugly Duckling” is not a fairy tale, since there are no magical elements, and it is not a folk tale, since we know that it was written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1844. It is probably best described as a fable– that is, a story that makes a point… Continue reading
Rumpelstiltskin is a story from the Brothers Grimm. In the story, a miller claims that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The king demands that she prove it. She is locked in a room full of straw, despairing, when a funny little man comes in and offers to do… Continue reading
Hansel and Gretel is a good, horrible fairy tale for when you want a creepy story. The University of Pittsburgh collection contains the basic Grimm’s version. The story is certainly among the most familiar of fairy tales. A poor woodcutter and his wife, faced with starvation, abandon their two children… Continue reading
