Classroom subject areas
“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
The story of Aladdin comes from or The 1,001 Nights, a collection of traditional stories from the Middle East. In the story, a young boy is approached by a man who claims to be his uncle. Actually a powerful magician, the supposed uncle leads Aladdin to a cave containing… 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
More than 11% of American adults read or listen to poetry for pleasure. That’s more than 29 million people. And it doesn’t include people who listen to the lyrics of music or sing the words of songs. Poetry may seem like something extra or inessential, but it brings pleasure and… 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
Ogres, giants, and trolls have some things in common. All of them are human-like, big, and usually scary creatures from fairy tales and folktales. All of them are known for eating people, especially children. But they are not the same. The word “ogre” was first published in Charles Perrault’s Puss… 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
