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Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan
Fairy Tales from Life
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| Grades | 3 – 5 |
| Lesson Plan Type | Unit |
| Estimated Time | Eight 50-minute sessions |
| Lesson Author |
Yankton, South Dakota |
| Publisher |
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OVERVIEW
Students begin by making a list of fairy tales they know, and then brainstorming characteristics that describe those fairy tales. They then use their knowledge of fairy tales to make predictions during a read-aloud of a fairy tale picture book. Next, students work together in small groups to read, discuss, and analyze fairy tales. After compiling a list of common elements, students collaborate on their own original fairy tales—each student decides what kind of experience to write about, composes and revises a fairy tale, and finally presents their story to the rest of the class. The lesson follows a process method that includes peer review and encourages using picture books as models and concludes with individual reflection on the group project and fairy tales.
FEATURED RESOURCES
Fairy Tale Picture Books: This printable page lists recommended fairy tales in picture book format.
Story Map: Use this online tool to analyze fairy tale characters, plots, and settings.
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Picture books are key to the success of this lesson plan, serving as the models and inspiration for students' own compositions. Katie Wood Ray explains why picture books can be effective in the classroom: "Picture books are short, and so considering a structure at work in a shorter text is much easier than in a longer text" (140). As students explore the fairy tale genre in this lesson plan, first by reading fairy tales and then by writing their own fairy tale stories, picture books are the foundation for their work. Ray suggests why picture books work in situations where students use the texts as models for their own writing: "Once writers get an initial understanding of a certain crafted text structure, they will recognize the structure in many other texts" (141). While students could explore fairy tales in many text formats, picture books are especially suited to this activity, as they provide both the basis for genre exploration and text models for student composition.
Further Reading
Ray, Katie Wood. 1999. Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
