Week 3--What is a fable?

Today the goal was to review with the kids what fairy tales and folk tales were and contrast them with fables (which we were going to learn about today). I was pleasantly surprised to find that they remembered almost everything we had talked about the previous 3 weeks!

We then did a game I called "Fairy Freeze." This was an exercise where I would call out animal movements like "waddle like a penguin," "soar like an eagle," "scurry like a mouse" or "sleep like a lion!" They loved it and all of them got so into it by making noises and everything!

I wanted to get them moving with this activity and also give them an intro into talking about the animals in our story, a lion and a mouse. I also told them that the people who participated well in this activity would get to help me tell a story later on, and that made them all a LOT more willing to do what they should!

From here, we came back to the rug and I pulled out my lion and mouse puppets. One student got to be the mouse and the other got to be the lion. I then passed out some string for 5 students to be the "hunters" in the story. I told the story and helped the kids with the puppets tell the story by telling them to make the noises at the right time, and make the puppets do what they need to in the story, etc.

The kids loved being "the hunters" and tying the lion up. I actually had to tell them to sit back down after they were done putting their piece of yarn on the lion because they were loving tangling him all up!

When I asked boy who was playing the lion to "roar" like the lion, he did a VERY impressive lion noise, and moved the mouse so well that the rest of the class giggled in delight (I may or may not have giggled right along with them)!

We then talked about the elements of fables and I asked them what the moral of the story of the lion and the mouse was.

From here, I split them into 3 groups by having them do a toe-to-toe exercise and I gave them each a poster where I explained to them that they were going to write everything they knew about fairy tales/folk tales/fables (depending on which poster they got). They could write or draw anything to do about the genre they got.

I loved the pictures that the kids chose to draw. They all had to do with the genre and it really showed me just how creative these kids are.

Once they were done with that, they were to come up with a story that fit in their genre to perform for the class. This was a pre-assessment for me to see how well they performed in front of their peers.

I feel like this activity went really well, especially since Mrs. Larsen and I went between the 3 groups and made sure they were doing well. The fairy tale group had a hard time working together as a group at first and the narrators got so involved in the story, they forgot to narrate it. But it was a great version of Jack and the Beanstalk!

We also had a great rendition of "The Three Little Pigs" where they used their desks as their three houses and "The Lion and the Mouse" with the greatest casting of the mouse ever (see the girl in blonde below). Also, the boy in the blue striped shirt was a great narrator.

Next time, I would end with a more solid wrap-up where we talk more about the differences between the genres and what we saw in each performance. I learned that I need to have a better follow up to wrap the lesson all together.

I just LOVED seeing these kids interact with the stories today and create their very own performances. It was extremely rewarding for me. Kids are so creative!

Week 2--What is a Folk Tale?

The first three weeks I have set up so that each week we learn about each of the kinds of stories we'll be dealing with in this unit: fairy tales, folk tales, and then fables. So this week I needed to introduce the wonderful world of folk tales and I decided to do it through the story of the Three Little Pigs. (*note: the line between folk and fairy tales is VERY blurred. I realize that this story can be classified as a fairy tale, but for our purposes today, we're treating it as a folk tale.)

So today I started the kids out with a game called "Ice Wizard." It is similar to the activity we did last week in that I use my magic wand although this time  when you say they all turn into something, then they melt onto the ground and turn into something else (i.e. animals, dancers, basketball players, soliders, robots, aliens, mermaids, kings, etc.). The kids LOVED "melting" on to the ground. It was a great warm-up!

I then had the kids all come back to the rug and I assigned them all a part in the story of "The Three Little Pigs." I didn't worry about having only one person play each part, I just let however many kids wanted to play the part play it together and they were totally content with that (I think the warm-up game really helped them see how they could all be something together, like pigs, princesses or whatever).

Then once everyone had a part, I started telling the story of the pigs going out to seek their fortune and told each group of "pigs" (Pig 1, 2, and 3) to go to different corners of the room. Then I told the story of how the wolf visited each pig (after they all built their straw, stick, and brick houses...respectively) and the wolves visited each pig until the very last house where they fell into a boiling pot of water. They had so much fun, they wanted to do it again!

I can't tell you how delightful it was to see all the "pigs" huddled in the corner of the classroom giggling as they waited for the "wolves" to come to the last brick house and fall into the boiling pot of water!

After we had our fun acting out the story of The Three Little Pigs, we came back to the rug and read "The TRUE Story of the Three Little Pigs"

After which, we talked about the HUGE differences between this story and the one we acted out. I also asked the kids to help me identify the following things in each story:

• The problem and solution 
• The sequence of events 
• and the central message.

Then, I reminded the kids of the telephone activity we did last week where the object was changed the more times we told it and related that to folk tales. Folk tales were originally told by word of mouth, so that's why there are so many different versions out there. And we read a second version of our folk tale:

This is a great book because it takes a huge spin on the original story because the "big, bad pig" uses things like sledgehammers and dynamite to knock down the wolves' houses. Not to mention the plot twist in the end when the wolves befriend the pig. The kids got quite a kick out of this version and comparing it to the other two versions!

For the final part of this lesson, I had them do a mini assessment where they each got to create their title for their own version of "The Three Little Pigs" story. Once they had an idea of how they would change the story, they wrote it down on a piece of paper that they handed into Mrs. Larsen.

It was sure fun to see their creativity and what they thought would be fun to write about. Some stayed true to the pigs and wolves theme, but there were other pretty creative titles that would make a great story. My favorite? "The Three Little Ninjas and the Big, Bad, Samurai." Now wouldn't that make a great children's book?

Overall, I think the lesson went great and I was impressed on how well the kids understood the concept of folk tales and them being fluid and able to be changed. I think it's a great way to instill some critical thinking skills in kids--comparing the three stories really made them think!

Week 1--Introduction to Fairy Tales

Today was my first day at Elk Meadows in Mrs. Larsen's class!

Today my objective was just to get the kids thinking about fairy tales and opening their minds to the different kinds of fairy tales as well as the parts of a fairy tale. So I started out with a variation of the game "Telephone." Instead of having the kids pass a bit of information down the line vocally, I had them pantomime an object down the line. I split the class into two and then put each group into a line. Then I had everyone but the first people in each line turn their back while I showed them the object (my objects were a pencil and a set of car keys). The kids loved how much the objects changed and having to guess what they were at the end of the line.

Pantomime telephone was a great way to help students see why fairy tales, folk tales, and fables have so many different versions! Because the stories were told orally in the beginning, each storyteller would change the story ever so slightly and that's why we have different versions of so many stories!

After talking about this idea with the students, I read them one of my favorite stories out of this magical book:

I chose "Aladdin" because the story is fantastic and it is quite different from the Disney version. In this version, Aladdin doesn't pretend to be a prince and Jasmine is kidnapped by an evil magician so Aladdin has to travel halfway across the world to find her. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and really make the story come alive.

So because I knew most of the kids were familiar with the Disney version, I asked the students what the difference was between the two stories. I was definitely surprised at the students' insight. They picked up on a lot of subtleties I didn't expect them to get!

I also had them answer some questions about the who, where, why, and when of the story as well as I pointed out some of the key elements of fairy tales found in this story of Aladdin.

THEN I introduced my "Magic Wand" and I did an activity called "Fairy Freeze" where I had them walk around like different characters in the story (i.e. the evil magician, Jasmine, Aladdin, and the genie in the lamp). Then I had them choose their favorite to walk around as and see who their classmates chose to be.

I think this was a great way to introduce what we'll be learning about in the next few weeks as well as the element of drama. The kids were delighted and LOVED the activity even though it was simple enough. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring!