When teaching a new comprehension skill, many times I use fairy tales since they are a familiar story to many children. We don't have to take the time to think about the plot of the story and can focus on that skill.
Plot Structure
I love that fairy tales are such simple stories. They are perfect for teaching plot structure, even to older students. Since the stories are familiar (sometimes), they can really hone in on those parts of the plot. Here is an example of how a group of 6th graders used Little Red Riding Hood to show plot structure.
Vocabulary
The rich vocabulary in the tales also allows for great context clues and vocabulary instruction. Kids can get so much out of those tales. Reading this excerpt alone from Rapunzel, you can see all of the great vocabulary students can learn.
Compare and Contrast
And let's not forget comparing and contrasting. Not only can students compare and contrast characters within the fairy tales, but they can compare characters between tales or even types of tales. I spent that summer in graduate school looking at some different versions of Cinderella, and now there are so many others for different tales. I love seeing how different cultures change the tales up a little to meet their needs. Recently, I purchased Petite Rouge by Mike Artell, which is a Cajun version of Little Red Riding Hood. I love reading those with students and then comparing and contrasting the two books ~ characters and all!A few years ago, I worked with my students to see the differences between Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. Here is what we did to see the differences.
So, use those fairy tales in every grade level! Our students can learn so much from them!
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