Fractured Fairy Tales in Classrooms
Activate
First activate your class by asking them what they know about fairy tales, what are common themes are and why they think there are so many fairy tales. It does not matter what grade you are doing this with, it does not take long for someone to say they are for learning rules and what happens when you break rules.
Fractured fairy tales are a retelling of popular fairy tales but with changes to the characters, setting, or by changing the villain into the hero! This allows students to change and then compare and contrast how different factors change the meaning of the story.
Acquire
Give your students a few different examples of changes that could be made and ask them how this may change the meaning or lesson to be learned from the fairy tale. (For example, What if The Princess and the Frog changed so it was a boy having to kiss a frog princess; would the frog be able to find a boy to kiss her? Would the meaning of the story be the same?) This activity gets students to engage with and critically think about stories that they many have heard their entire lives and take for granted.
Apply
Next it's time for students to write their own fractured fairy tales. There is a great interactive program at www.readwritethink.org that explains what fractured fairy tales are, gives examples and has templates that allow children to organize their ideas to create their own fractured fairy tale. For example, I wrote a fractured version of Little Red Riding Hood, were the meaning of the story is the same (listen to your parents and do not talk to strangers) but the main character is the wolf who wants a friend. The same lesson is learnt but students can debate how changes like these alter the meaning of the story.
First activate your class by asking them what they know about fairy tales, what are common themes are and why they think there are so many fairy tales. It does not matter what grade you are doing this with, it does not take long for someone to say they are for learning rules and what happens when you break rules.
Fractured fairy tales are a retelling of popular fairy tales but with changes to the characters, setting, or by changing the villain into the hero! This allows students to change and then compare and contrast how different factors change the meaning of the story.
Acquire
Give your students a few different examples of changes that could be made and ask them how this may change the meaning or lesson to be learned from the fairy tale. (For example, What if The Princess and the Frog changed so it was a boy having to kiss a frog princess; would the frog be able to find a boy to kiss her? Would the meaning of the story be the same?) This activity gets students to engage with and critically think about stories that they many have heard their entire lives and take for granted.
Apply
Next it's time for students to write their own fractured fairy tales. There is a great interactive program at www.readwritethink.org that explains what fractured fairy tales are, gives examples and has templates that allow children to organize their ideas to create their own fractured fairy tale. For example, I wrote a fractured version of Little Red Riding Hood, were the meaning of the story is the same (listen to your parents and do not talk to strangers) but the main character is the wolf who wants a friend. The same lesson is learnt but students can debate how changes like these alter the meaning of the story.
Little Red Riding Hood
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The Wolf and his New Friend
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Once upon a time, at the edge of big forest, a little girl livved with her mother. SHe always wore a red hat and cape an was called Little Red Riding Hood by everyone who knew her.
One day, Little Red Riding Hood's mother gave her a basket with some cake inside and told her to walk through the to the other side where her grandmother lay sick in bed. "Remember not to talk to strangers!" LIttle Red Riding Hood's mother said. On the way to her grandmother's house, Little red Riding Hood met the Big Bad Wolf. "Where are you going little girl?" he asked with his biggest smile. "To my grandmother's house on the other side of the forest," said Little Red Riding Hood who had forgotten what her mother told her. The wolf took a shortcut and ran ahead to Grandmother's house. When he got there, he went inside and swallowed Grandmother whole! Then he put on her cap and nightgown and climbed into her bed. When Little Red Riding Hood got there, she walked right up to the bed. "Grandmother! What big ears you have," she said. "All the better to hear you with my dear," said the wolf. "And what big eyes you have," she said. "All the better to see you with my dear," said the wolf. "And what big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood. "All the better to eat you with!" said the wolf and he jumped out of bed and started chasing Little Red Riding Hood. A man who was chopping wood in the forest heard Little Red Riding Hood. He came inside and hit the wolf over the head with his axe. The wolf fell to the ground, and Grandmother popped out of his mouth. Then the woodsman, Little Red Riding Hood, and Grandmother all had cake and tea. |
Once upon a time a friendly wolf lived in the dark wooded forest. There came along a little girl with a red riding hooded cape.
"Do you know the way to the town on the other edge of the wood?" asked the Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf was shy at first, his mother had always told him to not talk to humans, because that was the last thing that father did before he became a rug! But this little girl didn't look dangerous. "You can continue along this path" the wolf answered quietly "and take the right path at the next fork in the path." "Why thank you!"said Little Red Riding Hood. "You have been so helpful, why don't you join my grandmother and I for tea this afternoon?" "I can't my mother wouldn't like it,"replied the wolf with a droop of his head. "If you change your mind, she lives in the cottage with the green trim on the edge of town" said Little Red Riding Hood, hoping he would change his mind. The wolf smiled wide and watched Little Red Riding Hood walk away. Then he realized he had just made a friend! His very first friend and he hadn't even realized! So he took off running as fast as he could and took a short cut through the forest that could be confusing (so he hadn't told his friend Little Red Riding Hood because she may have gotten lost) but was much faster. He got to Grandmother's house very out of breath. He knocked on the door, excited to meet his friends grandmother, and wanting a glass of water. There was no answer, but the door was open a little so he went in, just to get a little water because his throat was so dry! The water was very refreshing and he looked around the cozy cottage, it was nice and warm and made him feel sleepy. There was a cozy bed in the corner that called to him, so the wolf went over and fell into a deep and blissful sleep. Meanwhile, Grandmother had gone to see the woodsman to arrange for some wood to be delivered. The woodsman likes delivering to Grandmother because he usually gives him cookies, so he agreed to walk back with grandmother and deliver the wood. Grandmother and the woodsman entered Grandmother's cottage and were shocked to find a wolf in Grandmother's bed! Grandmother screamed! Wolf screamed too! But unfortunately for wolf, to humans his scream sounded like a growl! The woodsman swung his ax and hit the wolf, trying to scare him from the house! The wolf ran out of the cottage, with tears falling on his cheeks back into the forest, scared by the big man with the ax! The wolf was disappointed he hadn't seen his friend and grateful that he hadn't been made into a rug! |
Once students have sorted their information and written their stories they can make them into cartoons (by hand or on computer programs like ToonDoo), make children's story books, perform the stories using readers theatre or adapt them into a play.
Comic Strip of Little Red Riding Hood using ToonDoo
Good Lesson for any grade
This idea would work well for students from elementary all the way to high school and can be adapted to any maturity level.
This video, for example, was made by a high school student in Texas and is a creative use of technology to critically question the way Disney ends fairy tales.
This video, for example, was made by a high school student in Texas and is a creative use of technology to critically question the way Disney ends fairy tales.
Although this video may not be appropriate to show to younger children; high school students would get the message and would be able to engage with the political, environmental and legal issues presented. Topics covered in this video and potential class discussions include; lack of accountability of oil companies, over fishing, whaling, motive of the war on terror, PETA and colonization.
