Large Group Literacy: Fairy Tales

Fairy Tale is a unit that I like to work with when we come back from Christmas Break in January.  It's fun and inviting to help students get back into the swing of school again.  I like to focus on one Fairy Tale each day.  I have three story times in my day at this point of the year so each story time is a different rendition of the story allowing students to comment the similarities and differences in each retelling of these classic tales.

Three Little Pigs Retelling with Props
Yes, this is one of my beginning of the school year activities.  It's fun, engaging, and the students love it.  Makes it PERFECT for getting them back into the groove of school after weeks at home for Christmas.

There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly Big Book Reading
Our Favorite Old Woman to get us back into the school groove.  By now, your students should be loving school again and we can start with new activities tomorrow.
If you have enough copies of the book, make it a class reading where all students turn the page along with you and practice tracking print with their books.

Draw Your Own Gingerbread Person
Gingerbread Boy, Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Pirates and so many more stories!  Give students paper with a basic gingerbread outline, provide markers and see what kind of gingerbread person they create.  Another great exercise in using writing materials that gives a whole group result to post in the hallway or as a bulletin board.

Porridge Recipe Writing
The porridge was too hot, too cold, and just right.  How do you make porridge anyway?  I allow the students to tell me what they think it contains and the steps to make it while writing down what they say on chart paper.  Afterward we look up how it is really made and compare our written recipe to the actual one.

5 Little Monkeys Flannel Board Retelling
More of a nursery rhyme than a fairy tale but we also take time to do a nursery rhyme a day as our opening activities for this unit.  Students thoroughly enjoy it and again the focus of this unit is to return to school from break with a renewed love of learning.  I suggest flannel board to swap out your flannel board props in your learning environment but puppets, costumes, or other props are welcome for whatever works for you.

Little Red Riding Hood Rewrite 
We've been reading all of these fairy tales and each retelling has a bit of a different twist.  What if we made our own twist?  What if Riding Hood was a girl?  What if Riding Hood didn't wear red, but another color?  Pose these questions and see where your students take you.
I've had Blue Riding Hood get chased through the three little pigs homes by a T-Rex.  What will you get?

Favorite Nursery Rhyme Graph
As I mentioned with the 5 Little Monkeys, we've been introducing a nursery rhyme a day with this unit.  Time to vote for your favorite.  Exercise those writing skills and have them practice at writing their name to cast their vote.

Three Billy Goats Gruff retelling
This was my FAVORITE thing that I did at a daycare growing up.  They had a big balance beam in one of the classrooms and we'd reenact Three Billy Goats Gruff using that.  I use the hollow blocks in my classroom to make the bridge.  I've seen some teachers allow standing on their tables for this.  Whatever works for your classroom, your students, and your sanity.  If you don't feel the table is a safe bet, don't do it.  If you don't have a balance beam, don't fret.  Work with what works for you.

This Old Man Big Book Reading
Don't have This Old Man?  Try Big Fat Hen or any other Nursery Rhyme Big Book.  The fairy tales that I focus on the day we do this activity are a mix of things instead a one book focus.