The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

by: Hans Cristian Andersen

Pinkney, J., & Andersen, H. (1999). The ugly duckling. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

An young duck was very upset because he believed he was the ugliest of all the creatures.  His brother and friends would not play with him and would often tease him or call him names.  He devided he wanted to escape this negativity so one day he left and went far into the woods.  Here he found a cottage where an old woman lived with her hen and her cat...but the duckling was not entirely happy here.  When spring arrived he saw a swan swimming in the pond and fell madly in love with her.  He felt embarrassed to have such feelings when he was an ugly duck himself.  But then something changed! He looked at his reflection and realized he was a beautiful swan, too! 

This book is one that I always enjoy reading because I think no matter what the grade level, it is always important to discuss self image and how it is important to have a good self-image.  There are always good conversations to have with the students to make sure they are promoting positive behaviors on themselves and on one another.  

Art Lesson Plan (Young Children) 

 

Questions & Lesson Plan 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

by: Jan Brett

Brett, J. (1987). Goldilocks and the three bears. New York: Dodd, Mead.

A family of bears was gathering to eat their porridge for lunch, but it was to hot.  They decided to take a walk so that it could cool off, but when they returned they saw a young girl named Goldilocks eating the littlest bowl's porridge!  When she was sitting in the small chair it broke, so she went into the next room and realized the small bed was just right and she fell fast asleep.  When she awoke to the bears presence, she was so frightened she ran and did not stop until she reached home.

I liked this book because of the obvious personification of the bears, but also because it would provide a good lesson on comparisons.  Her decisions moving from the large, medium to small objects throughout the story would give a good foundation for this conversation.  Jan Brett has excelled illustrations that also could lend a conversation to making inferences with her pictures in the corners of each page.

Goldilocks Math Lessons
Lesson Activities
Fun Art Activity

Cinderella ~ Cencienta

Cinderella ~ Cenicienta

by: Monse Fransoy

Boada, F., & Fransoy, M. (2001). Cinderella = Cenicienta. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Watch the Spanish version of Cinderella!

Cinderella is under the watch of her evil stepmother and three stepsisters and acts as their personal "assistant" for all terrible chores and other requests.  One day, her fairy godmother appeared and changed her rags to riches so she could attend the ball the King was hosting to find a queen for his son, the prince.  Cinderella had to be back before midnight because her dress and appearance would fade back into her reality.  As she was escaping right before midnight, her shoe fell off and the prince found it.  He searched the town day and night to find the person this belonged to, and when he and the evil family realized it fit Cinderella, they were so surprised.  The prince and Cinderella lived happily ever after.

I LOVED this version because it is bilingual.  Each page tells the same story, but one side is in English and the other is Spanish.  I think that for a classroom with ESL children, a book like this would be an easy way to integrate vocabulary and hear a common story.  For the other students, I think they should be more exposed to other languages and this is one way for me, the teacher, to do that.  Cinderella is also such a classic fairytale that there are other books, scenarios, and activities we could do after reading this story such as "retell the story from the evil step sister's point of view."

Crafts for Fairytales 

Fairytales-- for boys! (Extension activity) 

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel

by: Brothers Grimm

Grimm, J. (1980). Hansel and Gretel. New York: Dial Press.

Hansel and Gretel are dealing with the loss of their mother, and the new stepmother that has been brought into their lives.  However, this stepmother was not the coddling type.  Instead, one day she took the children on a walk deep into the woods and left them there, but she did not realize that the clever Hansel left a trail of bread crumbs on the walk in.  Unfortunately, these crumbs had been mostly eaten by the birds, so the children rejoiced when they saw they could take cover in a house they found in the woods! There was a witch that lived there and attempted to boil a pot to kill the two children, but they were able to tip her in the pot first and everyone lived happily ever after.

I think this book had excellent illustrations that brought the pages to life and would definitely be a story to read in my class.  Cause and effect would be a good component to consider while looking at this text, and I think that because it is a story most children are familiar with, it could be expanded into many different areas.

Fun, Printable Lessons
Edible Craft!

The Princess and the Pea

The Princess and the Pea

by: Janet Stevens

Stevens, J., & Andersen, H. (1982). The princess and the pea. New York: Holiday House.

 

Once upon a time there was a prince who was looking for for a princess to marry, but searched and searched and still had no lucky.  One night, a woman knocked on his castle's door and claimed she was a princess.  The queen did not fully believe her so she created a test: she placed three peas under the pillow of the princess's bed.  Only a real princess would feel them and know this is no proper place to sleep.  She awoke the next morning after tossing and turning and proved she was a princess! And they lived happily ever after.

This story is one that I would use to compare and contrast with different texts. "The Princess and the Pizza" is one text that I enjoyed reading with my class, and teaches the similarities and differences that exist when a text is slightly altered.  This would make the students keen to detail and descriptions. 

The Princess and the Pizza-- Compare/Contrast