Additional Lesson Plans

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Wegman, 1993

These additional lesson plan ideas and activities can be used to add on to existing lesson plans or developed further to create complete lesson plans.  These ideas cover a variety of subjects and topics that could be used across age groups. While these were written with Little Red Riding Hood in mind they could also be used to compare other folk tales.

Social Studies:

  • Examine how fairy tale retellings act as social commentaries on social issues: class, race, gender, sexual identity, religion.
  • How do fairy tales represent the state of youth and youth culture?
  • Examine how elderly are treated across cultures. What is the significance of the wolf eating grandmother?
  • How are Little Red Riding Hood and other tales examined beyond children's literature in Post-Modernism perspective?
  • How do fairy tales portray victim blaming? Is Little Red Riding Hood at fault for not listening to her mother?
  • Examine the treatment of women across cultures and history. How has the portrayal of Little Red changed over time and what does that say about the status of women?

STEM:

  • Construct a map of Little Red's journey to grandmother's house.
  • Going into the woods is an aspect of many fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, and Little Red shows a connection to and interest in nature. Christopher Bing's version of the tale is heavily influenced by nature and features leaf and flower pressings (pictured below). What is the importance of nature in fairy tales? Why is nature preservation and diversity important? 

Bing, 2010

  • The wolf is an endangered species. Pair Little Red Riding Hood with informational texts about wolves. Fact vs. fiction lesson (Language Arts & Social Studies).
  • Where does the tale of Little Red Riding Hood originate? Trace the root of fairy tales using the technology that traces evolutionary trees (see Resources).
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Tytgat, 1918

Art:

  • Create a diorama of a key scene in the story. (Diorama for young children)
  • Examine how mood and character is conveyed through art in retellings of the tale. How do different cultures convey mood and character? How does the time period impact the style?

Language Arts:

  • Mood and tone: Start with 5 words--write the story. Introduce a word and retell the story incorporating that word.
  • Humor and satire (post-modern and fractured retellings)
  • Perspective:
    • Write a letter from the perspective of one character (the wolf, Mother, Grandmother)
    • Write a journal from the perspective of Little Red Riding Hood.  What does she really think?
    • Tale Collage. Students combine their favorite retellings into a new tale using a format of their choice.  Video editing to produce a final multimedia version (STEM).
Curriculum
Additional Lesson Plans