It's later in the year and during tis time, I am rolling out longer units of study and some more in-depth learning. My kids are starting to zone out as we do more testing and it's time to find something fun without them realizing they are doing the work! Fairy Tales are a great unit for this time of year! My younger students love listening and reading the picture books and older students can get a more in-depth look at the fairy tales and their literary devices. 

First, I start my Fairy Tale unit by thinking about what my focus is going to be. At this point in the year, my focus is on the literary elements such as theme, characters, setting, plot, point of view, and style. You can choose to break up each of these elements or combine them as you read specific fairy tales that you read. 

Here's a list of some fairy tales that I like to use:

A link to Grimm Fairy Tales: http://www.grimmfairytales.com/

A link to Hans Christian Andersen http://visitandersen.com/fairy-tales

I personally love to also focus on just teaching Cinderella or choose a few fairy tales that have different written versions. They are GREAT to compare/contrast ALL of the devices! 

Here's a free Venn Diagram with and without lines and a Story Elements freebie to get you started! This Venn Diagram is also an Easel Activity so you can assign an students can type on the lines. There are also other Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast if you need to review that concept. 

Here's a few books I like to teach with Cinderella. I use Cinderella because they are so many different versions and it is easy to compare and contrast the characters, plot. setting, and problem/solution. Of course you can use any fairy tale to teach the story elements!

1. Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying: The Story of Cinderella as told by the Wicked Stepmother

      A mockey of Cinderella as told by the jealous and wicked Stepmother. Great for Point of View!

2. The Rough Face Girl

3. Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella retelling

There are SO many different cultural Cinderella retellings. I like students to work in partners and fill out a Venn Diagram comparing to a traditional retelling. 

If you have done any Digital Escape Rooms you know that sometimes they can be long and as a teacher you only have so much time in your day. Mini Escapes allow for students to learn by reading, watching videos, and solving clues. I am starting to make fairy tale digital mini-escapes so students have more time and there is a specific focus to teach or review. 

In the Jack and the Beanstalk Mini Digital Escape I used to review Point of View. The great thing about this escape is that it has narration if you want it, a fun video to watch, and best of all it's short so you have time to fit this whole Fairy Tale digital escape into your day! 

If you are wanting a longer escape room to try with your students or as a beginning escape room to get used to the format try this Genre Escape Room. It will help with review of types of genres, including fairy tales above. I use the writing prompts below when we are reviewing genres. This is a great activity to leave for a substitute or even to put into a writing station. There is no prep with the Genre Digital Escape Room and very little prep with printing off the prompts if you want to include them. 

Whichever story elements you decide to teach, make sure the kids are ENGAGED and having fun!