The Little Red Hen (on My Little Farm)

We're continuing to add animals to our farm. Today, with the addition of chickens, we're doing a side trip with the Little Red Hen.

In the last few decades, the children's book market has been inundated with "fractured" versions of traditional folktales and fairytales. When examined together, this provides an incredible opportunity for doing some comparison/contrast. We collected several versions of The Little Red Hen. Possibilities include:

The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
The Little Red Hen; A Tale About Cooperation
The Little Red Hen and the Ear of Wheat
The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah
The Little Red Hen

After reading the books, we talked about the similarities and differences. My student noticed a difference in the setting, characters, item being made/problem and the conclusion. We made a chart to directly compare the three books.

And I couldn't say "no" to a request to make a pizza together after reading The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. Who will help me make the pizza?  "I will!" say two little students.

After pizza lunch we printed a story map to plan out my student's own version of The Little Red Hen which he'll begin writing tomorrow.