Fractured Fairy Tales: Character

Poster now available here.

Our fairy tale exploration continues...

We began our Fractured Fairy Tale study with a focus on plot. After writing our own variations of The Three Little Pigs, we read Once Upon a Time: Writing Your Own Fairy Tale, talked about the elements that make up a fairy tale, and considered the techniques we used in our own writing. We met in author's circles, revised, edited, and completed final copies of our stories.

The handout (shown right) helped us to distinguish fairy tales as just one kind of story that appear under the broader definition of "folk tale." To be a fairy tale, stories often include magic elements, fantasy characters, etc. (We are actually studying both folk and fairy tales.)


Character
This week we continued by looking at character. We read fairy tales of our choice (traditional or fractured--with the only stipulation being that students had to know the traditional tale before reading the fractured version) and wrote report cards on characters' behaviors. Some characters didn't get very good grades! A Character Adjective Analysis (looking at adjectives that describe characters) and a Character Casting Call (who would portray your character in a movie?) helped to round out a character study.

Character: Point-of-View
Popcorn-style (everyone participated!), we retold the story of the Three Little Pigs, this time from the wolf's point-of-view. It's not easy to see things from one character's point-of-view. We then read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, where the wolf shares his (twisted!) perspective on the story.

Think Sheets are now available here!

We analyzed the wolf's point-of-view using a Character Think Sheet. Then each student chose another story to analyze, specifically looking at how a minor character might view the story's problem. Student choices included the troll in the Three Billy Goats Gruff, one of the lazy animals in The Little Red Hen, and the stepsisters in Cinderella. Each student made some notes on a Think Sheet and then wrote one page from that character's point-of-view. Diary entries and letters (Dear Mom, ...Love, Wolfie), helped to organize thoughts.



Next week we'll finish up the character study and begin thinking about setting.

Follow our Fractured Fairy Tale journey:

Part I: Plot
Part II: Character
Part III: Character with Art & Poetry




I am gradually adding items from this fairytale unit to TPT. Now available are:

**new!**Fairy Tale Bundle (all fairy tale products available)

**new!**Fairy Tale Bibliography Record Sheets, free!

**new!** Fairy Tale Maps: Exploring Setting

**new!** Fairy Tale Think Sheets

Character Studies: Folk, Fairy Tale and Short Stories

Fairy Tale Plot Sheet

Fairy Tale, Folktale Characteristics Poster

Disclaimer: if you're interested in purchasing any of these books through Amazon, all commissions go toward foster care in China through Grace and Hope (who sponsored my child) at no additional cost to you.