Novels
Fairy tales are an ever popular genre to explore. Many children have encountered fairy tales at some point in their life, especially those made popular by Disney. The Common Core State Standards require students to be able to compare and contrast between an original piece of work and it's adaptations. Because of the students familiarity with these stories they are perfect to use in comparison studies. As some of these are written through different characters perspectives they could also be used for lessons on point of view. Below is a list of novels that you could use to lead a discussion in these subject areas. Visit the lesson plans/activities page to find more ways to use these stories in your classroom.
(All summaries below are provided by the publishers. Click on the titles to be taken to Amazon to find out more information on these texts)
(All summaries below are provided by the publishers. Click on the titles to be taken to Amazon to find out more information on these texts)
Middle School
High School
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Picture Books
Snow White: A Hidden Picture Fairy Tale by Kit Wray
This picture book is a retelling of the original Grimm’s Fairy Tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It is written by Kit Wray, adapted from the original tale written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Within the picture book are several hidden images for readers to find. The intended audience of this book is elementary age students. This source could be integrated into a learning experience for middle school aged students in a number of ways as well. It could be used for a scavenger hunt, with students having to identify a number of images hidden in the book. Students could participate in reading activities with younger classrooms of such as first grade or kindergarten classes. However, this book is intended for beginner readers.
Wray, Kit, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Snow White: A Hidden Picture Fairy Tale. Honesdale: Bell Books, 1991 |
Short Story
8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf by: Michael Mullin
This short story tells the previously un-told story of the 8th dwarf creepy, who was banished to the basement for being different. But he played a very vital part in the story of Snow White, it just hasn't been told yet. Creepy's generally angry demeanor, and biting sarcasm adds a new twist to the story, but when the maiden (that would be Snow) barges in one day, he begins to fall for her.
With the adult themes present in this book it would be meant for high school students. This would be a great intro for a new project in a creative writing course. Read this short story (a mere 17 pages long) and then choose your own fairy tale to add a character to and then show the story from their point of view. Mullin, Michael, 8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Uknown 8th Dwarf. Santa Clarita, CA: Gemiknight STudios, LLC, 2010. |
Graphic Novels
Snow White by Martin Powell
This graphic novel retells the traditional Grimm tale of Little Snow White in a fun and innovative new way. The Snow White expands the traditional German folktale with plot changes and introducing it to an entirely new genre. This book is appropriate for students in grades 1-3, or for middle school students at low reading levels.
Martin Powell and Erik Van Alanis, Snow White (Capstone Publishers, 2009). |
Movies
Click on the Title of each movie to be taken to its Internet Movie Database webpage!
Mirror Mirror
This PG movie is a comedy fantasy film based upon the Snow White fairy tale by the Brother’s Grimm. This would be useful to a teacher who would like to do a comparison lesson on the adaptations of Snow White. It could be movie to movie or movie to book.
Mirror Mirror. DVD. Directed by Tarsem Singh. Relativity Media, 2012. Snow White and the Huntsman
This PG-13 film is based upon the German fairy tale compiled by the Brothers Grimm. The common core standards for high school require students to compare and contrast books versus movie adaptations. This movie would be a great one to use because even though the premise is similar, there are many differences from the original fairy tale.
Snow White and the Huntsman. DVD. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Universal Pictures, 2012. Sydney White
This PG-13 film adapted from the Grimm fairy tale, Little Snow White. It tells the story of a college freshman finding her way through college, friends, and sorority life. This movie could be integrated into lesson plans fir students in upper middle school by comparing and contrasting it to the original Grimm tale.
Sydney White. DVD. Directed by Joe Nussbaum. Universal Studios, 2007. |
Websites
For more information about this tale, click the link below to visit the SurLaLune Fairy Tales site:
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sevendwarfs/index.html |