Fractured Fairy Tales

[Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook]

Further to my post about Fairy Tale Day last week, here are some ideas for fracturing fairy tales. 

First of all, here's a classroom activity that "fractures" a fairy tale by combining fairy tale elements into a whole new story.

Activity 1:

Brainstorm lists of fairytale characters, magical objects and interesting settings. In groups of three or four, students each choose a character for themselves. The group chooses or are given one setting and one magical object. Kids develop a story based on those elements.

Example: Group 3 consists of Mandie, Paul and Billy. Mandie chooses Snow White, Paul chooses Aladdin, Billy chooses a Bear. Together they decide that their setting will be a castle at night and their magical object a cloak of invisibility. They work together to plan a story about Aladdin and Bear sneaking into the castle where Snow White is captive, only to be confronted with a red dragon which has the power to see through their invisible cloaks.

Starter list of characters: the Big Bad Wolf; Aladdin; Pig; Snow White; Rumplestiltskin; a poor woodcutter; a witch; an ugly step-sister; a wicked queen; a brave knight; a beast; a unicorn; a magician.

Starter list of magical objects: a flying broom; a magic wand; a cloak of invisibility; a magic lamp; a cloak with super powers; pixie dust; a powerful potion; a magic feather; a singing sword; a magic carpet; a never-ending carnival ride.

Starter list of settings: a dark, dark cave; a castle; an enchanted forest; a pirate's den; a dragon's lair; a gingerbread house in the woods; a tall tower atop a high mountain; a flooded river; a dungeon; a wedding; a supermarket; a ghost town; a hijacked plane.

With older kids, try adding extra elements like conflict (one character is determined to be the next King, a dragon menaces the characters, the palace plumber goes on strike) styles (in the style of a western movie or a TV soap opera) or Titles etc.

This idea works as the focus for multiple activities or lesson plans. It can be:

* a group storytelling
* an individual writing activity
* a group drama improvisation
* a group improvisation followed by collaborative writing
* the idea behind a poster or illustration

More ideas at The Book Chook. 

[Greg Williams]

Cool idea! I wonder if the creators of "Once Upon a Time" do this to brainstorm each episode :) 

Thanks for sharing, this is great stuff. 

[Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook]

Thanks Greg!