Home Hot Topics Articles Directors' Choice Awards About Us / Contact Us Activities & Curriculum Activities for Outcome-Based Learning Arts & Crafts Music for Learning Recommended Reading Sharing Boards: What Do YOU Think? NEWSlink Current National News Conference Calendar Topics In Early Childhood Education Art and Creativity in Early Childhood Education Job Sharing Board State Licensing Requirements Stay Connected! We'll send you regular emails filled with articles and ideas for your classroom. Subscribe Now   ACTIVITY New Happy Endings By Marisa Procopio Fairy tales endings are usually predictable: the prince gets the girl and they all live happily ever after. What happens if you change the ending to be surprising, modern or just plain funny? Curriculum Area Language and Literacy Before You Start Lay out the various craft materials, such as paper, markers and glue onto a large table. Tell the children that you’ll be reading a fairy tale to them and to listen carefully, even though they may know it well. Let's Begin 1. Read the story aloud. Encourage the children to take notes if they’d like to. 2. At the end of the story, open up a discussion about any dated notions, stereotypes or cultural elements that the story features, along with what they like about the story. 3. Ask the children to write a new ending to the fairy tale. 4. When they’re through, ask them to come up to the large table one at a time and collect their sheet of paper, a bottle of glue, markers, and stuff with which to illustrate their “ending”. 5. After they have finished, ask if anyone would like to come to the front of the classroom with their decorated sheet of paper and share their new ending. Others may turn in the picture with the written story attached. Furthermore This activity would work best with 5th through 8th graders.If the children are older, supplement this project with a viewing of the musical “Into the Woods”. Act I tells the fairy tales and Act II tells what can happen after “happily every after”. Discuss the show after seeing it.   A classic fairy tale to read aloud Large sheets of white paper, one for each child Markers Scraps of paper, fabric, glitter and various craft materials Tacky glue Heavyweight Construction Paper, 9" x 12" - 50 Sheets Tru-Ray® Sulphite Construction Paper, 9"x12" - 50 Sheets Jumbo Crystal Stringing Gems - 1 lb. Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue® - 4oz. Mega Craft Kit Articles and activities listed on this website may be printed for single use. No article or activity may be duplicated or distributed in any form, in whole or in part, without permission from the publisher, Excelligence Learning Corporation. Contact Permissions Department.

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