Literacy skills are built on the basis of understanding language, story and the conventions that surround story telling.  Children with developmental  disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and other disabilities that make it more difficult to acquire language will need extra practice and exposure to the literary traditions that form a foundation for much of our literature. 

Fairy Tales are one such foundational literary form, a part of a broader genre called “folk tales.”  They feature in the Common Core State Standards among the English Language Arts (ELA) standards:

ELA Reading/Literature 2:  Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

Before children can interpret the moral or central message, they must become familiar with the genre in a general way.  Some of the principal characteristics that make fairy tale accessible include:

Cadences, repeated phrases that are a familiar part of fairy tales, invite participation.  Adult listeners can readily identify the source of these phrases: 

“He huffed and he puffed and he . . . “

“Grandmother, what big Eyes you have . . . “ 

“And she ate it ALL UP!” 

(The  Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks.)

Telling the story, over and over, help engage the students in understanding the way in which traditions hold us together. 

I have created puppets to help you tell the story and then engage your students.  You need to be attentive to:

• Strong use of repeated phrases.  Keep them the same so your students can participate.

• Simple language, kept consistent.  Tell the story the same way each time you tell it. 
• Opportunities to repeat the phrases. 

Stories to include in your repertoire:

1. The Three Little Pigs
2. Little Red Riding Hood
3. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
4. Sleeping Beauty
5. Cinderella
6. Rapunzel
7. The Princess and the Pea
8. The Emperor’s New Clothes

Components of Good Story Telling:

1. Cadences.  Familiar phrases are important parts of familiar stories.  i.e.: "They lived happily ever after." 

2.  Funny voices.  Students are clearly engaged when you make the big bad wolf voice, or the high squeaky "little pigs" of the three pigs. 

3.  Engagement:  prompt students to repeat the familiar phrases "He huffed, and he puffed, and he . . . ."

4.  Props or puppets.  Either puppets or props, or both, will help engage students as you repeat the story parts.  Will the students hold up the appropriate puppet as their parts approach?