Looking for preschool and kindergarten fairy tale activities? This blog post has ideas that will make your students fall in love with fairy tales!
Fairy tales are a staple in early childhood education. They are so fun to read aloud. And kids love to tell these stories over and over again.
Many famous fairy tales have multiple versions (like The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man, and even princess tales like Cinderella.) These can be fun to read and compare.
Fairy tales are often called folk tales. There are slight differences between the two categories, involving things like originating from oral retelling and whether or not the story involves magic. But the differences are really murky.
For the purpose of this blog post, fairy tales will include all the traditional tales that children grow up hearing over and over – in books, oral retelling, and sometimes even recreated into movies.
Why are fairy tales important in kindergarten?
First, fairy tales stand the test of time. They have proven entertaining and engaging over multiple generations. Kids often love fairy tales.
As a result, fairy tales represent a part of our culture. Fairy tales are often alluded to in conversations and literature. Here are a few common examples:
- his nose is growing = we think he is lying
- being a fairy godmother = helping or rescuing someone
- crying wolf = seeking attention when there’s not really a problem
- turning into a pumpkin when it gets late = referring to Cinderella’s carriage at midnight
But fairy tales are important beyond the cultural understandings they offer. Fairy tales often have a common plot structure: “once upon a time,” introduce characters, introduce problem, problem grows, solution, “live happily ever after.”
So they are great for introducing common literary terms to young children: character, problem-solution, setting, etc.
Additionally, fairy tales have a common theme of overcoming adversity. The pigs defeated the Big Bad Wolf. Little Red Riding Hood was rescued from the Wolf. Cinderella overcame the cruel treatment of the stepmother and married a Prince. (We won’t talk about the Gingerbread Man…)
Finally, fairy tales often include rich vocabulary and enchanting phrases that can enhance your students’ oral language skills. This is part of what makes them fun for kids to hear over and over and over…
What are some fun kindergarten fairy tale activities?
There are SO many ways to make fairy tales interactive and engaging to students. A few of my favorites include:
- Dramatizing the stories
- Readers theatre scripts
- Character masks
- Stick puppets
- Fairy tale art gallery
- Felt board story pieces
- Mini fairy tale books
Dramatize the Story
OK… this is my absolute favorite kindergarten fairy tale activity! My students just love it!
After reading a favorite fairy tale, give students the opportunity to act it out. Pick a few students to play the roles, then provide a brief retelling (narration) as they act out the story.
One of my favorite fairy tales to dramatize is The Three Billy Goats Gruff. You can use a classroom table as the bridge. The “troll” can sit underneath and the goats can actually trip-trap across the table/bridge.
It can also be fun to dramatize The Gingerbread Man. Students can jog a pre-set loop around the classroom as they take turns trying to catch the gingerbread man.
With a little creativity, you can find a way to act out many different fairy tales in your classroom. If all else fails, ask the kids for some ideas!
Readers Theatre Scripts
This is another activity my students adore! And I love hearing “Then I’ll huff and puff and blow your house down” as they are busy partner reading.
In Readers Theatre, the students dramatize the characters’ words, but not their actions. Essentially, they read aloud the dialogue, with a narrator who adds the story telling parts.
Readers Theatre can be so much fun for students. But it also has reading benefits. Because most parts in a readers theatre involve dialogue, the scripts encourage students to work on reading with expression.
Readers Theatre scripts can be used in small group instruction, as partner reading, or with a group of friends during free choice time.
The scripts can be fun to read with friends. As an option, they can also be performed in front of the class, but that is not required (although your students may think it’s necessary).
Save time with a pre-made readers theatre script for The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
New to readers theatre? How to Do Readers Theatre in Your K-2 Classroom has tips and tricks to get you started.
Create Character Masks
After reading several fairy tales, have students choose a favorite character. (This is a great way to develop an understanding of the term “character.”)
Give each child a paper plate as the base for the mask. Set out other craft supplies, such as markers, crayons, yarn and construction paper.
Encourage students to make a mask that represents their chosen character.
Once students have finished their masks, take a class picture with the students holding up their masks or have a mini-parade to another classroom to show off their creations.
As an alternative, you can have students meet in groups to show others their mask and say 1-2 things to describe their chosen character.
Make Stick Puppets
This is another activity where little ones are encouraged to use their imaginations. They never cease to surprise me!
Again, encourage students to choose a favorite character from the fairy tales you have read.
Give each child a paper doll shape. Also provide craft materials such as markers, crayons, construction paper, patterned scrapbook paper, wiggly eyes, and yarn.
Have students create paper dolls to represent their character. Tape these dolls to popsicle sticks to create stick puppets.
Students can work together to use their stick puppets to act out their favorite fairy tale.
Kindergarten Fairy Tale Art Gallery
Go a new route with the creativity, focusing on settings or events from the fairy tale.
Encourage students to identify their favorite part of one of the fairy tales you have read. Challenge them to create a piece of artwork from that scene.
To keep it simple, you can have students draw their scene in pencil, then outline it with Sharpies. Finally, they can use water color paints to add color to the scene.
Other options include:
- tempera paint
- paper collage
- mixed media (ex: a painted background, with cut out characters glued on top)
- colored pencils, markers or crayons
Use these creations to set up a “Fairy Tale Art Gallery” in your classroom or in the hallway, displaying the students’ artwork.
Felt Boards
Go old school with felt boards. Kids still love the feel of the felt characters and they are rather durable. Plus, they are able to apply the literary language they have heard as they retell the famous tales.
You can purchase felt board story sets. They typically come with the characters, pieces to create up the setting, and pieces to represent the plot in a story (such as a whole chair and a broken chair for The Three Bears.)
As a cheaper alternative, you can print off images of characters and settings on card stock. (TPT clipart could work well for this.)
Cut out the characters and settings, then laminate them. Hot glue several pieces of felt to the back, so they can stick on a felt board.
No matter what kind of pieces you use, felt board pieces are a fun way for students to retell their favorite fairy tales.
Mini Fairy Tale Book
Here’s yet another way to allow students to use creative expression as they respond to fairy tales.
Choose a well-known fairy tale to focus on.
Provide students with a blank mini-book with 4-8 pages. They will use this to show scenes from the story.
Before students begin drawing, allow them to plan their book and share their plan with a partner. The plan can be as simple as deciding what event they will put on each page. However, this rehearsal will build oral language skills and help them organize their thinking before they begin.
Allow them to illustrate scenes from the story on each page. If your students are able, encourage them to add a sentence to each page.
Younger students might label 1-2 key items/characters on each page – or dictate a sentence to an adult or older student.
Be sure to provide time for students to share their books with one another.
Make fairy tales fun
Fairy tales are a key part of childhood literature. Bring them to life with the engaging preschool and kindergarten fairy tale activities shared in this post:
- Dramatization of the stories
- Readers theatre scripts
- Character masks
- Stick puppets
- Fairy tale art gallery
- Felt board story pieces
- Mini fairy tale books
These engaging fairy tale activities strengthen students’ understandings about story elements. But they also help students develop a love of language and literature!
You might also like these blog posts:
How to Do Readers Theatre in Your K-2 Classroom
Why You Need Readers Theatre in 1st Grade
What Does Readers Theatre Look Like? Real Script Examples
