Much ado about one fairy tale
"It is books that are the key to the wide world, if you can’t do
read all that you can” (Jane Hamilton)
You have certainly read a famous fairy tale about Little Red Riding
Hood and the Wolf.
It is known to every child all over the world in different
interpretations from Grimms”
brothers to modern variation by Roald Dahl.
Why use fairy tales in class:
- The plot is known to everyone
- Usually it is finished with happy end
- The characters are simple
- It is easy to retell
Here are some activities to do with students exploring fairy tale:
Introduce one of the famous writer Roald Dahl.
Name: Roald Dahl.
Place and date of birth : Cardiff, 13 September 1916, died 1990.
Favourite book: Mr. Midshipman Easyby Federick Marryat.
Favourite TV programme : The News.
Favourite music : Beethhoven.
Roald Dahl has written:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Revolting Rhymes and many other things.
Read the fairy tale by Roald Dahl. Cut out the last paragraph and ask
the students to
predict the end of the story, and then give the students the real
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD AND THE WOLF
As soon as wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked Grandma’s door.
When Grandma opened, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfe said "May I come in?”
Poor Grandma was terrified,
"He’s going to eat me up!” she cried.
And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big bite.
But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfe wailed, "That’s not enough!
I haven’t yet begun to feel
That I have had a decent meal!”
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
"I’ve got to have another helping!”
The added with a frightful leer,
"I am therefore going to wait right here
"Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
Comes home from walking in the wood”
He quickly put on Grandma’s clothes,
(Of course he hadn’t eaten those.)
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He puts on shoes and after that
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma’s chair.
In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She stared. And then she sat.
What great big ears you have Grandma.
All the better to hear you with, the Wolf replied.
What great big eyes you have, Grandma,
Said Little Red Riding Hood.
All the better to see you with, the Wolf replied.
He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I am going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma
She’s going to taste like caviar.
Then Little Red Riding Hood said, "But Grandmamma,
What a lovely great furry coat you have on”.
"That’s wrong! ” cried Wolf.” Have you forgot
To tell me what BIG TEETH I’ve got?
Ah, well, no matter what you say,
"I am going to eat you anyway”
The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it on the creature’s head
And bang, bang, bang, she shoots him dead.
A few weeks later, in the wood,
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No cloak of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said "Hello, and do please note
"My lovely furry WOLFSKIN COAT”
Ask the students to compare it with the traditional tale they know.
You can look at the tale from language point of view.
a. Ask your students to write as many adjectives as they can describe
Little Red Riding
Hood and the Wolf.
short,careful,hard-working,aggrissve,careless, practical, stupid,
loyal,naпve,frienfly,cofident, stubborn, trusting, clumsy, intelligent
etc. If the group
is advanced you can ask to divide the adjectives into groups and
b. Match the adjective with their opposite.
c. Ask your students to describe the characters using as many
adjectives as they can.
False fairy Tale.
You give false sentence and the students have to correct them.
1. Little Red Riding Hood lived with her mother, father, and brother
in a big city.
2. She went to visit her grandparents who lived in the village in two
3. She took a big suitcase with lots of presents.
4. She walked for a couple of hours when she stopped to eat a
5. She met a lot of animals in the forest.
6. Mr Fox wanted to eat her.
7. Little Red Riding Hood came to grandmother’s house and killed the
8. They lived happily Mr. Fox, Grandmother and the girl.
You can ask the students to write the story in different genres, for
- Detective story
- Newspaper article etc.
You can use sample materials:
Little Red Riding Hood Diary.
Morning. I woke up early in the morning though I had planned to sleep
because it was Sunday. I had planned to mix with my friends and go to
disco but… my mum
asked to go to my sick grandma. Sometimes it is good to have a lot of
relatives but it’s
boring when they are sick.
Afternoon. I took a bag full of some delicious food and of course my
mobile phone to be
in contact with my mum and walkman to listen to music on the way
Awful. No transport. I know the shortest way through the forest but I
am not allowed to
go through because a terrible Wolf lived there.
Newspaper report. Forest News #3. 2005.
A terrible accident occurred in our forest One of the leaders of the
wolves” pack was
found dead and unskined. The suspect is Little Red Riding Hood who was
seen in wolf skin
coat yesterday. The police offer a reward of 1000 pounds for any helpful
A letter of complain.
I am writing to you to complain about the problem of destructing of
wolves in our
As a Green Peace member I am very worried that the population of
wolves is going down.
I think the problem lies in bad upbringing of the younger generation.
The girl named
Little Red Riding Hood killed one of the respectable members of our
community and made a
fur coat out of him.
I declare, it is not a point of hunting but a point of killing the
You should take some steps to save the animals in our forest.
Green Peace Member Small Bad Wolf.