Modern folk tales: Playwriting

Working in teams, students will rewrite short folk tale or fable plays, modernizing them. Then, they will present the old and new versions of the play.

A lesson plan for grade 3 English Language Arts

By Dayle Payne

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Related pages

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Related topics

• Learn more about Jon Scieszka, fairy tales, folktales, language arts, literature, plays, and writing.

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Learning outcomes

In cooperative groups, students will:

• read short play versions of classic folktales and fables.
• analyze the structure of the story.
• rewrite the folktale or fable using modern characters, settings, and language.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 hours

Materials/resources

• Modern version of a folktale or fairytale, such as Jon Scieszka’s versions of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
• Collections of short plays, such as Short Plays for the Classroom by Juanita Bryson. This collection includes The Three Little Pigs, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Jack Sprat, The Tortoise and the Hare and other familiar stories.
• Materials to create props

Technology resources

You may wish to have your students use word processing software to write their plays.

Pre-activities

Read different, modernized versions of folktales and fairy tales, such as Prince Cinders or Jon Scieszka’s versions of the three little pigs and the gingerbread man.

Activities

Class One

Read play “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” with the class. Using the group plan sheet, model extracting the required information about the play. Then read the modern version (attached) and fill out the rest of the sheet. Compare the two versions.

Class Two

Choose another play from the book to read and fill out the group plan sheet. As a whole class activity, brainstorm ways that the play you read can be “modernized.” Model using the plan sheet to outline the “modern” version, and begin writing the new play together, discussing play writing conventions.

Class Three

Assign groups plays to read and dissect using the group plan sheet.

Class Four

Have groups plan and then write their own modern versions of their plays. (This may take more than one session.) Have them create props for both the old and new plays, and allow time to practice the plays.

Assessment

Have each group present first the old version of their play, then the new version. After the presentations, have audience members discuss the differences and similarities in the two versions.

Supplemental information

The play that is attached was created by a group of third graders and is based on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” from Juanita Bryson’s Short Plays for the Classroom- Primary.