Mother Goose reading fairy tales to children

Fairy tales, myths, and legends are enduring because we tell the same story over and over again, across generations and cultures. Just like we recognize how the same letter in a language, or even across languages, makes the same sound, we recognize the same elements that make up these shared stories.

In this activity, students will explore how, even when reduced to a simple picture, the shared knowledge of the same story allows them to recognize it.

Slips of paper, each with a different common fairy tale written on them (e.g. Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, the Princess and the Pea, etc.)

Have students pick a fairy tale out of a hat. Then, using pictograms, have students tell the story again. They shouldn’t use words, and shouldn’t draw a comic: only simple symbols to represent what is happening as it happens.

After students are done, have then share with the class or in small groups. Can the students identify what the fairy tale is?

Rather than pictograms, have students write out what happens using only one word for each scene. For example, Cinderella may be the following:

Daughter. Step-mother. Step-sisters. Cleaning. Dance. Fairy. Pumpkin. Carriage. Slipper. Lost. Prince. Found. Princess.

Which is easier to understand, the pictographs, or the single-word sentences? 

Standards for Fairy Tales Without Words