2007 Printable Manual - Texas State Library and Archives ...

Sail Away With Books!
story after each short reading. Distribute the worksheets showing the elements of a fairy
tale and have the teens write their own fairy tales. A Fairy Tale Elements Rubric is
online at www.abcteach.com/FairyTales/fairy_tale_rubric.htm. Or, distribute a handout
showing the Structure of Traditional stories as outlined below.
When the teens finish their stories, they can read them aloud in groups or to the group as
a whole. Display the fairy tales in the library, upload them to the library’s web site, or
submit them for consideration to be published on Jon Sciezka’s Fractured Fairy Tales
and Fables site http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/fractured_fairy_publish.asp.
Allow teens who do not wish to write and prefer to draw or paint pictures of creatures
from fairy tales or legends to do so.
Structure of Traditional Stories
1. Traditional stories begin with an introduction that tells when and where the story
happens, and who the story is about.
Tells when the story happened (Time)
Tells where the story happened (Place or Setting)
Tells who the story is about (Characters)
Example:
Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom beneath the sea, there lived a beautiful Selkie. Most of
the time Selkie folk live as seals frolicking in the sea. But on wondrous nights, when the moon is
full and magic swirls from the air to the water to the land to the sky, they take human form. And
when they do, they revel in their freedom - and they dance!…
2. The story is set in motion by an initiating event
Something different that happens that causes the characters to do something they might
not have done. The initiating event creates a CONFLICT the character must resolve.
Example:
One such starry evening, when the moonlight twinkled upon the water like jewels on a
crinolin shawl, when the swift current caressed the Selkie with its warmth, she swam to
the shallow water near the place where men walk upon the land. She climbed upon an
island and gazed at the light of the moon. Happiness filled her heart as she removed her
sealskin and stood upon her own two legs. And there, on that island, she danced for joy!
3. The main part of the story is an event sequence, or plot.
The plot is what the main character (or hero) does in response to the initiating event. In
traditional stories, the main character usually makes three attempts to solve the problem.
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