RIC-20939 Early years Fairytales - Riding Hood

Teacher background information
‘Little Red Riding Hood’ is a classic fairytale with its origins dating back more than 400 years ago. However, it was the Brothers
Grimm who adapted the fairytale in the mid-19th century to create its most famous version. Over the years, the fairytale has been
rewritten or adapted by a number of authors.
A traditional version used in this unit is provided below.
Once upon a time, there was a girl called Little Red Riding Hood. She lived with her mother in a
house near the woods. She always wore a red cloak her grandma had made her.
One day, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother asked her to visit Grandma, who was sick in bed. Her
mother gave her a basket of food to give to Grandma. She lived on the other side of the woods. Her
mother told her to go straight to grandma’s house and not to stop or talk to anyone on the way.
Little Red Riding Hood started to walk along the path through the woods. Along the way she met a
wolf. The wolf asked her what she was doing. Little Red Riding Hood replied, ‘I’m taking this basket of
food to my grandma. She’s not feeling well’.
The wolf said, ‘What a kind girl you are. Why don’t you stop and pick some flowers for your grandma,
too?’
Little Red Riding Hood thought that was a good idea. While she was picking the flowers, the wolf
ran to Grandma’s house. He opened the door and went in. The wolf walked up to Grandma and
gobbled her up in one bite! Next, he put on one of Grandma’s hats, glasses and a nightie. Then he
jumped into bed and waited for Little Red Riding Hood.
When she knocked on Grandma’s door, a strange voice called out, ‘Come in, dear’.
Little Red Riding Hood went up to Grandma’s bed. She looked at her and said, ‘Grandma, what big
ears you have!’
The wolf replied, ‘All the better to hear you with, my dear.’
Then Little Red Riding Hood said, ‘Grandma, what big eyes you have!’
The wolf replied, ‘All the better to see you with, my dear.’
‘And Grandma, what big teeth you have!’ said Little Red Riding Hood.
‘All the better to EAT you with!’ the wolf shouted.
The wolf jumped out of bed and tried to eat Little Red Riding Hood.
She screamed and screamed. A woodcutter was in the woods.
He heard Little Red Riding Hood’s screams and ran to Grandma’s
house. With one swift chop of his axe the wolf was dead. Out jumped
Grandma, safe and sound!
Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood thanked the woodcutter for
saving them. They all shared the food Little Red Riding Hood had
brought. Then Little Red Riding Hood walked safely back home.
Some adaptations have Little Red Riding Hood being eaten as well as Grandma, with the woodcutter killing the wolf and rescuing
the pair. In other versions, Grandma gets locked in a cupboard or hides in the wardrobe instead of being eaten. The woodcutter
scares the wolf into running away where he is never seen again, instead of killing him with the axe. In a modern version, Little
Red Riding Hood wears a red ‘hoodie’ instead of a cloak, rides a bike through the woods and takes a backpack of food instead of
a basket.
The stranger danger concept in the fairytale provide a good basis for developing protective behaviours in children in a way they
can easily understand.
• ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ is a fairytale.
• Fairytales are fictional stories containing
imaginary characters.
• Some things happen in fairytales that
can’t happen in real life.
• Different people have written different
versions of the fairytale.
Concepts to be developed
• The children should be able to:
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identify the characters in the story and its setting
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sequence the events in the story, verbally and pictorially, and with
matching sentences (according to ability level)
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compare and contrast different versions of the fairytale
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relate the stranger danger concept in the fairytale to their own lives.
88 Early years themes—Fairytales—Little Red Riding Hood www.ricpublications.com.au – R.I.C. Publications ®