Use the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin to teach your third grade class about descriptive writing. Following a teacher read-aloud of the story, the class brainstorms a list of adjectives describing the main character. Students use this list as they work independently writing four descriptive sentences, each including a different adjective and supporting detail from the text. Sentence frames are included to assist young writers that need help getting started. For additional support, model how to write a descriptive sentence for the class, providing an example of the writing that is expected of them. As an extension, consider performing this lesson with another fairy tale and having the class compare different characters within the genre.

Concepts

character traits, characters

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Additional Tags

reading fairy tales, describing characters, character traits, english language arts

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Pros

• Lesson is based on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
• Includes a list of reading comprehension questions for Rumpelstiltskin based on Bloom's Taxonomy
• Provides clear learning objectives
• Easily adaptable to Common Core State Standards in Reading: Literature and Writing

Cons

• Requires a copy of Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky
  

Common Core

RL.3.3 RL.3.7 W.3.1.a W.3.1.b