ALEX Learning Activity

In this whole group activity, students will write their own fractured fairy tale versions, told from the point of view of the villain.

This resource was created as a part of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Students will write a narrative piece in which they recount the sequence of events in a familiar fairy tale as told through a different character's point of view.

1. Remind students that changes in point of view can dramatically affect the way story events are portrayed or shown to the reader. Use the following digital tools as examples of how changes in the points of view of characters can change the way readers understand the events of the story.

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
• Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying!

2. Hold a whole class discussion to review what students have learned about how changes in point of view change the effect of the story on the reader. 

3. Tell students that in today’s lesson they will move from reader to writer. In this lesson, they will use what they’ve learned about point of view to draft their own fractured fairy tale retelling. In this retelling, they will retell a familiar fairy tale from the villain's point of view. Explain that in their fractured fairy tales, they will use the same characters, settings, and events, but they will change the way the reader experiences the plot events by showing them what happened from the point of the villain, just as in the two examples shown in the digital tools.

4. Divide students into small groups. Have student groups meet to share and discuss their ideas for writing. Meet briefly with each group to listen and guide discussions. Students should define the fairy tale they will retell and explain to the groups what elements in their fractured fairy tale will change due to a change in point of view. Student groups should listen and provide feedback to the writer about his or her ideas.

5. Tell students that they will now begin working on writing the first draft of their stories. Write the following expectations on the board or use them to create a rubric to hand out to students. Review the expectations and remind students to keep them in mind as they write. (Please see the assessment section for rubric information.)

6. Circulate as students draft and provide guidance as necessary.

As students finish their drafts, compare their writing with the writing rubric below in order to determine mastery of the objective. Confer one-on-one with students to provide editing and revision feedback.

Writing Rubric:

CHARACTER/POINT OF VIEW

• 2 points: Student writing clearly shows changes based on change in POV
• 1 point: Student writing shows slight change based on change in POV
• 0 points: Student writing shows no change based on change in POV

ORGANIZATION

• 2 points: Student writing is clear and focused
• 1 point: Student writing attempts clarity but is disorganized
• 0 points: Student writing is confusing and difficult to follow

STRUCTURE

• 1 point: Student maintains integrity of plot events
• 0 points: Student does not maintain integrity of plot events

Mastery: 80% (4 points)

Pull up the videos used in the lesson and ensure they load properly.

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
• Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying!

This lesson may be continued through the stages of the writing process (revising, editing, publishing, presenting) in order to complete a full writing unit and assess multiple writing standards. Students may be encouraged to add illustrations to their published copies, to use technology to publish their stories online on a school or teacher webpage, or to create a book for use in the classroom or school library.

An accompanying during activity for this lesson can be located here.