First-grade students could compare traditional fairy tales such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” or Aesop’s “The Lion and the Mouse” with stories that contain similar elements. For example, read “The Lion and the Mouse” to the children. Read or watch an excerpt from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” where Reepicheep and his friends chew through the ropes to free Aslan. Although the two stories have many differences, they also contain many similarities the first-graders can identify. Students could similarly compare “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” with Brinton Turkle’s wordless "Deep in the Forest."
Take a familiar short story, such as “The Three Little Pigs,” and compare it to "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka. The first story uses the pig's perspective and the second tells the wolf's side of the story. Have the students compare the two stories and discuss how things can appear differently from another person's perspective. Invite the first-graders to create their own versions of familiar stories by changing the narrator.
First-graders often learn new vocabulary and spelling words through stories. Read a story with the week’s vocabulary words sprinkled throughout. Review the words with the students. Instruct the students to write their own stories using the vocabulary words. Compare the stories written by classmates. Have students identify similar story elements suggested by the vocabulary words, such as snow, wind and sky to create stories. For example, students could write about the perpetual winter in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," or have the mouse in "The Lion and the Mouse" enter the lion's den to escape a storm. Students can tell their story to a teacher’s aide who helps them write it out or illustrate the story and tell it to the class.
Often, elements in a story change when adapted to a movie or a play. Read the students the story of David and Goliath from a children’s storybook, children’s Bible or other source. Play dramatized versions of the story such as “Dave and the Giant Pickle” or cartoon versions posted on the Internet. Ask students to identify where the written story and the dramatized story differ. Ask them to guess reasons why the author of the film version changed the story. Discuss which version they preferred and why.