February Love Stories Part 2: The Theme of Finding Love Where You Least Expect It

February: the month of LOVE and surely there are plenty of stories which cover the “traditional” love story. Our worldly stories, however, teach us so much more about love than just that.  This month we will explore five love stories, each from a different country and each with their own unique message about what it means to love and be loved in return. This week’s stories are about finding Love Where You Least Expect It.

Beauty & the Beast  

The classic tale from France of a beautiful, smart, young girl who finds herself entrapped with a hideous Beast to spare her father’s life; a Beast who turns out to be more than what he seems. A tale as old as time…..

A story from France, this European Folk Tale is a wonderful tale of love that builds from friendship. Much like Disney’s version, but with some differences, there is also a secondary plot about three very different sisters, Beauty being the youngest, most humble, and the one to put the love for her father above her own wants and needs. She willingly goes to take his place and live with the Beast, whilst her older sisters only care about their selfish ways, getting their riches back and finding husbands who will “suit” them. An exploration of love in many forms, this tale analyzes love between a father and daughter as well as love that comes from truly learning to value another for their heart and not their appearance, for "true love comes from within". Beauty finds “Love Where She Least Expects It”, a love grown from friendship and true admiration for ones’ best qualities.  

Stay tuned: The Fisherlad & the Mermaid’s Ring  

A positive message while teaching an important literary skill: this is what you will find in all the Stories to Grow by Stories and accompanying Reader’s Theater scripts.

February Unit Lesson Plan Part 1: The Theme of Love & Appreciation

February: the month of LOVE and surely there are plenty of stories which cover the “traditional” love story. Our worldly stories, however, teach us so much more about love than just that.  This month we will explore six love stories, each from a different country and each with their own unique message about what it means to love and be loved in return. This week’s story is about appreciation: appreciation for what we have that money can’t buy: the true love of another.

Greyfoot: 

GREYFOOT

The story of a conceited princess of England who thought that no man was worthy of her hand. The prince of Denmark, however, is determined to change her mind. He sends many a gift, each one she destroys, literally, along with his pride, but, alas, he is determined to change her proud ways. He decides to go to the kingdom in disguise, tricks her into marriage and forces her to live a life of the common woman. Through a series of unfortunate events, she learns an important lesson about herself and what it means to truly love another through appreciation.

A story from Denmark, this European Folk Tale is a wonderful tale of appreciation of the common gifts in life that wealth cannot buy, most importantly of these, love. A common story thread, a member of royalty is forced to live a life of a commoner and learns a great deal about life and love in the process. Learning to appreciate life’s greatest gifts…values we want to instill in our students and a reminder for all of us of what is most important.

Teaching Greyfoot: Love & Appreciation

This story meets Common Core Standards for 2nd -4th grade and is a wonderful addition to a February Unit surrounding the Theme of Love and to teach the literary skills of Characterization, Sequence of Events, and Cause & Effect. This story also lends well to Compare/Contrast stories with a similar plot line and similar/different outcomes. We offer a wonderful Decision Map FREE to support teaching Characterization which will help students recognize the value of the lesson in this story surrounding love and appreciation. Extend your standard learning of the literary skills with a story that your students will sure to ponder and love. Happy LOVE Storytelling!

A positive message while teaching an important literary skill: this is what you will find in all the Stories to Grow by Stories and accompanying Reader’s Theater scripts

February is for LOVE...Stories!

Beauty and the Beast

This month our blog will be dedicated to sharing the many stories we have in our vast treasury surrounding the Theme of LOVE...but not just traditional love stories...we will explore through our stories the many facets of love and what the main characters from each story learn about love, but more importantly, what they learn about themselves and others during the process. Some familiar stories are in our collection, Beauty & the Beast!, and some unknown stories such as the Willow Leaf Eyebrow from China which both explore the theme of Love Beyond Appearances. All of the main characters in these stories will learn the art of what it means to truly love another through lessons of Compassion, Empathy, Forgiveness, & Appreciation. And, of course, what love story collection would be complete without a story of Love brought together by Fate.

Happy LOVE Storytelling! 

Click here for our collection of Love Stories. Stay tuned for our first installment on the Theme of Love. The Story of Greyfoot: True Love is found From Within. 

Winter Unit Lesson Plan Part 2: The Theme of (Unlikely) Friendships, Acceptance and Kindness: Inviting the Bears

Inviting the Bears

Inviting the Bears:

A story of unlikely friendships, acceptance and love, a lonely old man ponders if he should start a new life somewhere else. After deciding that a move wouldn’t change his predicament, he goes into the forest seeking answers. What he finds are grizzly bears who he decides might just be the answers to his prayers. Although they speak a different language and are usually considered fierce enemies, he decides to invite them to a feast. What he learns from them is truly the lesson of a lifetime.

A story from the United States (Alaska to be exact!), this Native American Folk Tale is a wonderful tale on finding friendships in the unlikeliest places, accepting those that are different (and who may be more alike than we believe) and kindness to others, even if it is out of our comfort zone. This story is perfect for readers on all levels, is short and engaging and speaks a message we want all our students to hear.

Teaching Inviting the Bears: Unlikely Friendships & The Common Thread that Binds Us All  

This story meets Common Core Standards for 1^st -3rd grade and is a wonderful addition to a Unit on Friendship, Acceptance and Kindness. This story is best used in the classroom to promote its positive messages and would be a great addition to a unit for Character Education. You could also use it in a unit on Native American studies and how they used animal tales to promote these three themes within their tribes. Extend your standard learning of the literary skills with a story that your students will sure to ponder and love. Happy Storytelling!

A positive message while teaching an important literary skill: this is what you will find in all the Stories to Grow by Stories and accompanying Reader’s Theater scripts.