Little Red Riding Hood is one of the most famous fairy tale stories in the western world. It has been adapted and changed many times throughout history, each author putting their unique twist on it. The original, called Little Red Cap, was written by the Brothers Grimm.
Our adaptation is more similar to the modern versions of the Little Red Riding Hood story. However, we have tried to make our version acceptable for young English learners. For this reason, most language and sentence structures have been simplified. The story has been made easier to read and less scary. As well, we have kept everything in the present simple tense.
We hope you and your child enjoy our re-telling of this classic story. If you have any questions, please ask us by clicking on the image below or commenting on this post.
The Little Red Riding Hood
By Joshua Chapman
Little Red Riding Hood is a young girl.
She likes to wear a red hood on her head.
One day, she goes to her grandma’s house.
It is in a dark forest.
Little Red Riding Hood walks and skips.
She has some bread for her grandma.
A wolf sees Little Red Riding Hood.
It is very hungry.
It watches the girl and gets a bad idea.
A little later, Little Red Riding Hood sees her grandma’s house.
She opens the door and goes inside.
She can see her grandma in bed.
“Come closer,” says Grandma.
“Grandma, why do you have big eyes?” asks Little Red Riding Hood.
“Better to see you with, my dear.”
“Grandma, why do you have big ears?” asks Little Red Riding Hood.
“Better to hear you with, my dear.”
“Grandma, why do you have big teeth?” asks Little Red Riding Hood.
“Better to eat you with,” says the wolf.
The wolf jumps out of grandma’s bed and runs after Little Red Riding Hood.
Little Red Riding Hood screams and runs outside.
Outside, a woman hears the scream and runs to help.
She has a big ax.
The wolf sees the woman and the ax.
The wolf is scared and runs away.
“Grandma, why do you have an ax?” asks Little Red Riding Hood.
“Better to save you with, my dear,” says Grandma.
Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma go inside and eat the yummy bread together.
Inside, they are safe, warm, and happy.
Little Red Riding Hood Story Vocabulary
Hood
Grandma
Grandma’s House
Forest
Bread
Hungry
Idea
Eyes
Ears
Teeth
Scream
Ax
Scream
Things to Teach Your Child
Here are some ideas of topics that you could teach using this story. We’re sure that, if you get creative, you can think of more, but here are some that really stood out to us.
Feelings
Throughout the story, each character feels different things. To teach or review feeling words, you can ask your child how they think each character is feeling at that point in the story.
If they don’t already know, make sure to teach feelings vocabulary first. You can teach words like happy, hungry, scared, confused, angry, and sad.
Example Sentences:
How does Little Red Riding Hood feel?
How does the wolf feel?
How does Grandma feel?
She is scared.
It is hungry.
Present Simple Tense
The present simple tense (or simple present tense) is the first tense we learn as English speakers. We generally use it to talk about short actions or things that are true.
This story helps your child review the simple present by having them read and understand several verbs throughout the story.
If you have questions about this verb tense, take a look at our explanation of the is, am, and are, as well as examples of the simple present tense.
Story Verb List
To Be (is, am, are)
To Like
To Wear
To Go
To Walk
To Skip
To Watch
To See
To Have
To Say
To Jump
To Run
To Hear
To Save
To Ask
To Get
One way to help your child practice their verbs is to have them identify verbs that they see throughout the story. Another great way to practice verbs is to play Simon Says or Charades.
Activities
Stories are a fun way for children to learn in their own right. But, they can also be a way to teach your child about new and exciting topics that they have never encountered before.
Here are three fun activity ideas you can use to get your child to use English in new and unexpected ways.
Draw Your Favorite Scene
Kids love to draw, and drawing can help them learn and practice the vocabulary they have encountered in this story. Have your child draw their favorite scene from this story, and then ask them some easy questions in English like:
Who is that?
How do they feel?
Where is Little Red Riding Hood?
Where is the wolf?
Where is Grandma?
Bake Some Bread and Visit Your Own Grandma
Turn your child into Little Red Riding Hood by baking some bread (or other treats) and taking them to their grandma. Baking can help your child learn about food vocabulary. While visiting Grandma can be a fun day out for everyone.
Learn More About Wolves
Although wolves can be scary, they are also really cool animals. Wolves hunt in packs and live all across North America and Europe.
You and your child can learn more about wolves with this article from National Geographic. If your child likes to learn about animals, we have more animal content over on our Animals in English page.
Other Fairy Tales From The Learner’s Nook
There are never too many stories for you and your young ones to read together. Encourage their love of reading by checking out our other fairy tales specifically written to help children improve their English-reading skills.
Click here to explore more fairy tales.
Fairy Tales for Kids and More
We want to help your child become a fluent English speaker. One way to help your child learn is to have them listen to and interact with native English speakers as often as possible. To help with this, we are trying to put out fresh content as often as possible. If you want to hear about new fairy tales and content on the Learner’s Nook, sign up with your email below.