Fairy tales are stories that enchant and amaze in equal parts. Although many people feel that they are only for children, the truth is that each of these stories is special for their place in English literature. As well, each of these fairy tales in English can help you improve your reading, grammar, and vocabulary skills.
For children, fairy tales are short tales filled with magic and adventure. At their heart, fairy tales are meant to teach and instruct. Use these fairy tales to not just teach English, but to teach them life lessons as well.
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood is the story of a little girl who visits her grandma so that she can deliver her some goodies. Unfortunately, she is stalked by a wolf who wants to eat her.
In this fairy tale, children can learn about body parts in English and review the present simple tense. They can also learn about stranger danger and the importance of looking out for danger.
Learn more about Little Red Riding Hood by clicking here.
Cinderella
This is the classic tale of a poor girl who has the chance to become a princess. Cinderella has been adapted many times, including the famous Disney animated version.
The Cinderella fairy tale can teach children about family and classic fairy tale vocabulary.
Click here to read the story of Cinderella.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is one of the few famous fairy tales that was originally written in English. With the famous giant and fee-fi-fo-fum, understanding this fairy tale can help you better understand English literature.
Jack is a young boy that is sent out to the market by his mother to sell the cows. Jack spends the money he makes, not on food, but on magic beans. Jack’s mother is furious, but the beans grow into an amazing beanstalk that carries Jack on to an adventure.
With Jack and the Beanstalk, you can practice numbers and action verbs. You can also teach your child that sometimes, you need to take a chance to get lucky.
To read more about Jack, click here.
The Three Little Pigs
Technically this is not a fairy tale, but it is still a classic children’s story that everyone loves to read. In this story, three pigs each build a house, but when a wolf comes to town, not all of these houses can survive.
The Three Little Pigs loans itself to teaching children about adjectives and vocabulary like first, second, and third. It can also show children that hard work always pays off in the end.
Learn more about how the three pigs deal with the big bad wolf in The Three Little Pigs.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
What happens when a rude little girl finds an empty house and some cooling porridge left all alone? Find out in this classic story that the animals are civilized, and the people are not.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears introduces children to the past tense. This is an important grammar concept that takes children a long time to learn, so it is best that it is introduced early and reinforced often.
See just how rude Goldilocks can be in Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Rapunzel
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. This classic fairy tale was recently remade in the popular Disney film Tangled. If your young one loves this movie, then they will also love to learn more about the original story.
In Rapunzel, children can learn about time words and how they help tell stories. Children can also learn about adventure and romance.
Click here to read about Rapunzel’s story.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
This classic Aesop fable teaches children about the importance of truth and trust. In this tale, a boy starts to lie for fun, but eventually, his jokes catch up to him and get him into a lot of trouble.
You can use this story to teach your child an important moral. As well, they can become better at English by practicing “where” sentences.
Click here to read about The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
The Fisherman and his Wife
The Fisherman and his Wife is a fairy tale that teaches us about being happy with what we have. It involves a poor fisherman, his greedy wife, and a magical fish that can grant their wishes.
This tale is also our first story written in the simple past tense. This tense requires a lot of practice, so this story can help you get those practice hours in.
Click here to read about the Fisherman and his Wife.
The Tortoise and the Hare
This classic Aesop fable teaches children about the importance of hard work. You will also read about the infamous race between the slow tortoise and the speedy hare.
With this story, your child can learn about comparisons in English as well as directional prepositions.
Read about the Tortoise and the Hare here.
The Princess and the Pea
The Princess and the Pea tells the story of a queen and her attempts to see whether a girl is a princess or not. It’s a silly story that children love to hear about.
Reading this story can help you teach your child about simple questions and dialog verbs.
The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Ant and the Grasshopper is a classic Aesop fable. It tells a story about an industrious ant preparing for winter and the lazy grasshopper that does not.
You can also learn about the seasons and important grammar terms like “while” and “during” by reading this story.
Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel is a Grimm fairy tale about two children who encounter a witch in a dark forest. The witch may live in a candy cottage, but she actually prefers to eat little children.
This story has many classic fairy tale elements and a lot of past tense revision opportunities for young English learners.
How to Use Our Fairy Tales in English
Each story we have written here has been simplified, so that is ideal for beginners. We have done our best to provide you with all of the tools that you could need to get the most out of our fairy tales. This includes:
- Vocabulary lists
- Definitions
- Activity Ideas
- Pictures to Accompany our Stories
We hope that you enjoy all of our Learner’s Nook stories.
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