Image of a fairytale, "Once upon a time..."
Art by Kristina Kister
Background Builder,

What is a Fairy Tale?

Here are four things you may find in fairy tales. Is the story on page 14 a fairy tale?

By Laine Falk
From the September 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will learn background knowledge about fairy tales before they read the fiction story “The Sloth Princess.”

Lexile® measure: 480L
Featured Skill: Vocabulary, Main Idea,
Vocabulary: royal
Topic: English Language Arts,
Common Core Standards
  • ELA Focus
    Genres: Fairy tales
  • Skill Focus
    Background knowledge
  • Common Core Standards
    RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.7 Use visuals RI.2.9 Compare two texts on a similar topic RI.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate informational texts SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts
TEKS Standards
  • English Language Arts
    (8) Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts—literary elements. The student recognizes and analyzes literary elements within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse literary texts. The student is expected to: (D) describe the importance of the setting. (9) Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts—genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts. The student is expected to: (A) demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children’s literature such as folktales, fables, and fairy tales

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1. “Once Upon a Time”

Many fairy tales begin and end the same way. They often start with “Once upon a time.” They often end with “And they lived happily ever after!” Most fairy tales have happy endings.

2. Royal Characters or Talking Animals

You may meet a king, queen, princess, or prince in fairy tales. That’s because they often have royal characters. 

Some fairy tales have animal characters. A lot of times, those animals can talk! You might read about giants, ogres, and dragons. Roar!

3. Magic

Abracadabra! You can also find magic in fairy tales. Characters might be able to cast magic spells or fly through the air. 

4. Setting

The setting is where a story takes place. Fairy tales often take place in a forest. Some fairy tales happen in a castle. 

video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (2)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (2) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Small group; whole group; independent reading

1. Use the Before-Reading Resources

  • Video: What Is a Fairy Tale? (5 minutes)
    Show students a short video about what makes a story a fairy tale. 
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow (5 minutes)
    Help students become familiar with the vocabulary words they will see in the article.

2. Read the Article 

Reading focus: Build background knowledge (30 minutes)

  • This article gives students background knowledge that will help them better understand this issue’s fiction story, “The Sloth Princess,” on page 14.
  • As they read, tell students to pay attention to the different elements that they can find in fairy tales. They will be reading a story soon, and they will have to figure out if it is a fairy tale or not. 

3. After-Reading Skills Practice

(All pages below can be printed from our website.)

  • Fairy Tale Checklist: (15 minutes)
    Once students have also read the fiction story, “The Sloth Princess,” they can use what they learned in this Background Builder to decide if the fiction is a fairy tale.

You can use this skills page to practice other skills. (15 minutes)

  • Quiz: Comprehension check

Text-to-Speech