The Little Red Hen finds a grain of wheat, and asks for help from the other animals to plant it. But no one is willing to help. Later she asks for help to harvest it, then thresh it, mill it, and finally bake the flour into bread. At each stage she gets no help. But when she asks who will help to eat the bread. Everyone says yes, but she eats it with her chicks, leaving none for others. The Little Red Hen is an old folk tale, most likely of Russian origin and its most commonly used story when teaching children the virtues of work ethic's and personal initiative. This early childhood and junior school favourite also teaches children about the value of preparation, diligence and self discipline. There are heaps and heaps of preschool activity ideas to integrate this story across the early childhood curriculum.
Interesting information about this story; The Little Red Hen, primer, was developed for reading instruction during the 1880's as it was less blatantly religious or moralistic than other stories being used previously, but still provided a moral lesson. See … for more information about the transition from religious based materials to fairy tales and folklore for teaching. If you enjoyed The Little Red Hen you’ll probably enjoy the Ant and the Grasshopper as well, as it has a similar character education message.
Story Resources Included:
- Story
- Little Red Hen
- Cat
- Duck
- Pig
- Packet of seeds
- Soil
- Shovel
- Seedlings
- Watering Can
- Golden Wheat
- Sack of Flour
- Wheelbarrow
- Bread - going Into oven
- Bread - ready to eat
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