Activity 4: Thinking and the Characters of the “Little Red Riding Hood”

This is one part of the reflection on the lesson “Introducing Challenge to Pre-School Children”

Procedures

1. Students read the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” so they were familiar with the characters. They were asked to characterise every character in turn, replying the question “What is s/he like?” The teacher was putting their answers on the board. The following result was produced. When students started repeating the same features, the teacher introduced a reward giving a card to a child coming up with a new characteristic.

2. The teacher provides the context: All the characters want to go on a shooting of a cartoon. But the train which goes there has only 4 places. So the children have to exclude one character in turn, proving why he is ‘odd’ and should not be coming. The children come up with the following explanation: wolf is evil so he is odd; mum isn’t the main character; Little Red Riding Hood can be replaced by another character.

Students’ response and Teacher’s role

1. Children were actively giving description of the characters. The teacher was accepting everything and introduced an additional motivation when the children started to repeat the features. 
2. Children were giving their explanation why a character is ‘odd’ and the teacher accepted the answers.

Overall reflection on the Activity 3

• The last activity offered a clearer context why characters should be excluded. Even more motivation could be added saying that the characters do not want to go and every child has to identify himself with one of the characters and prove that he is different from others, that is why he is not coming. 
• More challenge can be provided, otherwise, quite many of the fast-food replies are accepted.
• This was the last activity so children were already tired that is why the teacher was trying to both keep the dynamics and keep children thinking.