Fairy Tales Elements Worksheet

Fairy tales are one of the first genres a child learns to name, and knowing the pattern behind them makes every story easier to follow. This Fairy Tales Elements Worksheet teaches 3rd Grade readers the parts that turn up again and again in a fairy tale: special beginning and ending words, royalty, a talking animal, a problem to solve, and something that happens three times. Once students can spot those parts, they stop reading a story one sentence at a time and begin reading it as a whole, which is exactly what strong story elements instruction is built to do.

This worksheet opens with an original fairy tale written on a third grade reading level, so readers have a complete text right on the page instead of hunting for one somewhere else. On the second page they fill in a chart, writing one example from the story beside each fairy tale element. Two short written responses follow, asking readers to name the lesson the tale teaches and to point out the one event that could never happen in real life. Use this fairy tales elements worksheet during a genre study, as guided reading follow-up, or as a quick check after a fairy tale read-aloud.

What’s Included

• An original one-page fairy tale written at a 3rd Grade reading level
• A six-row fairy tale elements chart with a writing line for each example
• Two short constructed-response questions on theme and on genre
• A complete answer key with sample responses
• A print-ready PDF sized for standard letter paper

Three reasons this helps kids. First, it gives every reader the same text, so the lesson is about the genre and not about who happened to pick an easy book. Second, the chart turns an abstract idea into something a child can point to on the page, which is how third graders build durable reading vocabulary. Third, the two written responses move students past finding and copying, asking them to explain a lesson and to separate the real from the make-believe.

Teachers and parents can stretch this 3rd grade genres worksheet in several directions. Read the tale aloud first and let students track the elements on a second read. Have partners compare their charts and defend any answer that differs. Then hand out a familiar fairy tale from your classroom library and ask the same six questions, or challenge writers to draft a short tale of their own that hits every element on the chart.

Related Resources

• Important Elements of the Story Worksheet
• Story Elements Reading Graphic Organizer Worksheet
• Telling About the Story Worksheet
• Story Elements Song