Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale familiar to most young children. The
characters gain experience in solving problems and making choices, some
good and some not so good. The story contains lines that young children
love to say over and over, such as Little pig, little pig, let me come
in, Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin, and Then I'll huff and I'll
puff and I'll blow your house in. Many versions of the story are beautifully
illustrated by many artists. Find one you like and read the story. This
story lends itself easily to a study of wind.
Provide a space large enough for children to build the pigs'
houses. This area could be located temporarily in the music center if
"Three Little Pig" songs are also being used. Read the story and keep
copies of the book in the reading center. Discuss with the children the
types of materials that could be used to build the houses. Have a variety
of building materials such as unit blocks, foam blocks, and hollow blocks
available for the children to use. Some teachers use appliance boxes as
pig homes and have children bring in sticks and straw to glue to the boxes.
Sponge paint to depict bricks for the brick house.
When participating in this activity, children will
- learn that the
story of The Three Little Pigs has a beginning, middle, and end;
- begin to recognize
the sequence of events that take place in the story;
- acquire an interest
in reconstructing the story or inventing a story of their own;
- explore the building
materials to create the pigs' houses;
- apply their own
rules as to how strong the houses they have created are and how powerful
the wolf is;
- construct their
own understandings of key components of the story;
- investigate how
strong some building materials are'
- compare their
thinking about story elements to that of others;
- make comparisons
about what else could "blow a house in," such as a hurricane or tornado;
- apply their learning
in new ways by incorporating their building knowledge to new projects;
- be able to predict
the sequence of events in other stories based on knowledge gained from
- Story of The
Three Little Pigs
- Variety of building
materials, blocks of different types
- Songs about The
Three Little Pigs
- Props, such as
puppets or masks
Set up a dramatic play area for reenactment of the story. Read
the story, The Three Little Pigs, to the children. Encourage children to
join in saying or signing the repetitive phrases. Distribute props to encourage
children to participate in the story. Stimulate their interest in building
the houses and reenacting the story.
- Use signing as
you read the story and sing along with the music.
- Place Velcro
strips on building blocks.
- Create houses
on the computer.
- Use Discover:Switch
or TalkPad to program the repetitive phrases from the story so nonverbal
children can participate.
Software titles that enable children to build with geometric
shapes: Macintosh or PC compatible
- Gryphon Bricks
- Millie's Math
- Blocks in Motion
- Create pig and
wolf masks from paper plates, crayons, markers, glue, and craft sticks.
- Provide straw,
sticks, and small stones as collage and construction materials so children
can create pig houses. Children can be encouraged to verbally compare
and contrast the variety of textures of the materials. Provide descriptive
words like rough, smooth, bumpy, scratchy.
- Blow on the materials
and see which material blows away the easiest and which material takes
the most "huffing and puffing" to blow away.
Listen and move to
Greg & Steve's "The Three Little Pigs Blues." It's a lively tune,
so be sure to provide plenty of space in the music area for moving to
the rhythm of the music.