Lesson: The Little Red Hen

In this classic folktale, the Little Red Hen does all the work to bake the bread herself, while her lazy barnyard friends do nothing.

Good discussion topics are how do families share their responsibilities to do daily chores? How do the children help clean up in class? What kinds of important jobs do people do in a community to make it work?  For example a policeman, fireman, doctor and teacher. Students can draw pictures of people working and helping each other at home and in their classrooms. You can divide children in groups to do a task. Afterwards, ask them how it went? Was it easier to have others helping?

Character Education

For the youngest students, the story has the lesson that the hen could do the things herself but her friends should have helped her. A combination of being proud of things you can do yourself and thinking of ways to help others is a good character lesson for this story. The value of hard work is another.