Goldilocks

I realized that although we have tons of books around here, we don't have many of the classic stories like Hansel and Gretel or Jack and the Beanstalk.  I'm not sure why we don't have them, but I want to make sure my kids hear those stories. One of the books we got from the library this week is Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  There are tons of versions but we got a cute one by Emma Chichester-Clark.
To go along with this story, I made a really simple printable. 

After we read the story, I pointed to each picture and asked my three year old if it was in the story or not.  I wanted to see if he could tell me which didn't belong.  He couldn't (which is okay!) As a kind of afterthought, I cut the pictures out and taped them to popsicle sticks.  Drew and I played with them and I was shocked at how well he could retell the story after only hearing it only once.  Almost immediately, he put aside the bike and told me it didn't belong! :)

I've done this kind of activity with kids right up to middle school, except I have them make the pictures (or a list) and then exchange papers.  They have a lot of fun with it and forget that they're learning to determine importance in text.

If you want the printable of Goldilocks and the Three Bears you can click here.