Three Little Pigs Lesson Plan: Activities for Preschool

The Three Little Pigs is the classic tale of three pigs sent off by their mother to make their way in the world. The first two pigs easily built their homes of straw and sticks. The third pig works very hard to construct a sturdy house of bricks. When the hungry wolf comes looking for a feast, he quickly blows down the straw and stick houses. Luckily the two pigs ran off to their brother's home, because the brick house stands firm when the wolf came to visit. The third pig gives the wolf the surprise of his life when he flees down the chimney.

The story of The Three Little Pigs has many authors and versions. One of my favorites is a bilingual book by Merce Escardo I Bas (Chronicle Books) called "The Three Little Pigs/Los Tres Cerditos." On each page the text is written first in English, followed by the same paragraph in Spanish.

As you read the story get your group involved in critical thinking activities. Introduce the three pigs and ask these questions.

Do you think brothers and sisters are alike? In what ways? In what ways are they different?

Do they always do things the same way?

Do they like the same things?

After reading the story:Do you think the first two pigs would have built their houses the same way if they knew a wolf was coming? What would they do to make the houses different?

What if the wolf was not hungry, would that make the story different? How?

Enhance your Three Little Pigs lesson plan with these activities for preschool children:

Calling all pigs--"soo-uu-ee-yy" You can help your group pretend to be pigs with a homemade nose and tail!

Materials:

-4 oz. paper cup with hole punched on the sides
-yarn
-decorating materials such as markers, paper and glue
-pipe cleaner
-piece of paper
-safety pin

Procedure:

1. Help children to make a nose from a 4 oz. paper cup with holes punched on the sides and yarn attached to be tied around the back of the child's head. Invite children to decorate the cup with markers, paper and glue.

2. For a pig's tail, take a pipe cleaner and show children how to curl it. They can stick one end through a piece of paper and then pin the paper to the back of their clothing.

3. Invite your group to act out the story of "The Three Little Pigs."

Piggy Puppets

Materials:

-pink construction paper- 8 1/2" x 11" sheet
-2 plastic food container lids (approximately 5 1/2" and 2" in diameter)
-wooden craft stick
-safety scissors
-glue
-black crayon

Procedure:

1. Place the plastic lids on the pink paper and help children trace twice around 5 1/2" circle and once around the 2" circle.

2. Show your group how to assemble the pig puppet by gluing the craft stick between the two circles, then gluing on the smaller circle for a snout.

3. Let children cut ears from the pink scraps and glue them on.

4. Suggest that children use black crayon to draw eyes.

5. Find books, videos and song recordings relating to pigs. Have children use their puppet to dramatize the actions.

6. Sing a piggyback song: (Tune: "The Farmer In The Dell")

The pigs are pink and fat,

The pigs are pink and fat,

Rollin' in the mud all day,

The pigs are pink and fat.

The pigs have curly tails,

The pigs have curly tail,

Oinkin' all around all day,

The pigs have curly tails.

Make-up new verses to this song together.

Pig Sandwiches

Invite children to help with lunch preparations as you create these cute "piggy" sandwiches!

Materials:

-large bread circles
-cream cheese
-red food coloring
-raisins

Procedure:

1. Help children spread one large bread circle with pink cream cheese. Cream cheese can be tinted pink with a couple drops of red food coloring.

2. Top with a smaller pink snout.

3. Let each child use raisins for eyes and the bread scraps for ears. (Tip: With practice, they can easily prepare these without help.)

4 Talk about other foods from pigs; ham, bacon, pork chops and sausage. Which make good sandwiches?

5. Enhance lunch with a video such as "The Three Little Pigs", "Miss Piggy" or "Babe".

These are only a few ideas to use in your Three Little Pigs lesson plan, I'm sure you can brainstorm others. Enhancing children's stories with activities and crafts helps little children understand the story and makes it truly enjoyable.

Sources:

www.familytlc.net (adapted)

Personal Experience in the Classroom