Picture of "The Little Red Hen" Creative Venn Diagram

For the two books: The Little Red Hen and The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza), I created a Venn Diagram of shapes/things represented in each of these works. For the traditional story, I made a loaf of bread and for the post-modern tale I created a pizza with the ingredients the book listed that the hen placed on her pizza (including the eight anchovies).

If I did this activity with my class, I would have made the cards with similarities and differences ahead of time, as I have already done, for this activity. When the class began, I would first read the traditional tale and then the new one. Then, I would get my cards out and call on students to choose a card and then, read it aloud to the class and then place it on the bread, the pizza, or in the middle, depending on which story it related to.

An added area of difficulty I put in my Venn Diagram ensures that students double-check where they believe the cards must be placed. I drew pepperoni and miniature versions of hens and wheat. Because pepperoni must go on the pizza, bread is made from wheat, and a hen is in both stories, a specific picture goes with each card. For example, if a student read a card that says: "The hen asks for help from reluctant friends," then that student will decide that that occurs in both stories, chooses the miniature picture of the hen, and places the picture on the center of the board. It is important to take blank cards and miniature pictures to the class that day so that students can add their own comparisons and contrasts to the diagram.

Because I placed handy tack on the back of the miniature pictures I drew, they attach themselves to the cards and the cards to the board. This also allows the cards and pictures to be easily removed from the board for use in subsequent years. The Velcro which connects the three pieces also allows for easy transport to and from school for the teacher!