Once Upon A Time: The Power Of Perspective And Using Fairy Tales To Teach Elementary Students About Empathy And Perspective-Taking

This thesis contains an exploration into the ability of children’s literature, specifically fractured fairy tales, to teach elementary students about empathy and the importance of perspective-taking. Empathy is the cognitive and affective ability to see a situation from another person’s frame of reference. The following research examines the ability of fractured fairy tales, fairy tales told from an alternate perspective, to influence the empathetic responses that children have to characters formerly labeled as villains. Research was conducted in a second grade classroom using the well-known fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs. Findings from this study indicate that fractured fairy tales do impact how elementary students feel about certain characters and plot developments. Instructional implications indicate that fractured fairy tales can be a powerful tool to use in elementary classrooms for the purpose of teaching children about empathy and perspective-taking.