Fairy Tale Graphic Organizer

A blank sheet for the parts of any fairy tale, from once upon a time to happily ever after.

Press a line to type on it.

Name:Title:Author:Once upon a timeWhere and when does the tale happen?Good characterWho do we hope will win?Bad characterWho makes the trouble?MagicA spell, a helper or a magic objectProblemWhat goes wrong?Happily ever afterHow does it end?
Fairy tale graphic organizer: the parts of a tale Six boxes, two to a row: once upon a time, the good character, the bad character, the magic, the problem and happily ever after.
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Next step Print a story map for the same tale

How it works

This fairy tale graphic organizer names the parts of a tale the way the tales do. Use it in a genre unit, after a read-aloud, or with a picture book version of a tale the class already knows.

Read the full guide

A fairy tales graphic organizer for a genre unit

Read two or three tales and fill in a sheet for each, then lay the sheets side by side. The boxes that match from tale to tale are what make the genre. The checklist asks the same of a story that may or may not be a fairy tale.

Writing a fairy tale

For a tale of the writer's own, start with the writing a fairy tale graphic organizer. A writer who is stuck in the middle can use the three tries sheet: the first two tries fail and the third one works.

  • Once upon a time has opened stories in English, in some form, since at least 1380.
  • The sample is Cinderella as Charles Perrault wrote it in 1697. The fairy godmother, the pumpkin and the glass slippers were his additions.

Questions and answers

What is a fairy tale graphic organizer?

A one-page frame with a headed box for each part of a fairy tale. A reader fills it in after hearing or reading a tale, and a writer uses one to plan a tale before writing it.

What are the elements of a fairy tale?

Fairy tales typically feature magic and fanciful beings, and they take place once upon a time, not in a real time or place. Their characters are simple types, such as a youngest son, a wicked stepmother or a fairy godmother.

Do all fairy tales have a happy ending?

No. Many end happily ever after, and a fairy-tale ending has come to mean a happy one, but some folk fairy tales end unhappily. The last box asks how the tale ends, so it works for those too.

All 9 organizers

Reading a fairy tale 5

  • Draw and write: four parts of a fairy tale Four boxes with space for a picture over primary lines: once upon a time, the characters, the magic and the ending.
  • Fairy tale graphic organizer: the parts of a tale Six boxes, two to a row: once upon a time, the good character, the bad character, the magic, the problem and happily ever after.
  • Is it a fairy tale? Checklist with evidence Eight things fairy tales often have, each with a Yes or No box to tick and room to say where it shows up in the story.
  • Primary lines: the parts of a fairy tale The same six boxes on primary lines with a dotted midline, for 1st and 2nd grade.
  • Two versions of one fairy tale A row for each part of the tale and a column for each version. The 2nd grade Common Core standard asks readers to compare two or more versions of the same story, and gives Cinderella stories as its example.

Writing a fairy tale 3

  • Change a fairy tale: plan a new version For a writer who retells a tale everyone knows: the tale, what changes, what stays the same and the new ending.
  • Three tries: a fairy tale plan in threes A box for each of three tries at the problem and a box at the foot for the ending. Old tales are fond of threes: three little pigs, three bears.
  • Writing a fairy tale graphic organizer: plan your own tale Five boxes joined by arrows for a tale of the writer's own: setting, characters, problem, magic and ending. The first line already says Once upon a time.

Filled-in sample 1

  • Sample fairy tale organizer, filled in: Cinderella The six boxes done for Cinderella, from the house where she works by the fire to the glass slipper that fits.

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