Home » Education » Homeschooling » Homeschool Lesson Plans

The Little Red Hen Unit Study

Ranked #2,077 in Education, #49,683 overall

H is for The Little Red Hen

Once upon a time there was a little red hen and her baby chicks. The mother hen found some grains of wheat and decided to plant them in order to make a loaf of bread to feed her hungry brood. This is the beginning of the familiar tale of the Little Red Hen, one of my children's favorite tales.

In this unit study we will be learning about the story of The Little Red Hen as well as about chickens and how to grow wheat. We will look at the Little Red Hen's work ethic and compare that to the attitude of the other animals in the story.

We will use the story of The Little Red Hen to as the theme to learn language arts, math, science, social studies, art, music and physical education. We will conclude our unit study with a lapbook that will display all that we have learned in our unit study of The Little Red Hen.

Come discover the fun, hands-on activities that the Little Red Hen has hatched up while teaching her chicks...

Photo Credit: H For the Hen
Available on Allposters

Language Arts

Classic tale of The Little Red Hen

Do you remember reading the tale of the Little Red Hen while sitting on your mother or grandmother's knee? This is the tale that I remember with the hen who works so hard planting and caring for the wheat until it is harvested and ground into flour. Each of the other animals refuse to help so the Little Red Hen eats it all herself.
The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

by: Carol Ottolenghi

Amazon Price: $1.26 (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

Little Red Hen File Folder Game

The two hens are gathering their chicks. One hen has vowel chicks and the other has consonant chicks. Help the baby chicks find the right mother.

1

Vote Up
Vote Down

Little Red Hen File Folder Game

Match the chicks to the right mother hen. One hen has vowels the other has consonants.1 point

"Not I", said the dog.

The Lazy Dog does not help the Little Red Hen

"Not I", said the dog.

Photo Credit: The Lazy Dog
from Karen's Whimsey


Each time the Little Red Hen asked the dog to help her he says "Not I!" The dog is willing to let the hen do all the work but in the end thinks that he should reap all the reward. Why do you think that the Little Red Hen was not willing to share her bread with the dog? Is this fair?

Dog Notepad

Photo Credit: Dog Notepad
Available on Amazon


Did you notice that both dog and not have a short o in the middle of CVC words? This could be the perfect opportunity for you to practice identifying words with a short o sound.

Use dog shaped cards with pictures of things with a short o sounds. Write the word on the back for checking. Include some pictures of words with other sounds. The children listen to the sound of the word and if it has the short o sound they bark but if it doesn't have the short sound they say "Not I!"

"Not I," said the Cat.

The Lazy Cat does not help The Little Red Hen

"Not I", said the Cat.

Photo Credit: "Not I", said the Cat.
From Karen's Whimsey


The cat is not willing to help the Little Red Hen either. Do you think that the cat should have helped?

Why do you think the author of the story labeled the cat as being lazy? Have you ever noticed how often a cat takes naps?

Now let's look at the phrase "Not I," said the Cat. Look at all those delightful markings in amongst the words. Are they chicken scratches or clues to the meaning of the words?

1

Vote Up
Vote Down

What's all that Chicken Scratch? | Zujava

Homeschoolers will love these delightful resources for learning grammar. Sing songs, go on a scavenger hunt and change that chicken scratch into clues1 point

Little Red Hen Lesson Plans

More educational activities related to The Little Red Hen

1

Vote Up
Vote Down

Little Red Hen Kindergarten Lesson Plan

Reading and Writing lessons as well as word study using the story of The Little Red Hen. The lesson plans were written by Mary Bybee-Parkview Elementary2 points

2

Vote Up
Vote Down

Little Red Hen Preschool Lessons

Many delightful hands-on activities related to the story of The Little Red Hen including a friendship partner dance and counting puffed wheat.1 point

Tales of The Little Red Hen

Compare various Versions of The Little Red Hen

Which is your favorite version of The Little Red Hen? Make a comparison chart with the children. Do each of the books contain the same characters? If you wrote your own version, what other animals would you add?

At the end of the story, who eats the bread? Is it just The Little Red Hen or do her chicks eat it as well?

What does The Little Red Hen bake? In some versions she bakes bread. In others she might bake pizza.
Loading

Letters from The Little Red Hen

Learn How to Write Letters

The Little Red Hen has moved into a new neighborhood. She asks for help from her new neighbors but continually is told "Not I". She is persistant in her desire to make friends while maintaining her friendship with past neighbors but keeping up a correspondence with her old friend, Hetty.

Children can learn about writing letters, friendship and helping others from this inventive tale.
With Love, Little Red Hen

With Love, Little Red Hen

by: Alma Flor Ada

Amazon Price: $4.20 (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

Science

The Little Red Hen Grinds the Wheat

Wheat for the Little Red Hen

Gather your little chicks and carry the wheat over to the mill. Who will help? Will the cat, the dog or the duck? Who will help to grind the wheat into flour?
Loading

The Little Red Hen her Family

Hens, Roosters and Baby Chicks

Stuffed hens, roosters and baby chicks are ideal to add to the dramatic play area. These chickens by Hansa are constructed as realistic as possible. Children love to reenact the story of The Little Red Hen and other tales you have read to them about chickens.
Loading

Little Red Hen's Chicken Coop

Little Red Hen's Coop

Photo Credit: Chicken Coop
Available on Amazon


Set up a barnyard center where the children can act out the story of The Little Red Hen. Recreating the story, thinking of the actions of the various players, repeating the sequence of events are all important for children to learn as they begin to read and write. Plenty of hands-on creative time with interesting materials will lead to accomplished writers.
Loading

From Chick to Hen

How to Raise Baby Chicks

Start with eggs or chicks and raise them in a chicken coop and before long you will have laying hens. What a wonderful project to do with your children as part of the Little Red Hen Unit Study! Nothing can replace the hands-on experience of caring and feeding your own little red hen. Othercat tells us about her experiences and offers vital tips for caring and feeding of young chicks.
Loading

Sing about The Little Red Hen

Raffi sings about the Little Red Hen

Copy the lyrics to Down on Grandpa's Farm onto Chart Paper, laminate it, and then hang it on your easel. Point to the words as you sing along with the song.

Once the children have learned the words to the song, ask them to come up to the board and point to some of the vocabulary words such as:

little
red
hen

Another time the children might try to find all the color words in the song and then use dry erase markers to trace over the color words.
One Light One Sun

One Light One Sun

Amazon Price: $9.61 (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

This album by Raffi includes the song "Down on Grandpa's Farm" with the verse:
Down on Grandpa's farm, there is a little red hen
Down on Grandpa's farm, there is a little red hen
The hen, she makes a sound like this, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck
The hen, she makes a sound like this, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck

Little Red Hen Literacy Bag Activities

Worksheets to Accompany The Little Red Hen

The following links offer worksheets that can be added to Literacy Bags or used to complete a Little Red Hen lapbook. These activities include vocabulary, spelling and phonics studies related to the story.

1

Vote Up
Vote Down

The Little Red Hen - EnchantedLearning.com

The Little Red Hen story - activities and workshee more...2 points

Join us on The Homeschool Club at Facebook

Here is a wonderful opportunity to talk about your homeschooling experiences, chat with other homeschoolers and show off your newest homeschool lenses. Come join us on Facebook.
The Homeschool Club on Facebook
Learn how to make your own web pages about your favorite homeschooling stories and resources. We're all gathered in the Facebook group.

Little Red Hen answers your questions

Thanks for reading this unit study about the Little Red Hen

Plush Hen 14


The Little Red Hen would like to answer any questions you may have about teaching with a Little Red Hen theme. She likes to keep her little chicks happily learning and would like to help you do so as well. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them here for the Little Red Hen and she will get back to you as soon as possible.

  • WhiteOak50 Apr 16, 2012 @ 5:33 am | delete
    So cute!! Nicely done-
  • RobinDM Nov 24, 2011 @ 6:14 pm | delete
    Sweet unit study!
  • LisaAuch Nov 9, 2011 @ 12:18 pm | delete
    What a wonderful unit to study! SquidAngels boarded a bus headed for New England!And I was passing by and loved the little red hen!
  • iijuan12 Oct 15, 2011 @ 10:07 pm | delete
    Nice lens! We'll be studying this book in our K-2 Literature class later in the fall. This may come in handy. Thank you!
  • anilsaini Oct 12, 2011 @ 3:25 am | delete
    nice lens
  • Becca_Sanz Oct 11, 2011 @ 9:55 pm | delete
    The Little Red Hen is a great story for little kids.
  • Eevee Oct 11, 2011 @ 9:35 pm | delete
    When I was little, I loved The Little Red Hen.
Show All

About the Author of this Little Red Hen Unit Study

Loading

P.S. What is The Homeschool Club?

THE HOMESCHOOL CLUB is real parents and kids sharing their best resources for great homeschooling. Each day we celebrate learning by opening doors to a world of creativity, knowledge and discovery. In the car, at the kitchen sink, and down by the frog pond - the whole world is our classroom and we explore it with creative projects, games, and activities. This club is a place to share, organize, and discuss how and what we learn in the world. Make a free page to tell your own homeschooling story and share your favorite resources. We can't wait to hear from you!

Writing about The Little Red Hen

Come write about The Little Red Hen on Wizzley, a fun and easy place to express your opinion:
Join Wizzley

by

Evelyn_Saenz

My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Explore related pages

Farming 

Loading

Related Tags