Teacher’s Note: Students have been reading and analyzing Grimm fairy tales. In this lesson students
focused on the characterization of a simpleton in the fairy tales “The Three Feathers” and “Queen Bee.”
Students identified the traits of a simpleton and the reasons simpletons are included in narratives. In this
assessment students analyzed the traits of a character from one of the stories to determine if the
character was a simpleton and to explain the reasons why the character was included in the story.
Assessment Question
Choose a character from “The Three Feathers” or “Queen Bee.” Use text support and the definition of
a simpleton to tell whether the character is a simpleton. Also, explain why the character was included
in the narrative.
Michael Bowler – Grade 7
In “The Three Feathers” the older brothers are simpletons. They showed their simplicity in several ways
throughout the story. For example, after the younger brother succeeded in finding the best carpet and
best ring, they did not learn from their mistakes and continued to put forth no effort. Also, they
misjudged their younger brother. They thought that he was a simpleton and that he was stupid, but he
beat them in all four contests. They brought home rags, bent nails, and peasants to compete with. They
just went to the nearest place that they could get the item they were looking for. The older brothers
were included in “The Three Feathers” to teach the lesson to “try your hardest,” since they put forth no
effort and lost in the end. They also added to the conflict because they were the younger brother’s
competition. The older brothers in “The Three Feathers “ were simpletons.
Fairuz Rahman – Grade 7
In the story “The Three Feathers” the youngest brother was not a simpleton. In the story, the younger
brother was the only one that was able to complete all three quests. The two older brothers didn’t even
try to complete the challenges. The youngest brother followed the feather and was able to get the
carpet, ring, and the pretty lady. Another thing that the youngest brother did was he was able to
outsmart his brothers and win the kingdom. The youngest brother went to the talking toad all three
times to get what he needed. I think that the youngest brother was included in the story because he’s
the one who brings in the magic such as the talking toad. Also, he brought conflict because there were
three quests with his brothers. The youngest brother In “Three Feathers” was not a simpleton.