"The Queen Bee" by the Brothers Grimm Close Reading Worksheet

Engage a variety of middle and high school students with the incorporation of Grimm’s fairy tales into the classroom. “The Queen Bee” by the Brothers Grimm is a short story about the importance of protecting the vulnerable and the positive effects of performing good deeds for others. With this set of high-order questions, teachers will be able to extend reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills. While the close reading activity upholds academic rigor, the brevity of the narrative helps teachers fill awkward gaps in their teaching schedules. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing editable Word Documents and printable PDFs. By completing this activity, students will perform the following tasks:

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Examine how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
• Explore how a particular passage contributes to character development
• Define complex words and phrases as they are used in the text
• Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on situational irony, foreshadowing, and assonance
• Articulate a relevant theme
• Defend claims and ideas with valid reasoning and relevant textual evidence
• Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision
• Come to class/leave class better prepared to discuss literary material