The Three Snow Bears: A Compare and Contrast Game

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One of the most read books in our house over the past month has been The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.

The Three Snow Bears is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the classic fairy tale, The Three Bears, except this story takes place in the Arctic with polar bears and a young Inuit girl named Aloo-ki.

To extend the story, we decided to play an easy-prep game where we compared and contrasted The Three Snow Bears with Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Before reading the stories, I prepped the game.

I took three sheets of construction paper and labeled them at the top. One was labeled The Three Snow Bears, another was labeled The Three Bears, and the last was labeled Both Stories.

I then took 15 index cards and wrote down several elements of the story. Some were specific to one of the stories and some were elements of both stories. I’ve listed the elements below.

The Three Snow Bears

Boots
Igloo
Aloo-ki
Dog sled
Polar bears

The Three Bears

Chairs
Porridge
Goldilocks
Cottage
Brown Bears

Both Stories

Papa, Mama, & Baby
Beds
Too hot!
Just right!
Bowls

Before playing the game, read both The Three Snow Bears and a traditional version of The Three Bears (we like Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall).

Once you’ve read the story, hand your child one card at a time. Ask them to determine whether it came from one of the two stories or if it was in both stories.

Have them place the card on the correct sheet of paper. That’s really all there is to it.

This is a simple game, but it helps with reading comprehension as well as learning how to compare and contrast two different stories.

For more learning fun:

Download and print the Goldilocks and the Three Bears mini book at Scholastic.com. Let your little ones color the pictures and put together the book. (Plus, you can use it for this activity if you don’t already have a copy of the book!)

Make a mural all about The Three Snow Bears. Jan Brett’s website has all the pieces you need. Print, color, cut, and create your own mural about the story.

Tell the story with props. Learn Create Love has a free, printable storytelling set for Goldilocks & the Three Bears. Turn them into puppets and let your child tell the story.