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Young Adolescents Re-Visit Cinderella
Or What do Fairy Tales Have to Do With ME?!

 Barbara Lazar 

Academic Setting

School Setting 

Cleveland Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has a student population that consists of approximately nine hundred students, 51% of which are Anglo, 33% Hispanic, 6% Native American, 5% African American and about 5% Asian and “other.”  Students live in single-family homes as well as in apartments and low-income government subsidized housing.   The school consistently scores above the national norms on standardized tests.  Students are heterogeneously assigned to families - teams of generally two teachers and 50-60 students.  Core academic classes are taught within this family structure, except for math. At eighth grade, students can test into an Algebra class for which they receive high school credit.  

Class Setting 

In alignment with National Middle School Philosophy and as a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, the school recognizes the uniqueness of the early adolescent learner and promotes student centered learning that is meaningful and connected to the community.  The Blazer Family is one of the 8th grade teams. It is made up of 55-60 students, two regular education teachers, and one special education teacher who meets the needs of the gifted students placed in the family. An interdisciplinary approach and differentiated instruction is incorporated into all units of study, since many of the gifted students are not necessarily identified as “academically gifted,” and multiple learning and teaching styles and assessments are utilized.  Literary skills (reading and writing) are considered tools for ongoing learning across the curriculum rather than merely an end in itself, and are practiced in context.  In this environment, students are less anonymous and have a sense of belonging that enhances their sense of self and is conducive to positive learning and the willingness to explore diverse ideas.  It is within this context that a reading-writing unit founded in the genre of fairy tales will be developed. 

Context and Background 

Rationale 

Once upon a time we listened to fairy tales, we heard them as bedtime stories, and saw them as movies.  We were enchanted by their magic, and embraced the characters and stories as a part of what we knew.  But little did we realize that many of these tales of magic and wonder were not necessarily originally meant for children.  We know “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Bean Stalk,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and others, and we see their images in picture books and know them in movies.  They are associated with our childhood and imbedded into our collective memory in some form or another.  But how do we know them? Some of us aren’t sure if we remember or agree how a story goes or how it ends, and we rarely consider how and where these tales actually originated.  For and by whom were these stories told and written and what is the appeal that keeps them around to this day?  How have these tales, especially “Cinderella,” shaped us, and how do the modern adaptations of these stories reflect our times/society/values?  These are some of the questions this unit will focus on. 

            Why teach fairy tales in middle school?  Physically, emotionally, and psychologically young adolescents are at a turning point in life, often preoccupied with questioning traditional beliefs.  It is a time when many look back at “childhood” with mixed feelings - and look ahead with excitement and apprehension.  This inquisitive lens often shifts focus during adolescence as ideas are challenged and as these core beliefs are questioned, tested, and explored.   We have always learned and defined who we are by the stories we hear and the stories of our lives.  Often there is an attempt to personalize these stories as a way to make some sense of our lives. Middle schoolers often see themselves as “victims” much like some of the fairy tale protagonists -”Poor Cinderella!”  They hold their self-image and relationships up in comparison to these stories.  Fairy tales heard as a child range from the “safe” and sanitized versions made popular by Disney, to the modern rewritings, as well as the traditional classic tales.  All of these tales are familiar territory with potentially strong stereotypes and social messages.  Having students revisit these (mostly) familiar stories from childhood, specifically “Cinderella” stories, enjoying them for the “story” they tell, and then looking from the perspective of young adulthood at gender and class roles, story patterns and motifs, and social implications of these same stories is the framework for this unit that looks at self and society, as well as why these tales have remained so popular over time.  Students will read the lines, read between the lines, and read beyond the lines.  Student will write to learn about themselves and the issues that arise, write to tell their stories, and re-create the familiar stories in a new voice.  

The History of Fairy Tales 

In order to understand the appeal and importance of fairy tales in general, and how they have shaped and continue to shape how we see ourselves in the world, one must understand the historical and societal context that informed them.  Tales have been told for thousands of years.  Looking for ways to explain unknown phenomena and forces of nature, stories were the way a village was warned and informed of the dangers and wonders of nature.  Wisdom and knowledge was passed from one generation to the next, thus establishing a sense of community.  The Greek myths, like the early folk tales, were tied closely to the rituals, customs, and beliefs of a group of people. Tales gave hope in a world that was often struggling and stories created and confirmed the belief that miracles can transform the world - and perhaps themselves.   Using imagination, these stories informed, educated, warned, and entertained.  As the needs of a community changed, the storytellers modified the story.  As myths evolved into folk tales, humans, rather than gods and goddesses, took their place in the stories and the specific struggles of humans became the focus of folktales.       

            In feudal societies, the literacy rate was low and folktales were told by storytellers and passed on by governesses and maidservants. Like all folk tales, these tales were not intended for children, but rather meant to entertain and inform.  For a 16th century peasant for instance, poverty and famine were very real and life expectancy was low.  It is not surprising that the harsh realities of peasant life were expressed in the folktales, as were the superstitions, traditions, and customs of a community.   The tales of children starving and having to sell off possessions and clothing or parents feeling hopeless and abandoning children in a forest made for gruesome stories.  So tales that instructed listeners in ways to survive by being self-reliant and live by one’s wits were told.  The early tales did not feature passive and helpless women; everyone in a family had to be clever and responsible and there was little differentiation between adults and children.  The message of the early oral tales was that everyone needed to be useful and productive in order to survive.  Thus, they provided a sense of hope during times of struggle, and the possibility of transforming the harsh realities of life.    

            The genre of the literary fairy tales began to emerge as the aristocracy began to appropriate the common folktales for its own purposes.  The upper classes were aware of the traditional stories told throughout the countryside.  These were the tales of wonder and superstition they heard as children from their servants, the lower class governesses and wet nurses.  Often, the peasant women passed on the stories they knew to their young upper class charges.  Considered the center of the civilized world in the 17th century, French authors began to adapt the folktale.  Eventually, these “new” tales reflected shifts in the new concept of civilized behavior and mapped out existing hierarchies.  The new aristocracy defined itself more in relation to courtesy and fine manners as a way to legitimize their place in society.  Ironically, as the need to be identifiably different from the peasant class became more important for the aristocracy, the traditional folk tales found their way into the society of the upper class. The stories told to children became the source of the adult fairy tales created throughout the 17th century at the Court of Louis XIV.  Traditional oral folk tales were being transformed for the purpose of entertaining and instructing a new aristocratic audience.  Charles Perrault, author of the well-known version of Cinderella, took a special interest in educating his own children and created a very didactic approach to using fairy tales as the means to inform and instruct a burgeoning aristocracy how to be civilized 

            As these stories became appropriated by the court society, stories changed according to the values and accepted tone of the French society.  It was primarily upper class women who embraced and created these stories. They would naturally refer to folktale motifs as they began to write literary fairy tales using them as a vehicle to document proper social manners.  Denied formal education, the challenge of embellishing, improvising, and experimenting with the familiar motifs was an acceptable diversion for the women who needed to give voice to the issues that concerned them, such as forced and arranged marriages.  And so within the literary salons, they found the means to practice their voice.  They raised ideas and messages within the framework of the salon games with intellectual play with words and language.  These tales centered on issues of the times including morality, education, manners, and society, and the use of wit and expression developed in those of the upper class.   The telling of these tales enabled women to imagine themselves in relation to the interests of the male dominated aristocracy.  These salon tales were so successful that they were soon written down, and in a sense, frozen in time. Stories about a Cinderella-like ill-treated heroine had certainly been told long before Perrault wrote it down, but it is his version - complete with a fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage, and the glass slipper - that we seem to remember most vividly.            

            Though the first written tales were still intended primarily for the adult audience, it soon became apparent that proper socialization of the upper class and bourgeoisie depended on conveying specific values and ethics to children. Thus, the literary fairy tale began to establish itself as a genre focusing on values, manners, and expectations for upper class children, delivered in an entertaining manner for the purpose to instruct and relate to the new social mores.  Many of the modern versions of fairy tales continue this with modern heroines and contemporary values and beliefs. Go to top of page.

The Story Writers 

It is important to remember that folk tales and fairy tales have been around for many years.  Though it is only since they were written down and adapted that a particular author’s voice took precedence over all previous storytellers.  Many of the stories we read today are based on the appropriated tales of these authors who were influenced by their personal circumstances within a societal and historical context.  As students today are asked to consider a tale and perhaps to write their own, these personal, societal, and historical perspectives and values will be evident.  

Charles Perrault (1628-1703) 

One way to instruct and civilize the aristocratic and bourgeois classes was through the literary folk tale. Before the height of Enlightenment, there was a major shift in cultural and social mores and in 1697 Charles Perrault published Histories ou contes du temps passé (Stories, or Tales of Past Times).  No longer thought of as little adults, and with this new notion of “child” in mind, strict standards of behavior were written into fairy tales.  The moral of Perrault’s stories, clearly spelled out at the end of the story, inevitably rewarded honesty, industriousness, obedience, and virtuous behavior.  The control of human instincts was the goal of upper class child rearing and the stories of Perrault provided these ideals and models for children.     

            As Jack Zipes explains in his article on Perrault and his associates in “Setting Standards for Civilization,” Perrault was very aware of his audience, and his tales “Sleeping Beauty,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Bluebeard,” and “Cinderella” were aimed at exemplifying qualities desirable in girls, while “Puss in Boots,” “Ricky of the Tuft,” and “Hop o’ My Thumb” focused on male protagonists. In “Sleeping Beauty,” the virtue of patience is rewarded.  She has to remain passive and patient for one hundred years until a prince brings her back to life, and again must be patient and docile when the ogress takes her children.  Of course, at the end, the prince saves her and that is her reward.  In Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood,” a warning tale with an unhappy ending, we learn about good girls.  Girls who are pretty, courteous, and well-mannered do not talk to strangers; they control themselves and their sexual drives, otherwise they will be eaten by a “wolf.”  The message in “Bluebeard” is a warning against being too curious if you are a beautiful, well-bred young girl.  Self-control must be exercised at all costs and an imagination and curiosity are considered particularly dangerous.  Females must be humble and self-disciplined.  Finally, in “Cinderella,” the desired qualities are diligence and a sweet and gentle disposition, though she only becomes beautiful when she is properly dressed, and Perrault did make it clear what a properly dressed woman should wear.  Perrault stressed the qualities of passiveness, docility, patience, and submission for his female characters. All of this resulted in getting the “right” man.   Females are punished and humiliated for being curious and following natural ways. 

            On the other hand, intelligence is the attribute rewarded by the males in his stories, and being good looking is not necessary.  In “Puss in Boots,” a cat represents an educated, devoted, and diligent servant.  He has fine manners and taste in clothes that eventually win the power and wealth to his master who gets to marry the King’s daughter.  “Ricky of the Tuft” and “Hop o’ My Thumb” exemplify that a clever and intelligent person, even though he is ugly or little, is valued.  “Brains are better than brawn” is a far cry from the message outlined for the female characters.

Perrault’s stories also demonstrate that his interest was not in preserving the authentic folk tale, which were most often matriarchal tales, but in extolling the virtues he perceived as desirable in aristocratic women. 

Madame Leprince de Beaumont and Madame D’Aulnoy 

Two important female writers who developed literary tales were Madame de Beaumont and Madame D’Aulnoy.  Madame D’Aulnoy was one of the more prolific writers of the tales from the literary salons.  She wrote about women’s place in society, marriage, and court life, often rebuking the tales created by males.   D’Aulnoy’s tales gave power to fairies or to wise or wicked women.  Her tales served the interests of women and were critical of forced marriages.  Her work was admired by Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve who published a unique version of “Beauty and the Beast” in La Jeune Amériquaine et les contes marins in 1740. 

            Madame Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast published in 1756 is apparently based on the much longer version of the beast bridegroom story by Madame de Villeneuve. This kind of appropriation of a story exemplifies how a folktale theme was revised by upper class authors. We learn about 18th century aristocracy as well as about a girl and her beastly bridegroom.  Beaumont’s take on the classic fairy tale allows us to understand how fairy tales were appropriated for children. Like Perrault, Beaumont’s tales were clearly meant to instruct children in an amusing manner.  As a governess in a school for girls, Beaumont wrote Beauty and the Beast to teach about manners in good girls.  Her audience was young adolescent girls whom she sought to prepare for the kind of submissive behavior bourgeois marriage was based on. 

The Brothers Grimm 

Many of the fairy tales with which Americans are most familiar came from the Children’s and Household Tales collected by the Grimm brothers.  In the early 1800’s Jacob Ludwig Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786-1859), the eldest of six children, published a collection of fairy tales they had gathered as part of their effort to project a particular “German culture” as represented in the oral folktale tradition.  Due to the sudden and early death of their father in 1796 when the boys were young, their lives changed dramatically and the topic of loss of home and security became a theme that appears in many of their stories. Contrary to the notion that they walked around the German countryside seeking out the village storytellers, the Grimms invited specific storytellers, primarily women of the middle class or aristocracy, into their home.  They would listen to the tales, often more than once, and then take notes. One group of women from a family in Kassel who were of Huguenot ancestry and spoke French in the home, related tales they had heard from their nursemaids and servants.  This would explain why so many of the French tales of the oral and literary tradition found their way into the Grimms’ collection, including a Cinderella story called “Aschenputtel,” which in contrast to Perrault’s version, invokes severe punishment on the step-sisters. As they reworked the stories, they shaped the tales in order to appeal to a growing and wider middle class audience.  From its first publication in 1812 to its final one in 1857 the stories in Children’s and Household Tales grew in popularity and were refined in style and structure as an awareness of a wider audience was taken into account. Adjectives and descriptions were added; dialogue and narrative were incorporated, and eventually the stories were considered more acceptable to children.  To be less offensive to middle class morality and more didactic for children was the goal.  The values of work, cleanliness, and diligence were advocated in the Grimms’ editions of fairy tales. 

Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875) 

Another major contributor to the fairy tale tradition is Hans Christian Anderson.  Where Perrault and the Grimms primarily appropriated and reworked existing tales, Anderson created new tales using the traditional fairy tale form.  This 19th century son of a poor Danish cobbler was tormented by his social inferiority.    Though he was taken in by an upper class benefactor, he remained on the fringe of society as did the protagonists of his stories.  Though always seeking to fit in to society, he faced rejection and inadequacy.  This translated into his stories.  The Ugly Duckling is considered autobiographical with the recurring motif of deep rejection and humiliation.  The Little Mermaid also features an outsider, like Anderson, who wishes to be in the “other world” and like so many fairy tale females, including the servant girl who has to separate peas and lentils from the ashes, Cinderella, has to face humiliation to reach her goal.  Go to top of page.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) 

Though his manner of appropriation and commercialization of fairy tales is controversial, Walt Disney’s fondness for the fairy tale has left a lasting mark on the genre.  For most students, the “Disney version” of a story will be the starting point for comparing tales’ similarities and differences.  Born in Chicago, Illinois, to a home impoverished emotionally as well as economically, he left school at the age of 16 and in 1923 began producing animated motion pictures with his brother Roy. He seemed especially interested in working with fairy tales perhaps due to his own upbringing; the class and family struggles portrayed in the tales were much like his own life. 

            His first full-length animated film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937). He adapted, but did not further the story, as past fairy tale authors had done. Disney enjoyed the story, enhancing elements that he believed would appeal to an American audience of the post Depression 1930’s; incorporating romance and humor, as well as adding the “musical” dwarves who sing “labor songs” to promote solidarity and work ethics as they marched to the mine.  Though there are other changes and shifts in emphasis in this and other Disney animated fairy tales, the plot was never his main interest.  Rather, his primary interest was in the technology of creating memorable animated images as Jack Zipes discusses in “Breaking the Disney Spell.” In a domineering and controlling fashion, Disney created a new venue for fairy tales, but one that glorified him as the technologically astute animator rather than another storyteller.  His goal was to immerse the audiences in seamless images more-so than the story, which was most often reinforcing of the patriarchal view, bland female protagonists, and a cleaned up world.  Where the oral folktales built community, and the literary tales built complex narrative to be read and re-read in solitude, his films tend to be generally non-reflective, impersonal, and one-dimensional.  However, it is through Disney’s films, and the associated marketing, that many of our students will be most familiar with fairy tales.               

Why Cinderella?  

The story of Cinderella is a story that crosses time and culture with amazing flexibility, its themes and motifs cropping up in stories and novels, with an abundance of references and allusions.  What is the common thread and why is it so lasting?  The tale of Cinderella has hundreds of versions in film and print, but the best known is the fairy tale by Charles Perrault.  This is also the version animated and commercialized by Walt Disney.   Almost all of the variations of the story tell of a young heroine who is treated poorly by her family and who receives magical help and is finally seen for her true worth by a man of a higher class.  The appeal remains that we can all recall times when we have felt unappreciated and rejected and want to be seen for who we truly are.  The earliest known version was written down in China by Tuan Ch’eng-shih in about AD 850-60. Yeh-Shen is the heroine who has a magical fish as a helper and a golden shoe identifies her to a prince who wants to marry her.  There are also types of Cinderella stories with a father who persecutes the heroine or when she is cast out of the home, but these are not as widely known by young American students, so this unit focuses primarily on the classical story as known to them. 

            Stories are generally shaped by the writer and the personal, historical, and social context within which it is written.  When Perrault was writing tales in 17th century France, he would record the stories he liked, often ones that showed the situation of women, then add a moral that reflected the values of the aristocratic class at the time. (Zipes, “Setting Standards” 31)   An example of how his “Cinderella” version changed is that it is believed that when referring to the fateful shoe test that Perrault mistook the word “vair” meaning “fur” in French for the word “verre” which means “glass” which then became the traditional footwear of the dainty Cinderella.  (Hallett 52)  The Grimm brothers’ version is called Aschenputtel or Ash Girl.  The heroine does not have a fairy godmother but plants a magic tree on her mother’s grave and then receives help from a magic dove that appears there.  And the Grimms’ version metes out a less forgiving punishment for the cruelty and envy of the step-sisters as their eyes get pecked out by birds. 

            In all of these stories, the heroine must endure hardship, humiliation, and degradation and remain very patient until she meets a man of higher standing who will eventually see her for her true virtues and rescue her.  Perrault’s moralistic and the Grimms’ patriarchal frames of reference have come to be accepted as the “real” fairy tales. Their social prejudices and gender stereotypes are firmly entrenched in the traditional fairy tales.  However, allowing students to begin with the known tale even though the values differ from today’s, and then offering what Jack Zipes calls “counter-versions” gives students the opportunity to see how a story can be adapted.  As the stories were written, they became frozen in time and according to Zipes in Creative Storytelling it is this freezing that reinforces “negative gender roles and an ideological thinking that stabilizes the hierarchy of class and race.” (39) And it is for this very reason that it is important to reconfigure the tales to reflect the values and possibilities of today’s adolescents - girls and boys.  The use of the familiar and traditional story of Cinderella is not intended to reinforce the message of stereotypical gender and class roles, but to use them as place to begin understanding how stories can tell about who we are, from the context of the society in which we live, and the possibilities we envision for ourselves and our children. Go to top of page.

Implementation 

Essential Questions:

Ø       Why are Cinderella stories so popular?

Ø       How do Cinderella stories reflect varied cultures and times?

Ø       What are the themes and motifs of Cinderella and how do they appear in other literature/media?

Ø       How are gender roles in fairy tales portrayed?            

One of the most well-known fairy tales is “Cinderella.”   “Cinderella” stories exist in cultures around the world and have been told for over a thousand years.  This coming of age story cycle usually pivots around several characters: an ill-treated heroine, envious step-sisters, cruel step-mother figure, a magical helper, and the inevitable shoe (or some other clothing) fitting test.  This five-six week unit designed for 8th grade language arts/reading classes meeting about 200 minutes per week, will utilize as a foundation the vast collections of traditional and modern stories and variations of “Cinderella.” 

            Students will a) be reacquainted with “Cinderella” stories through various media; b) listen, read, write, tell, view, and illustrate stories using “Cinderella” as a model; c) consider the story elements, including character and setting; d) following an inquiry of how fairy tales and characters are shaped by the society from which they emerge, students will apply traits of effective reading to the stories and/or novels they read in groups and/or individually; and e) apply effective traits of writing in the creation of their own fairy tale.  

            The following Albuquerque Public Schools Language Arts Standards-8th grade performance standards - based on and in alignment with New Mexico State and National Standards will be addressed throughout the implementation of this unit: 

STRAND I: READING PROCESS

Reading Strategies

3.         Uses a variety of reading processes and strategies when reading independently reading a variety of literary and informational texts in order to understand main story elements, author perspective, and style (ID.6).

Vocabulary Development

4.         Applies strategies (e.g., knowledge of word origins and derivations, analogies, idioms, prefixes, and suffixes) to define and extend understanding of word meaning

STRAND II: READING ANALYSIS

Literary Analysis

2.              Analyzes the purpose and effectiveness of the selection by evaluating author bias, message, and underlying assumptions

Literary Applications

11.              Analyzes personal perspective towards texts and the influence of society, culture, and historical issues on the reader (I D.2, III A.2)

12.              Explains how themes in literature are a reflection of human issues and experiences (I B.1)

14.       Shows how a work of literature reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its author (III A.3)Go to top of page.

STRAND III: EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE: WRITING

Writing Strategies

2.             Demonstrates competence in using elements of effective writing (i.e., idea, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions)

STRAND V: LANGUAGE LISTENING AND VIEWING

Listening/Viewing Strategies

6.             Analyzes a variety of media, describing how they reflect and shape cultures, values, beliefs, and attitudes. 

Traits of Reading and Writing   

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory is a teacher-based organization that has created a trait framework that enables teachers and students to break down reading and writing performance into manageable groups of teachable and assessable skills.  Briefly, the six traits of reading are: conventions, comprehension, context, interpretation, and synthesis.  The traits of writing are: ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. 

This unit will frame the reading and writing of tales by teaching and assessment based on these traits.   Conventions and comprehension can be considered “reading the lines” of text, context and interpretation are considered “reading between the lines” and interpretation and synthesis can be “reading beyond the lines” of the varied texts.  The reading traits create a continuum of skills and assessment.   The traits of writing define the qualities that are evident of strong writing.  By using models of strong writing in the form of fairy tales by various authors, students will learn the traits then practice in their own writing experiences.   

Assessment will be based on evidence of Standards as demonstrated by:
            Journal
            Participation - Class
            Participation - Group (Peer Evaluation)
            Writing Process - self-evaluation
            Writing Product - self and teacher- emphasis: Voice

Week 1 - Introduction to the genre, Review of Cinderella
Week 2 - Cinderella motifs and themes; review other fairy tales
Week 3 - Literary elements of Cinderella/fairy tales; gender, age, class, point of view
Week 4 -5- Contemporary adaptations; Literature Circles
Week 5 -6 - Write original or adaptationGo to top of page.

Lesson 1 - What do we know?
Objectives:

Materials:

Procedure

Students will write a brief retelling of the story of “Cinderella,” as they remember it, in their journals.  After this individual task, students will discuss in their groups the story and how they know the story.  Then the whole class will come together to tell the story orally as a round robin - each student will tell 2-3 sentences, then the next student will add 2-3 sentences; a class recorder(s) will record on butcher paper.  After celebrating the creation of a class retelling - community building - of “Cinderella,” conclude with teacher orally reading/telling the Charles Perrault “Cinderella,” with which they are probably most familiar, second to the Disney film upon which it is based. Allow time for students to write their first short fairy tale.  They will write a more extensive tale or adaptation at the end of the unit which will demonstrate their growth and understanding of the elements of a fairy tale, as well as their writing skills. Conclude by assigning students to bring in fairy tale books from home 

Lesson 2 - How do we know what we know?

Objectives:

Materials:

Procedure:

Review the experience from Lesson 1 in which there were varied recollections and details shared and discussed. In journals, respond to the prompt: “How do I know what I know about fairy tales?” Share responses in small groups then in whole class, as an option.  In journals, students create a KWL chart - a three column chart that frames student knowledge and goals for a specific unit of study; the first column, students record what they already KNOW (K), in the middle column students record questions or ideas that they WANT (W) to learn or know about the topic, and in the third column students record as they LEARN (L). These individual KWL’s will then be shared to create a class chart (on butcher paper) as a guide for the direction of the unit. Conclude with an oral reading of Grimms’ “Cinderella” story.  Students will most likely be shocked at the cruel punishment of the step-sisters, and that there is no fairy godmother or pumpkin, etc. In their journals students will draw and caption two significant scenes. 

Lesson 3 - What is a Cinderella Story?

Objective:

Materials: 

Procedure:

Begin with a review of the Perrault and Grimms’ tales, based on student input, providing some background on the authors; historical, social, purpose, etc.  Students will create two organizational charts for note-taking in their journals - one will be a grid chart to record background of Grimms and Perrault, and the other will be a Venn diagram which will compare and contrast the two versions of the story.  The center of the intersecting circles should highlight the elements or motifs that are in common. Discuss these, then read Yeh-hsien, considered the first Cinderella story to be written down in AD 850.  Student will write, then share the similarities and difference in this story, noting the magic helper is a fish - how does that reflect on the value of fish in the culture, also noting the fate of the step-sisters?   A class list of fairy tale motifs/themes will be started. Students will begin to generate an ongoing list of unknown or unusual words to be incorporated into a class list.  

Lesson 4 - Oral Storytelling

Objective:

Materials:

Procedure:

Students will discover, read, and share Cinderella stories from the class collection.  They will record their findings in an annotated list in their journals, noting favorite versions.  Students will also begin a list of other tales that interest them.  Using the shared Cinderella stories, review and record in journals the following elements of a story: character, plot, setting, conflict.  Students will sign up to be a storyteller using one of the Cinderella stories they have found.  Each student will have the chance to tell their story to their small group, then one student per group will tell their story to the class. Debrief by asking questions about what makes an effective story?  An effective storyteller?  Share one or two versions (one not selected by a group) of the story to tell orally.   

Lesson 5 - The Disney-fication of Cinderella

Objective:

Materials:

Procedure:

Students will review the notes in their journals relating to the story elements and motifs. Look for variations, adaptations, additions, emphasis from the stories they now know compared to this popular version.   Stop the film periodically to reflect on the scenes and stories, for example, how are the characters portrayed differently in the text and film?  What about all those animals?!  In journals, students will describe their observations about how the Disney film told the story, and the message we get about females and males in the film, including how they are drawn. 

Lesson 6 - Gender Roles in Cinderella/Fairy Tales

Objective:

Materials:

Procedure:

In groups, students will select a fairytale to deconstruct with a focus on gender stereotypes.  Students will record the group findings in their own journals - including any other observations besides gender: e.g., familiar motifs.  Each group will present their story and findings to the whole class, then lead the class discussion.  Read aloud “Hop ‘O My Thumb” to exemplify tales that extol “brains over brawn” in a male protagonist. Zipes’ “The Iron Knight” (Creative Storytelling) is used to show the male/hero dilemma. Each group will read a variation of a familiar tale that alters a gender-based perspective, attitude, or value.   Continue word list. 

Lesson 7 - The Storyteller in You

Objective:

Materials:

o       Student Journals           

o       Writing Rubric - teacher-made or 6 trait

o       Class generated list of fairy tale elements

 Procedure:

Review the traits - specifically of voice - use That Awful Cinderella by Alvin Garonsky to emphasize voice.   Refer students to their journals, then in groups identify the elements of a fairy tale.  Create a list of character types, magic helpers, conflicts, and endings, then each group will write a quick tale using a combination of these elements. Read aloud Bruce Lansky’s “The Fairy Godmother’s Assistant.”  Over several days, students will brainstorm ideas, draft stories, peer review, re-write, type, illustrate, and “publish”/bind their completed stories. 

Lesson 8 - Fairy Tale Poetry

Objective:

Materials:

o       Student Journals

o       Poetry Samples/Examples (I Am, Bio-Poem, etc.- see Documentation)

Procedure:

Students review various poetry formats, select a fairy tale character and write the poem from the point of view of the character, possibly bringing in a perspective not evident in the classic tale.  Read Judith Viorst’s ...And then the Prince Knelt Down and Tried to Put the Glass Slipper on Cinderella’s Foot.  Students write, type, and present their poetry. Go to top of page.

Lesson 9 - Ever After

Objective:

Materials:

Procedure:

This movie was written in 1998 and Disney’s was written in 1950. Students will review notes from the animated Disney movie in their journals.  Students will view Ever After with a critical eye to portrayal of gender roles, class, story elements, and visual sense.   Students will write a 3-5 paragraph movie review with a focus on one of these elements and as it relates to the fairy tale genre. 

Optional Lesson:  Novelized Fairy Tales

Objective:

Materials:

Procedure: Students will read in literature circle groups or partners, keep a reading journal, and focus on questions, such as: How does this story enhance the fairy tale on which is based?  How does this novel build and go beyond the fairy tale?  In what ways are the motifs, gender, class struggle, etc. handled in the novel? 

Documentation 

Poetry Formats 

I Am Poem Format 

I am   (2 special characteristics you have/are)
I wonder  (something you are curious about)
I hear  (an imaginary sound)
I want  (an actual desire)
I am  (the first line of the poem repeated)

I pretend  (something you actually pretend to do)
I feel  (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch  (an imaginary touch)
I worry  (something that really bothers you)
I cry  (something that makes you sad)
I am  (the first line of the poem repeated)

I understand  (something you know is true)
I say  (something you believe in)
I dream  (something you actually dream about)
I try  (something you really make an effort about)
I hope  (something you actually hope for)
I am  (the first line of the poem repeated)

Biopoem Format

Line 1: (name)
Line 2: (4 character traits)
Line 3: Relative of.......
Line 4:  Lover of.......
Line 5: Who feels.......
Line 6: Who needs.....
Line 7: Who fears.........
Line 8: Who gives.........
Line 9: Who would like to see.........
Line 10: Resident of........
Line 11: (name)Go to top of page.

Annotated Bibliography

Teacher Resources

Cashdan, Sheldon.  The Witch Must Die - How Fairy Tales Shape Our Lives.   New York:        
            Perseus, 1999.                            

            A psychological view of fairy tales and children. 

Hallett, Martin and Barbara Karasek, eds.  Folk and Fairy Tales.  Orchard Park, New York:               Broadview Press, 1998.

            Anthology of fairy tales grouped by theme followed by articles. 

Huang, Lucia. American Young Adult Novels and Their European Fairy-Tale Motifs.                        
            New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1999.

            As the title indicates, this book takes FT motifs and applies them to 10                               
            contemporary YA novels.

Oates, Joyce Carol.  “In Olden Times, When Wishing was Having...: Classic and                        
            Contemporary Fairy Tales.”  The Kenyon Review Summer/Fall 1997: 98-110.

              Perspective of the modern, revised tales based on the traditional. 

O’Neill, Thomas.  “Guardians of the Fairy Tale: The Brothers Grimm.”  National                    
            Geographic Dec. 1999: 102-129.

              Grimms’ background with geographical context.

Sierra, Judy.  Cinderella - The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series.  Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press,                1992.            

            Cinderella stories from a wide range of cultures with commentary, activities, and resources.

Tatar, Maria, ed.  The Classic Fairy Tales.  New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999.            

            Anthologized by tale type with critical essays.  

Warner, Marina.  From the Beast to the Blonde - On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York:               Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994.

            Focuses on the women as story tellers and their impact. 

Wright, Terri Martin.  “Romancing the Tale: Walt Disney’s Adaptation of the Grimms’ ‘Snow               White’.”  Journal of Popular Film and Television Fall 1997: 98-108.

            Overview of Disney as a movie maker, specifically Snow White.

Zipes, Jack.  “Breaking the Disney Spell.”  The Classic Fairy Tales.  New York: W.W. Norton &               Co., 1999. 

            Deconstructing Disney. 

---.  “Fairy-Tale Discourse: Towards a Social History of the Genre.”   Fairy Tales and      the Art              of Subversion - The Classical Genre for Children and the Process of Civilization.              New York: Routledge, 1991.

             Historical overview with social context. 

---.  Creative Storytelling - Building Communities, Changing Lives. New York: Routledge,               1995.                         

            Classroom application of storytelling.

 ---.  Don’t Bet on the Prince - Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America                        
            and England.  New York: Routledge, 1987. Go to top of page.

            Stories and commentary.

 ---.  Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion - The Classical Genre for Children and the                        
            Process of Civilization.  New York: Routledge, 1991.

            The historical development of the genre; social and cultural influences.

 ---. “Setting Standards for Civilization through Fairy Tales:Charles Perrault and his Associates.”                     
    Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion - The Classical Genre for Children and the               Process of Civilization.  New York: Routledge, 1991.

            Focus on Perrault and historical, cultural, social background and context, including         
            “Cinderella”                    

Fairy Tales

Block, Francesca Lia.  “Glass.”  The Rose and the Beast - Fairy Tales Retold. New York:        
             Harper Collins, 2000.            

            Modern, magical, for young adult and older readers.

Climo, Shirley.  The Egyptian Cinderella.  Illus. by Ruth Heller.  New York: Harper Collins         
             Publishers, 1992.

             Set in Egypt in the 6th century BC, a slave girl chosen to be his queen by the Pharaoh.        

 ---.  The Irish Cinderlad.  Illus. by Loretta Krupinski.  New York: Harper Collins Publishers,               1996.            

            Male Cinderella, aided by a magical bull. 

---.  The Korean Cinderella.  Illus. by Ruth Heller.  New York: Harper Collins Publishers. 1993.

            Set in ancient Korea, Pear Blossom receives aid from magical animals. 

Coburn, Jewell Reinhart, adaptor with Tzexa Cherta Lee.  Jouanah - A Hmong Cinderella.  Illus.               by, Anne Sibley O’Brien.  Arcadia, CA: Shen’s Books, 1996.                        

            Cruel step-mother, dead mother’s spirit, special shoes; Vietnamese.

Cole, Babette.  Prince Cinders.  New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1987.            

            Cute and funny story of a skinny prince who goes to the Palace Disco. 

Craft, Kinuko Y.  Cinderella.  New York: SeaStar Books, 2000.            

            Elaborate, exquisite illustrations inspired by 17th-18th century France. 

Datlow, Ellen and Terri Windling, eds.   A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales.  New               York:  Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001. 

            Retellings based on several classic fairy tales; Young adult. 

Desy, Jeanne.  “The Princess Who Stood on Her Own Two Feet.”  Stories for Free Children.               Ed. Lett Cottin Pogrebin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.

            Mirabelle is taller than the prince, but she refuses to sacrifice her stature. 

Evans, C.S., reteller.  Cinderella.  Illus. By Arthur Rackham. New York: Exeter Books, 1987.

            Black and white silhouette illustrations, originally published in 1919.  

Galloway, Priscilla.  Truly Grim Tales.  New York: Delacorte Press, 1995            

            Retellings of various traditional fairy tales, including Cinderella and a prince with a foot fetish.

Garner, James Finn.  Once Upon a More Enlightened Time.  New York:  Simon and Schuster               Macmillan, 1985.         

            Politically correct retellings of various fairy tales. 

---. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories - Modern Tales for Our Life and Times.  New York:                Macmillan, 1994.

             Fables for our times - including Cinderella and her sisters-of-step and a fairy godperson.    

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm.  Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales.  New York: Nelson Doubleday,               Inc., 1978.

             Collection of 211 tales.

 Granowsky, Alvin.  Cinderella - A Classic Tale. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn, 1993.

 ---.  That Awful Cinderella. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn, 1993.                      

            From the “Point of View” Series - a humorous parody - trait: Voice. 

Huck, Charlotte.  Princess Furball. Illus. by Anito Lobel. New York: Scholastic, 1989.            

            Based on the “Thousandfurs” or “Catskin” Cinderella tales.              

Jackson, Ellen.  Cinder Edna. Illus. by Kevin O’Malley.  New York: Lothrop, Lee &                    
            Shepard Books, 1994.            

            A delightful tale of Cinderella and her neighbor Cinder Edna, who also gets to the ball but by               using her own wits.

Lansky, Bruce. “The Fairy Godmother’s Assistant.” Girls to the Rescue -Tales of Clever,               Couraeous Girls from Around the World.   Ed. Bruce Lansky. New York:                 
            Meadowbrook Press, 1995.            

            The assistant gives practical non-magic advice before and after the ball.  

Minters, Frances. Cinder-Elly.   Illus. by G. Brian Karas. New York: Viking, 1994.            

            Told in rap-like rhyme, a New York Cinder-Elly meets Prince Charming at a                    
             basketball game.

Philip, Neil, reteller.  The Illustrated Book of Fairy Tales.  Illus. by Nilesh Mistry. New York: DK                Publishing, 1997.

             Multicultural collection of traditional tales, including Cinderella.

San Souci, Robert D.  Cendrillon.  Illus. by Brian Pinkney.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998.

             A Creole variation of Cinderella set in the Caribbean.

 ---.  Cinderella Skeleton.  Illus. by David Catrow.  New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2000.         

            Told in rhyme, characters are skeletons at a Halloween ball. 

---.  Sootface - An Ojibwa Cinderella Story.  Illus. by Daniel San Souci.  New York:                    
            Doubleday, 1994.            

            Mistreated by two older sisiters, Sootface wins the mighty invisible warrior. 

Scieszka, Jon. The Frog Prince Continued.  New York: Puffin Books. 1994.            

            Not living happily ever after, the frog looks for help and finds other fairy tale witches               including Cinderella’s fairy godmother. 

--- and Lane Smith. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.  New York:             
            Scholastic, 1992.

            Humorous and silly; in and out of several tales, includes Cinderumpelstiltskin. 

Stepoe, John.  Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters - An African Tale.  New York: Scholastic, Inc.,               1987.

            A beautifully illustrated African Cinderella story inspired by a folktale collected by G.M.               Theal. 

Velde, Vivian Vande.  The Rumpelstiltskin Problem.  New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2001.            

            Six alternative versions of the story - trait: Voice. 

Vuong, Lynette Dyer.  The Brocaded Slipper and Other Vietnamese Tales.  Illus. by                            
            Vo-Dinh Mai.  Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 1982.            

            Familiar fairy tale themes from Vietnam, including Tam who is discovered by a prince by her               slipper. 

Yolen, Jane.  “The Moon Ribbon.”  The Moon Ribbon and Other Tales. New York:   Thomas Y.               Crowell Company, 1976.            

            An adapted tale based on Cinderella theme; a magical ribbon woven from the hairs of her               mother, her mother’s mother, and so on. Young adult up. 

Zelinsky, Paul, reteller and illustrator. Rapunzel.  New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1997.

            Beautiful, inspired by Italian Ranaissance art. Caldecott Winner. 

Novelized Fairy Tales 

Dean, Pamela.  Tam Lin.  - The Fairy Tale Series, created by Terri Windling. New York: Tom               Dougherty Associates, 1991.            

            Based on the ancient Scottish tale of Tam Lin. Young adult and up. 

Haddix, Margaret Peterson.  Just Ella. New York: Scholastic, 1999.            

            Delightful extension of Cinderella story; Ella is not living happily ever after so takes matters               into her own hands.  

Napoli, Donna Jo.  Beast.  New York: Simon Pulse, 2000.            

            Retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the beast’s point of view; takes place in Persia.  

---.  Crazy Jack.  New York: Delacorte, 1999. 

            Jack, of beanstalk fame, is the tormented protagonist. 

---. The Magic Circle.  New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1993.            

            The witch’s point of view before and after meeting Hansel and Gretel. 

---.  The Prince of the Pond.  New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1992. 

            Narrated by a small female frog who befriends the prince-turned-frog and teaches him how               to be a frog. 

---. Sirena. New York: Scholastic Signature, 1998.            

            Inspired by the Little Mermaid  

Levine, Gail Carson.  Cinderellis and the Glass Hill. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.

            Retelling of the Perrault tale - Cinderellis is a farm boy trying to win the princess.

---. Ella Enchanted.  New York: Harper Collins, 1997.            

            Retelling with Ella struggling against the curse of obedience. 

McKinley, Robin. Beauty.   New York: Harper Collins, 1978.            

            A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. 

---. Spindle’s End.   New York: Firebird, 2000.            

            Retelling of Briar Rose who lives with her fairy godmother who protects her from the spell. 

Townley, Roderick.  The Great Good Thing.  New York: Scholastic, 2001.            

            Sylvie is a fairy tale character in a book who interacts with the Reader 

Wrede, Patricia C.  Snow White and Rose Red - The Fairy Tale Series created by Terri Windling.               New York: Tom Dougherty Associates, 1989.                                    

            A retelling set in Queen Elizabeth’s England. Young Adult and up. 

Yolen, Jane.  Briar Rose - The Fairy Tale Series created by Terri Windling. New York: Tom        
            Dougherty Assocaites, 1992.            

            Haunting story of Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty set in Germany during the Holocaust.  Young               Adult up. 

Web Sites 

Brown, David K.  Cinderella Stories. Children’s Literature Web Guide, 1997.                          
            <http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/cinderella.html> 6/17/02.

            A link from Children’s Literature Web Guide with annotated list of lots of Cinderella               stories and resources. 

The Cinderella Project.  University of Southern Mississippi.                                    
            http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/cinderella/cinderella.html   6/1/02

            An archive of Cinderella stories. 

SurlaLune Fairy Tale Pages. <http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/>  6/1/02

            Many annotated fairy tales, histories, resources, comparative and modern                    
            adaptations of fairy tales, bibliographies. 

Videos 

Cinderella.  Walt Disney. Walt Disney Home Video, 1950.

            Animated film of Cinderella.

 Cinderella. Charles Dubin, director.  1964. 

            Musical version starring Lesley Ann Warren. 

Cinderella.  Rodgers and Hammerstein. 1997. 

            Remake of the musical version with Brandy and Whitney Houston. 

Ever After: A Cinderella Story.   Andy Tennant.  20th Century Fox Film Corporation, Inc., 1998.

            Contemporary retelling of a “modern” 16th century young woman; Drew Barrymore is         
            Danielle and Anjelica Huston is the step-mother.   

The Glass Slipper.  Charles Walters, director.  1955. 

            A musical version starring Leslie Caron. 

Princess Bride. Rob Reiner. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Home Entertainment, 1987.            

            Based on William Goldman’s story; Princess Buttercup is saved by Wesley. 

The Princess Diaries. Garry Marshall.  Walt Disney Home Video. 2000.            

            A modern Cinderella story; Julie Andrews and Hector Elizando help transform a gawky teen               into a princess.      

Shrek.  Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Directors.  DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 2001.

            The ultimate fractured fairy tale; an ogre helps a princess discover her true self.

 The Slipper and the Rose.  Bryan Forbes, director.  1976. 

            Musical version with Richard Chamberlain as Prince Charming.Go to top of page.