Students will be introduced to Cinderella stories from around the world, recognize differences and similarities among the stories, and create their own version of a Cinderella.

Materials: A collection of Cinderella stories:

• Walt Disney's Cinderella (1974) - US
• Yeh Shen (Louie 1982)  -China
• The Cinder Maid (Jacobs 1916) – retold Grimm tale
• Little Sister and the Month Brothers (DeRegniers 1976)   –Slovic
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (Steptoe 1987) – Zimbabwe
• Nomi and the Magic Fish (Phumla 1972) – written by a 15- year old Fingo-Zulu girl
• The Talking Eggs (Souci 1989) – Creole folktale
• Princess Furball (Huck 1989)
• Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderalla Story (Souci 1997)

1. Break students into groups and have them use clustering to brainstorm everything they know about the term Cinderella. You don't need to give them too much direction, just let them write.
2. Tell your kids that the version they are familiar with is the American version (or the one from your area). Present the books from other cultures, showing students the covers and reading the titles. Tell them that you will be reading them throughout the week and that they will be writing their own version.
3. Read the books throughout the week. We start by reading aloud Charles Perrault's Cinderella.  We talk about what makes this a fairy tale as compared to a tall tale, legend, or myth.
4. Create a chart on butcher paper for comparing the stories. Here are some things you may want to include:
   • Title
   • Author
   • Illustrator
   • Country written about
   • Setting
   • Characters (good and bad and descriptions of personality)
   • Events / Plot
   • Magic?
   • Other important parts
   • Date written
5. After reading each story, fill in the chart as a class for each version.
6. When the chart has been completed, have students compare and contrast the stories in small groups. Provide a list of questions for them to discuss.
   • Is there a general theme to the stories?
   • Is the main character similar? What about the bad guy/girl?
   • How do early and late stories differ?
   • How do the themes differ from country to country?
   • Can you tell anything about the countries from the stories?
   • What is your favorite one? Why?
7. Have students brainstorm words that are related to Cinderella - chart them.
   
8. Students write an ABC Cinderella book in groups of 4 or 5. Students come up with words that relate to their version of Cinderella.
9. Have each group turn in their list for spellcheck and validity.
10. Students Illustrate their book
11. Teacher binds each Cinderella book
    

 

Evaluation: Did the ABC book use a  word for each letter?  Were there illustrations that further explain their version of Cinderella?  Were they original? Did they participate in the discussions comparing books? Were they able to support their choices? Did they enjoy the activity?

 

 

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