Unit Plan: The Transformation of the Fairy Tale

“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons

exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

-

G. K. Chesterton

Genre unit: Fairy Tales (in Western Culture)

Grade: English 10-1

Duration: 5 weeks

Class duration: 60 minutes

versions of historical fairy tales. Students will really be able to connect to this unit

because most of them will be already familiar with the contemporary versions of

the western fairy tales we will be covering.

Goals/Objectives: This unit, over a five week period, truly has students develop,

and explore their reading, writing, viewing, representing, speaking, and listening

skills. Adhering to the English Language Arts Program of Studies, students will be

given the opportunity to understand and appreciate the significance and artistry of

literature. They will enhance their communication skills in a multitude of ways, and

will learn to not just accept contemporary culture at face value. It is important,

learners. The various forms of literature studied in this unit invites students to

reflect on the significance of western cultural values and the fundamentals of

human existence. Having the students critically think about essential, universal

themes will help them grapple with what it means to be human, and to reflect on

who the students are as individuals.

The main outcomes emphasized and covered over the duration of this unit are:

1.1 Discover possibilities

1.2 Extend awareness

This unit covers a vast amount of the program of studies.

Essential Questions:

What is a fairy tale?

How did fairy tales originate in western culture?

What are the differences and similarities between various versions of historical

fairy tales?

What would the authors of the historical fairy tales think of Disney’s adaptations?

How does a main character in a fairy tale relate to you? Differ from you?

Historical Fairy Tales

www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.html

This interactive website has the Grimm brothers’ versions of Ashputtle

(with audio), Little Red-cap, and Little Snow White written in 1812.

www.fairytalescollection.com/Hans_Christian_Andersen

This website contains Andersen’s version of The Little Mermaid from 1836.

www.worldoftales.com/fairy_tales/Charles_Perrault

This website features Perrault’s versions of Little Red Riding-Hood and

Cinderella from 1697.

Disney movie clips

- Cinderella (1950)

- Snow White (1937)

- The Little Mermaid (1989)

- Pocahontas (1995)

Contemporary Fairy Tales

- Shrek (2001) 90 minutes; Shrek.com

Sam Sham and the Pharaohs – Little Red Riding Hood (Song, accessible on

youtube.com)

Senior High School English Language Arts Guide to Implementation

(education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/english/resources/ela-guide.aspx )

Activities:

1. Learning Logs (

1.1 Discover possibilities; 1.2 Extend awareness

)

The learning logs will be on-going throughout the unit, and throughout the

year. They function as a form of formative assessment, promote

metacognition, act as a vehicle for teacher/student conferencing with

that the students bring to the classroom.

3. Audio reading (

2.3 Respond to a variety of print and nonprint texts; 2.1

Construct meaning from text and context

)

Having the author, or another individual, read the story to the class is a

great alternative to having the students read themselves, or having myself

read to the class. It is a great way to mix up the way students receive the

story, and appeals to auditory learners.

4. Literary Centers/Field walk (

5.1 Respect others and strengthen community; 5.2 Work within a group

I chose this activity because it is an interactive, exploration based,

multisensory way to transmit important information about the history of

fairy tales, and the authors, instead of lecturing or having a basic

powerpoint. The students move from station to station and encounter a

variety of forms of information. Students will answer questions, develop a

list of questions, and will compare and contrast information that they find.

6. Reading Circles (

and appreciate textual forms, elements, and techniques; 5.2 Work within a group

Reading circles are a fantastic way to build the classroom as a learning

community. They have students interact and share responses, can be great

for scaffolding, and the teacher can rotate in between groups.

7. Group Venn Diagram (

1.2 Extend awareness; 2.3 Respond to a variety of print

and nonprint texts

)

The Venn diagram, either as an individual activity or as a group activity, is a

great visual for comparison between two things. It could be used as a prompt

in a learning log by having the student compare and contrast themselves with

9. Fishbowl discussion, Role-playing, Hot seat (

1.1 Discover possibilities; 2.3

Respond to a variety of print and nonprint texts; 2.2 Understand and appreciate

textual forms, elements, and techniques; 5.1 Respect others and strengthen

communities; 5.2 Work within a group

)

These activities are great for exploring perspective as a class. They have

the students collaborate to scaffold learning, and demonstrate how it feels

to be in someone else’s shoes.

10. Character map (handout)

This handout is a great outline for a student to identify a character’s main

traits, lifestyle, interests, etc.

11. Facebook Profile, Personal Shield, or Wanted Advertisement (

4.1 Develop and

present a variety of print and nonprint texts; 2.3 Respond to a variety of print and

nonprint texts

)

These three activity choices offer a unique way for a student to describe a

character.

12. Story mapping (handout)

were shown examples of parodies, so they have ideas to build off of in order

to write their own.

14. Fishbone theme (handout)

This handout provides students with an interesting structure to form the

themes from Pocahontas and Avatar around.

15. Theme assignment: Story board, Digital essay, or Movie review (

4.1 Develop

and present a variety of print and nonprint texts; 2.1 Construct meaning from text

and context; 2.3 Respond to a variety of print and nonprint texts

This activity, again with a choice for students, has them take the themes

from the two movies, (ex. imperialism, religion, race, environment, love, etc)

5.2 Work within a group

)

This final, very open-ended task has students working in their family groups

to come up with a product. It is open-ended so the students can really be

creative in what they come up with. The whole unit is fair game for a

product. A criterion will be provided that the students must fulfill, such as

audience, value, description, picture, success, etc.

Why these activities?

These activities offer diverse opportunities for student-based learning and

growth. For the character assignment, the theme assignment, and the final group

performance task, I allowed the students to have choice. I chose this strategy

because it allows the students to be confident in the way they choose to express

themselves, and fosters an environment in which the student can demonstrate his

or her knowledge in a manner that suits their individual needs.

Assessment Plan:

The assessment for this unit is formative in nature. The learning logs can be used

reflection. The literacy center/field walk activity can be assessed with a checklist

tentative positions? The character assignment, either a facebook profile, wanted

parody stories may be assessed with a rubric. The theme assignment, where

to Product” may be assessed with peer-assessments and a rubric. All assessment is

Connections:

This unit could be a great way to move into a novel study that has similar themes

that appeared in the fairy tale unit, such as women’s roles, religion, civilization vs.

the uncivilized, race, environment, and so on. Because so many different mediums

of literature were explored, it would fit nicely as a unit to teach closer to the

beginning of the school year.

This unit has ties to the grade ten social studies program of studies in terms of

dimensions of critical, creative, and historical thinking. The social studies

curriculum strives to have students:

- Evaluate ideas and information from multiple sources

- Determine relationships among multiple and varied sources of

information

change on the contemporary world

- Develop a reasoned position that is informed by historical and

contemporary evidence

- Identify reasons underlying similarities and differences among historical

narratives

Special Considerations:

This unit is designed to appeal to a variety of learning styles. In its design there

are varied instructional needs and alternative assignment choices to allow for the

greatest chance of student success. Because the assessment is formative,

Reflection:

I chose this unit mainly because it appealed to my inner passion for fairy tales. I

chose the historic fairy tales that I did because there were varying versions of

them so they could be easily compared. I decided to introduce the historical fairy

tales with a day of literacy centers/field walk because I believe that engaging

students is absolutely vital in the learning process. I chose a variety of mediums,

such as song, film, written text, and oral text in order to provide the students with

a diverse exposure to the literature. I thought it was important to start

historically with some of the first recorded fairy tales and move into the

transformed, contemporary fairy tales. This shows the progression and change of