Rationale

     Traditional literature including fairy tales and folktales are woven into our American culture in print media, musical lyrics, images, political cartoons, and the entertainment industry (Disney).  It is imperative that all children be familiar with these tales.  Tales that originate in multiple cultures provide for a world view that values all people.  This unit also challenges students to view events from different perspectives, to be alerted to stereotyping and false representation of a culture, and to become more active and critical readers. 

Goals and Objectives:  (NCTE/IRA)

·        Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

·        Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

·        Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Climo, S.  (1996). The Irish Cinderlad.  New York:  HarperCollins. 

San Souci, R. D. (2000).  Little gold star:  A Spanish American Cinderella tale.  New
          York:  HarperCollins. 

Module One:  Foundation

·        Set the tone for the unit of study by doing a teacher read aloud from the book:

o       If the World Were a Village – David J. Smith

·        Prior to read aloud ask students to respond to an anticipation guide which provides true and untrue facts about topics in the book. 

o       Example: 
Agree      Disagree
_____      ______   1.  There are over 200 billion people in the world today.

·        After the read aloud revisit the anticipation guide asking students to adjust their responses based on what they just learned from the book.  Teacher should prompt for discussions on the various topics addressed in the book (nationalities, languages, ages, religions, food, air/water, schooling/literacy, money/possessions, electricity, past, future). 

·        Introduce Cinderella by displaying items one at a time from a “book box” reflecting story elements from the fairytale.  They book box might include:

o       a pumpkin, a mouse, a magic wand, an apron, a piece of coal, a glass slipper, a watch set to 12:00

·        Prompt students to guess the fairytale in which these items appear and then to take turns retelling parts of the story until a chart reveals the entire “traditional” version of the tale.  Students should go onto the Internet to investigate and record some fascinating details of this tale which will then be used to update/enhance the chart:

o       http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/6064/cinderella.html

o       http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/html/research/FAQS/FAQS-Cinderella.htm

o       http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/history.html

·        Ask students to complete a KWHL chart on each of the following prior to the introduction of each Cinderella version from that country/culture: 

o       Caribbean

o       Russia

o       Africa

o       Ireland

o       Korea

o       Egypt

o       Zuni Native Americans

o       Spanish American Southwest

o       Persia

·        Explain to students that over the course of the school year they will be reading many different versions of Cinderella.  These versions reflect different cultures and students are to view the books as “artifacts” from those cultures.  Using these “artifacts” students are to be investigative reporters as they gather information about the cultures from the print and the images, categorize and synthesize that information, and then compare what they find to factual information sources (print and electronic) to determine how reliable each piece of literature is in reflecting a particular culture.  

Module Two: The Tales
NOTE:  Modules Two, Three, and Four should be followed consecutively for each book before introducing the next book. 

·        Students should read each book outlined for this unit.  Teacher should vary the organization of this reading by whole group, small group, and partner reading.  The initial readings should focus on the “enjoyment” and comprehension of the literature and should include:

o       Pre-reading strategies/activities

o       During reading strategies/activities

o       Post-reading strategies/activities

§         Possible resources:  http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/prereading.html

§         http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1grorg.htm

§         http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/skills/thinkmaps.html

§         Yopp, R. H. & Yopp, H. K. (2001).  Literature-based reading activities.  3^rd ed.  Boston:  Allyn and Bacon. 

·        After the initial reading students should re-read (partners/small groups) the books while completing the following chart:

Module Three:  Cultures

NOTE:  Place an “x” where no information is provided either in print or in image form.

NOTE:  Place an “x” where no information is provided either in print or in image form.

Module Four:  Accurate Reflection of Culture

Assessments and Evaluations

     Teachers should devise rubrics for each of the four modules.  The rubrics should be provided to students prior to each module to allow for self-evaluation.  An individual reflective paper at the end of the unit could be used to assess student understanding of different cultures and how accurately those cultural attributes were depicted within the Cinderella literature.

References:

Choi, D. H. (1993).  Korean Cinderella.  Seoul, Korea:  Seoul International Publishing
          House. 

Climo, S.  (1989). The Egyptian Cinderella.  New York:  HarperCollins. 

Climo, S.  (1996). The Irish Cinderlad.  New York:  HarperCollins. 

Climo, S.  (1993). The Korean Cinderella.  New York:  HarperCollins. 

Climo, S.  (1999). The Persian Cinderella.  New York:  HarperCollins. 

Pollock, P.  (1996). The turkey girl.  Boston:  Little, Brown and Company. 

San Souci, R. D. (1998).  Cendrillon.  New York:  Simon & Schuster. 

San Souci, R. D. (2000).  Little gold star:  A Spanish American Cinderella tale.  New
          York:  HarperCollins.  

Smith, D. J. (2002).  If the world were a village:  A book about the world’s.  New York:     
           Kids Can Press.

Steptoe, J.  (1987). Mufaro’s beautiful daughters:  An African tale.  New York: 
          Scholastic. 

Winthrop, E.  (1991). Vasilissa the beautiful.  New York:  HarperCollins. 

Yopp, R. H. & Yopp, H. K. (2001).  Literature-based reading activities.  3^rd ed.  Boston:  Allyn
          and Bacon. 

Electronic databases and resources:

Multicultural Literature in the Elementary Classroom
http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/ieo/bibs/multicul.html 

Online Resources for Promoting Cultural Understanding in the Adult ESL Classroom

http://www.cal.org/ncle/multicultures.htm

Other On-line Learning Units Featuring Cinderella Tales