Fairy Tale Unit: Lesson and Activity

Unit Schedule  Lesson on Hans Christian Andersen and the fairy tale as a genre  Divide into groups and get a fairy tale assigned to your group  Research fairy tale in library  Read fairy tale/take notes/pick out vocab. word  As a group, rewrite the fairy tale  Create a storyboard of the new fairy tale  Make a video based on storyboard  Each group presents original fairy tale, then shows the video of their new version to the class

Hans Christian Andersen  His Life  Famous Fairytales The Angel (1843) The Angel The Emperor's New Clothes (1837) The Emperor's New Clothes The Fir Tree (1844) The Fir Tree The Little Match Girl (1848) The Little Match Girl The Little Mermaid (1836) The Little Mermaid The Nightingale (1844) The Nightingale Ole-Lukøie (1841) Ole-Lukøie The Princess and the Pea (1835) The Princess and the Pea The Red Shoes (1845) The Red Shoes The Shadow (1847) The Shadow The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep (1845) The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep The Snow Queen (1844) The Snow Queen The Steadfast Tin Soldier (1838) The Steadfast Tin Soldier The Story of a Mother (1847) The Story of a Mother The Swineherd (1841) The Swineherd Thumbelina (1835) Thumbelina The Tinder Box (1835) The Tinder Box The Ugly Duckling (1844) The Ugly Duckling The Wild Swans (1838) The Wild Swans

Time for a little nostalgia…  Did you learn any lessons from those tales?  What is your definition of a fairy tale?  Think back to when you were younger. What kind of fairy tales were told to you (or what ones did you read on your own)?  What movies have you seen that were based on fairy tales?  So… what was it about those stories that made you categorize them as fairy tales?

Fairy Tale as a Genre  Definition, from Merriam-Webster Dictionary Main Entry: fairy tale; Function: noun; Date: a : a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (as fairies, wizards, and goblins) b : a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending 2 : a made-up story usually designed to mislead  Moral Lesson  Is a happy ending a requirement to be called a fairy tale? Or is a fairy tale a story with fantastic elements which could end any way the writer wants it to?

Assignment  Split into groups of four  Each group will be assigned a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale  We will then go to the library and each group must find and copy the original story (each group member must have a copy) Keep in mind that there are many adaptations of Andersen’s fairy tales out there. We are focusing on his original work, not the Disney or other version.

Assignment, cont.  Now that each group has a copy of their story, read it carefully. It may be a good idea to make an outline of the main points of the story.  Each group member must pick out one word from the story to use in our vocabulary quiz for next week Copy the word down, and give your best guess as to the word’s meaning based upon the context clues around it. Next, grab a dictionary, then write the word’s definition, part of speech, and place of origin. Put your name on your paper and turn this in.  Next, you will re-write the fairy tale as a group. Some good ways to approach it are: How would it look from the villain’s point of view? What would happen if it were put into modern times? What would a change of location do to the story?

Video Project  Once you have rewritten your fairy tale, you will make a video presentation of it!  First, you will start by taking your rewritten version of the fairy tale and storyboarding it.  Next, you will write a draft of the script that you will use in your video.  You will then create your video using a multitude of options (see next slide for examples).

Video – Three Little Pigs: Wolf’s Side  Here is an example:

Video Project, cont.  Once your video project is finished, you will present it to the class. First, you will present your original fairy tale (as most people do not know the original Hans Christian Andersen versions). Next you will show the video to the class. Finally, you will field questions from the class about your project. You will also be grading each other on how well you worked together and how much of a contribution each one of your group mates made to the project.