1. Stranger Danger in the Forest
The Dark Reality of Fairy Tales in Middle School English
Lisa Magnani, Australian International School

2. Session Objectives To share my teaching and learning journey of…
The Year Seven English Curriculum at AISS
Context and Purpose of Traditional Fairy tales
Values, Morals and Stereotypes in Fairy Tales
Little Red Riding Hood – a study
Visual Literacy and Fairy Tale Images

3. Teaching Context The Year Seven Cohort at AISS The Teaching Team
Links between English and Humanities

4. Learning Context Year Seven English Curriculum Term 1 – All About Me
Who do I think I am and how do I represent myself to others?
Term 2 – Twisting the Tale
How do narratives present an understanding of the world to us?
Term 3 – Growing Up
How do the challenges we face shape us?
Term 4 – Fantasy
Why do we use our imaginations to create other worlds and what are the consequences?

5. Year 7, Term 2: Unit Rationale
Twisting the Tale:
This unit serves as an introduction to the techniques of narrative writing. This unit builds upon the first unit by looking at narratives as representations of people, places and events. Students will explore this through multiple versions of the same tale, looking at the way elements such as point of view, work to make us feel particular ways about the subject of the narrative.
Students could explore the different values being supported by stories and how/why these values change with time. Students analyse and compose a variety of narratives from a range of cultures.

6. Fairy Tale Unit in Yr. 7 English
Learning Activities:
Urban Myths
Elements of Fairytales
Symbol
Plot, Character and Setting
Values, Moral and Stereotypes
Study: Little Red Riding Hood
Movie: Hoodwinked

7. Traditional Fairy Tales
Prior knowledge
Cultural applicability
Elements of a Fairytale
Traditional vs. Modern Adaptations
Values, Morals and Stereotypes
Purpose and context of fairy tales

8. Little Red Riding Hood 5 different versions…
1. This version is probably closest to the way the story would have been told before it was written down. It would have been told by storytellers to ordinary people – villagers, farm workers and peasants – for entertainment.
2. Written by Perrault in It was written for upper class readers in France. The language of story is more formal and the ‘rude’ bits have been left out because polite, young upper class girls should not have read or heard about such vulgar things.
3. Written in the nineteenth century by the Brothers Grimm. The story has been made sweeter and nicer for children to read. Although the story still has the purpose of warning children about strangers, it also provides a model of good behaviour and manners for young ladies.
4. Written by James Thurber in 1939, in which he makes fun of the earlier versions.
5. Written by women in Liverpool in 1972 who wanted to show that Red could be brave and capable, but that it is not always easy. The wolf is presented as very frightening and Red has to overcome her fears and to learn that she can be independent and rely on her own strength and abilities.

9. Visual Literacy Term 1 – Visual Literacy Features of an image
Symbols in the Image
Techniques used to create the image
Pam Duncan – Approaches to Learning
Molly Bang – Picture This: How Pictures Work

10. Summative Assessment Task
Write a narrative which disrupts the original story of a well known fairy tale for a publication called ‘Fractured Fairy Tales’.
To do this task you will need to:
Locate a fairy tale and identify how it represents character/places/events and the values it conveys
Plan a rewrite or ‘lost chapter’ which will disrupt the meaning of the original story
400 – 600 words

11. Reflections Teaching team Students Moving forward
Questions and Feedback