3rd Grade, Reading Unit 3: Messages and Meaning in Narrative Text: Folktales, Fairytales, and Fables 29 teaching points + 5 re-­‐teaching/enrichment days = 34 days This 34 day unit invites students to explore the world of folktales, fairytales, and fables. We realize that most teachers will not have enough fairy tales and folktales in their classroom library to sustain students’ independent reading. Therefore, you will notice that this unit is designed so that students are also reading a modern fiction story alongside these traditional tales. Many contemporary stories have roots in fairy tales, folktales, and fables, so by having children read these tales side by side fiction, we will be opening up the work of thinking across archetypes: (the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies), big messages, and author’s purpose. Students will start to recognize predictable patterns and storylines as well as the underlying antecedents (cautionary/explanatory tales, lessons imparted on characters and readers too) reflected in the modern stories they read. Attached is a suggested progression of teaching points that are aligned vertically across grade levels and with the common core standards. The expectation is that teachers will adapt the teaching points and pace according to the needs of their students. The bends (area of focus) are as follows: Bend I: Identifying patterns and story elements in fairytales and folktales. This bend will begin by having students identify story elements in fairytales/folktales as well as the typical archetypes you may find in these stories. Once students are able to identify the story elements of fairytales/folktales, then you will have students use this knowledge to summarize their texts. This will provide students with an overall understanding in preparation to dig deeper into patterns of character behavior in and across texts that will (ultimately lead to an understanding of the message/theme/lesson of these fairytales/folktales.) Readers will notice typical patterns of behavior in fairytales/folktales and then use these patterns to make predictions while reading. Next, readers will look at specific characters and infer character traits based on what they say, do, etc. As they continue to read multiple versions of the same stories, they will notice that the same characters in different texts are portrayed differently. Readers will start to discern whether the culture or time period plays a role in these nuances. Next, students will notice how the roles of characters in fairytales/folktales are similar to the roles of characters in their modern stories. Finally, now that readers have studied the characters deeply in the fairytales/folktales, they will be able to use this information to determine the themes or life lessons in the stories. Bend II: Identifying patterns and story elements in fables. The 2nd bend is much shorter than the first and will focus only on fables. First, the students will identify the story elements of fables and then use this information to summarize the text. Next, the students will recognize the role that animals play in fables as well as determine the lesson being taught through the story. Bend III: Comparing and Contrasting fairytales, folktales, fables, and modern stories Now that readers have the foundational skills needed to understand essential elements of fairytales, folktales and fables, they are able to compare and contrast lessons and themes across the genre as well as to their modern stories. First, readers will read multiple versions of one fairytale or folktale and compare and contrast how the theme/lesson/message is delivered the same or differently. Next, readers will read a variety of fairytales, folktales, and fables and identify recurring themes across these texts. Have the students post a sticky note that states the theme on the cover of the books. You may want to chart the different themes that students identify in their stories. In order to prepare for the last part of the bend, create book baskets organized by theme. Once your baskets are created, have students work in pairs rereading two different texts that have the same theme. Students will compare and contrast how different authors convey the same theme/lesson. Finally, the end of the bend and unit will focus on students comparing and contrasting a modern day story to the theme of a fairytale, folktale, or fable. Additional resources: Helpful Websites http://ivyjoy.com/fables www.taleswithmorals.com Possible Books for This Unit Fairytales Cinderella Stories The Egyptian Cinderella, by Shirley Climo The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo Prince Cinders by Babette Cole Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story by Tomie dePaola Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleishman The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story by Rebecca Hickox Princess Furball by Charlotte Huck The Rough-­‐Face Girl by Rafe Martin and David Shannon Intercultural Study of Fairytales By Shirley Climo The Egyptian Cinderella The Korean Cinderella The Persian Cinderella By Niki Daly Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa By Rachel Isadora (African setting) The Princess and the Pea Rapunzel Hansel and Gretel By Ai-­‐Ling Louie Yeh-­‐Shen, A Cinderella Story from China By Rafe Martin The Rough-­‐Face Girl By Robert D. San Souci Cendrillon, A Caribbean Cinderella By Judy Sierra Can You Guess My Name?: Traditional Tales Around the World By Patricia Storace Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel Parodies and Ironic Interpretations of Fairytales With Love, Little Red Hen by Alma Flor Ada Yours Truly, Goldilocks, by Alma Flor Ada Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale Cinderella’s Rat by Susan Meddaugh The Frog Prince, Continued by Jon Scieszka The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury Graphic Novels of Fairytales By Michael Dahl Beauty and the Beast: The Graphic Novel By Martin Powell Red Riding Hood: The Graphic Novel Rumpelstiltskin: The Graphic Novel Sleeping Beauty: The Graphic Novel Snow White: The Graphic Novel Thumbelina: The Graphic Novel Fairytales by (Approximate) Level By Paul Galdone (J/K) Jack and the Beanstalk Rumplestiltskin The Elves and the Shoemaker The Frog Prince The Gingerbread Boy The Three Bears The Three Billy Goats Gruff By James Marshall (K/L) Cinderella Goldilocks and the Three Bears Hansel and Gretel Red Riding Hood The Three Little Pigs By Jan Brett (M/N) Beauty and the Beast Goldilocks and the Three Bears The Owl and the Pussycat Authors of Beautifully Illustrated Fairytale Books Rika Lesser Charles Perrault Paul Zelinsky Fables and Folktales Aesop’s Fables by Aesop Aesop’s Fables: A Classic Illustrated Edition Russell Ash, compiler Aesop's Fables selected and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop Asian Children’s Favorite Stories: A Treasury of Folktales from China, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia by David Conger Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell Why Snails Have Shells: Minority and Han Folktales from China by Carolyn Han A Fistful of Pearls and other Tales from Iraq by Elizabeth Laird Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales by Nelson Mandela Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel Good Read-­‐Aloud books Aesop’s Fables by Aesop (fables) Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairytales by Hans Christian Anderson, selected and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley (fairytales) A Treasury of Children’s Literature by Armand Eisen, ed. (fables, folktales, and poems) Aesop's Fables selected and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger (fables) Standards Priority: RL.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. RL.5 Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections. RL.9 Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters. (e.g., in books from a series) RF.3b Decode words with common Latin suffixes. (Explicit instruction for this standard should occur during your word work block.) SL.2 Determine main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Unit 3 Writing: Once Upon a Time: Adapting and Writing Fairy Tales (Unit 4 Calkins) Standards Priority: W.3a Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. W.3b Use dialogue and description of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations. SL.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail. SL.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace. L.1a Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences. L.2c Use commas and quotations marks in dialogue. Supporting: W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. W.3d Provide a sense of closure L.1g Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified. L.4f Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-­‐meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. 3rd Grade, Unit 3 Reading Messages and Meaning in Narrative Text: Folktales, Fairytales, and Fables 1 2 Bend 1: Identifying patterns and story elements in fairytales and folktales. Readers identify key elements of fairytales and folktales. (RL.2) Readers often come across archetypes in stories-­‐
characters such as villains, victims, heroes, sidekick, the wise advisor, the trickster (to name a few) who appear in more than one story. Readers identify various archetypes across texts. (RL.2) 7 Readers consider the role a character plays (is the character good or bad? Villain? Hero? Evil? Will she win or will she lose?) in order to predict what’s going to happen. Readers ask themselves “Why is this happening? What will happen next?” (predicting) (Day 1) (RL.2) 6 Readers identify typical patterns of behavior in typical archetypal characters from fairytales and folktales. You may look across similar stories from various cultures. (i.e. different versions of Cinderella from different cultures. (Day 2) (RL.2) 3 Readers summarize stories. (Day 1) (RL.2, RL.5) 4 Readers summarize stories. (Day 2) (RL.2, RL.5) 8 9 Readers consider the role Readers infer and identify a character plays (is the traits of featured character good or bad? characters within a Villain? Hero? Evil? Will fairytale or folktale. she win or will she lose?) in order to predict what’s (RL.2) going to happen. Readers ask themselves “Why is this happening? What will happen next?” (predicting) (Day 2) (RL.2) 5 Readers identify typical patterns of behavior in typical archetypal characters from fairytales and folktales. You may look across similar stories from various cultures. (i.e. different versions of Cinderella from different cultures. (Day 1) (RL.2) 10 Readers step into the shoes of their characters and role play by using distinguishable voices and gestures. (RL.2) 11 12 13 14 15 Readers notice that even when a character appears again and again, those characters are not completely the same. Even archetypes are nuanced! Readers ask themselves, “How is this archetypal character a little different in this version than in the other version?” (text to text connections) (RL.2, RL.5) Readers notice that archetypal characters may be different in one tale in each story in part because the stories reflect different cultures. When we read, alert to what might be cultural differences, we ask ourselves, “Is this archetypal character acting or talking differently because she is from this particular culture?” (i.e. Lon Po Po v. Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella v. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters) (RL.2, RL.5) 17 Readers notice that folktales/fairytales are not just about “what happens.” They are also about underlying themes and life lessons. Readers will learn how to identify the themes and lessons. (Day 1) (RL.2) Readers notice that archetypal characters may be different in one tale in each story in part because the stories reflect different time periods. When we read, we are alert to how the time period/era affects the story. (i.e. you may compare a modern day version of Cinderella-­‐
Cinder-­‐elly-­‐to the original) A question you may ask is: How and why did the character change? (You may even compare a movie to a text) (RL.2, RL.5, SL.2) 18 Readers notice that folktales/fairytales are not just about “what happens.” They are also about underlying themes and life lessons. Readers will learn how to identify the themes and lessons. (Day 2) (RL.2) Readers notice that characters in fairy tales and folktales are archetypes for modern stories, that characters that play similar roles will pop up again and again, not only in these old tales but in more modern stories, too. (Day 1) (RL.2, RL.9) Readers notice that characters in fairy tales and folktales are archetypes for modern stories, that characters that play similar roles will pop up again and again, not only in these old tales but in more modern stories, too. (Day 2) (RL.2, RL.9) 19 Readers think critically about the lessons in a tale. They ask themselves, “Do I believe this a good way to live my life?” or “Was this the best way to teach the lesson?” (RL.2) 20 Bend II: Identifying patterns and story elements in fables. Readers identify key elements of a fable. (RL.2) 16 Readers ask how and why did the character change? (RL.2, RL.5) 21 22 23 Readers summarize fables. (RL.2, RL.5) Readers notice that animals in fables play an important role in the overall message. So when readers see an animal playing the role of a character in a story, readers ask themselves, “What lesson might this animal be teaching us? Why did they choose particular animals to convey the message?” (RL.2) The lessons in fables are sometimes more hidden than the ones in fairytales/folktales; Therefore, readers dig deep to find them. But we still see lessons/morals. (RL.2) 24 Bend III: Comparing and Contrasting fairytales, folktales, fables, and modern stories Readers compare and contrast the lessons/morals/themes in multiple versions of folktales/fairytales by different authors. How are the messages the same? Different? (Ex. Multiple versions of Cinderella) (optional 2 days) (RL.5, RL.9) 26 27 28 29 Readers choose 2 texts Readers will compare a Readers will compare a Celebration! with similar themes, modern day story ( i.e. modern day story ( i.e. reread with a partner, and chapter book, picture chapter book, picture Reader’s Theatre compare and contrast how book) to the theme of a book) to the theme of a Performance different authors convey folktale, fairytale, or fable. folktale, fairytale, or fable. the same lesson/theme. (See Below) (Day 1) (Day 2) (RL.5, RL.9) (RL.2, RL.5, RL.9, RF.3b, (RL.9) (RL.9) SL.2) 25 Readers notice and identify recurring themes/lessons/morals across fairytales, folktales, and fables. (Brainstorm a list of recurring themes. Then have students read and place a sticky note on the cover of the theme. Come back together and create baskets of books with the same theme) (RL.9) *Please Note: Standard SL.2 should be interwoven throughout the minilessons by using videos, read alouds, audio recordings etc. Celebration Students will work in small groups and choose from a “readers’ theater” based on a fairytale, folktale, or fable that conveys a message, lesson or moral. Each group’s reader’s theater performance must follow a cohesive event sequence (of at least three events) and deliver a message through the characters’ actions, thoughts and feelings. Small groups will perform their reader’s theater for younger grade students. After the production, the third graders will facilitate a conversation with the younger students to identify the moral/lesson and evidence that supports the overall message. The lesson of their story will need to be determined by the younger students through their performance.