Dissecting the Fairy Tale
There is a particular set of characteristics which fairy tales share. Using each of these parts of the fairy tale I will teach students literary elements. First, fairy tales are timeless. The characters in them can be translated into any time period, therefore anyone can relate to the conflicts a fairy tale character faces. We can see ourselves easily transposed into their situations. Take the fairy tales above as examples. Like Cinderella, we have all dreamed of something in our lives that was out of our reach, hoping that someone will grant our wishes. We have also strayed from the path set before us, like Little Red-Cap. Lastly, we have all also been lazy and taken a short cut when we did not feel like putting our all into something. Fairy tales are common tales to which everyone can relate. What makes this possible is the universality and generality of the characters. For instance, Cinderella is just a humble girl hoping to fall in love. Bettelheim writes, "All characters are typical rather than unique." (Bettelheim 8) The characters are not extremely detailed so that they can take on the characteristics of anyone.
The narrator of a fairy tale does not call attention to him or herself, nor does he or she interpret or explain the story. The narrator simply retells a series of events. The tales are constructed as communal tales, fit for an audience of common people. The original fairy tales do not alienate any group, and were not censored (with the exception of Perrault and Aesop's fables). (Sale 27) This means that anyone who picks up a fairy tale, even one hundred years from now, can appreciate it because the characters and themes are universal.
Although fairy tales are written so that they are universal, it should be noted that often times the settings are very archaic. For instance, many fairy tales are set in enchanted forests or castles. Fairy tales also often contain some sort of magic, magical object or magical creature, all of which are impossible in real life. Take the birds in Cinderella helping her sort out the lentils from the ashes, or the huntsman in Little Red-Cap opening up the wolf to find Little Red-Cap and grandma alive and intact. Although many of the magical situations are not believable in our physical world, we can still identify with the characters easily, because their conflicts are ones which we have experienced first hand.
Fairy tales all deal with the conflict of good and evil. "In fairy tales evil is as omnipresent as virtue. In practically every fairy tale good and evil are given body in the form of some figures and their actions." (Bettelheim 9) Usually two different characters in the tale represent this struggle of good and evil — for instance Cinderella and the step-mother, the three pigs and the wolf, and Little Red-Cap and the wolf. (As you can see, evil wolves are a recurring motif.) The good character with whom we empathize is the protagonist. The evil character is the antagonist. I think it is important for students to make this distinction. The theme of good and evil is the basis for conflict in each fairy tale. As a group we will define conflict, and will compare the conflicts in each tale, looking for similarities and differences. Usually the protagonist faces a moral dilemma regarding the battle of good and evil. Cinderella is an exception to this rule. We will discuss why this is such a powerful and universal theme.
This struggle between good and evil leads to another trait of the fairy tale, a moral. Sale writes, "the great traditional motive of fairy tales, (is to) triumph over our deepest fears with our deepest wishes". (Sale 51) Each fairy tale illustrates that life will be difficult, and will be full of difficult choices; however, through hard work and good morals one can overcome their struggles and be victorious. (Bettelheim 8) The wisest pig saves both of his lazy brothers and gets away unharmed. Little Red-Cap gets eaten by a wolf because she does not heed her mother's advice. Cinderella lives a humble and helpful life, as her mother tells her to, and in return with the help of some magic, wins the love and affection of the Prince. Students will do a lot of work with the idea of the moral, especially looking at different Perrault fairy tales, which spell out the moral, even if it is facetious (see Little Red Riding Hood below). Students will then read examples of fairy tales where the moral needs to be inferred, and try to construct it on their own. For instance, students may infer a moral [from] The Three Little Pigs - the most important moral pertaining to effort.
This in turn leads to the last characteristic, a "fairy tale ending". (Sale 37) Fairy tales are famous for good conquering evil, and in the end everyone getting exactly what they deserve. Cinderella deservingly marries her Prince, while the evil step-sisters get their eyes pecked out by the birds. "And thus for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as they lived." (Grimm 43) The wolf is turned into a wolf skin coat in Little Red-Cap, while Little Red-Cap is saved after learning her lesson. This "fairy tale ending" is the resolution of each story, the final piece that I would like students to focus on. How does each protagonist overcome his or her conflicts? What is resolution and why is it important? What are the similarities between fairy tale endings?
We will read the three Grimm tales out loud, in different formats, noting the oral tradition of fairy tales. I will read one to the class, demonstrating good reading skills. The second we will read as a group, each student reading one sentence. I find that this reading method forces the students to stay engaged, because they need to know which sentence is their responsibility, and one sentence is short enough so that the less confident readers do not feel overwhelmed. For the third story students will break off into small groups and read to each other, allowing the stronger or more outgoing students to motivate the rest of the group through their own reading. I am curious to see how the students will interact in these small reading groups, because for me it brings back a time when I loved listening to stories and being brought to another land by the reader.
Once students have read the three stories we will come back together as a class and I will ask the students to identify similarities among the stories. We will recall our original definition of a fairy tale, and how these three fairy tales relate to it. We will edit the definition as we see necessary. Then as a class, we will create a column chart that includes the elements I have said I would like to focus on. The left column will list each of the elements, and then across the top the students will write the name of each story. Students will then fill out the chart for each fairy tale we have read, recording the details of each element in each story. We will use this column method for the rest of the stories we read, to familiarize students with identifying and recording those five main pieces of information. Throughout this process it will be important for students to note that, as always, there are exceptions to the rule. Then to be sure that students have grasped the concept, they will be asked to create their own "cookie-cutter" fairy tale by creating a Mad Libs fairy tale.
Lesson Plan One
Do Now
Students will be broken into small groups and given Mad Libs to complete. Pairs work best for this sort of activity, but groups of three can also be successful. It will be an opportune time to review parts of speech with students, since they will need to fill in verbs, adjectives, etc.
Procedure
As a class we will talk about how Mad Libs operate, how the author contributes to the story, and what pieces will always be the same. After this discussion we will review which parts of a fairy tale always stay the same. Students will then be challenged to write their own Mad Lib, so that no matter what the author fills in, the story will still be a fairy tale. For instance, the author will need to choose a magical setting, a good character, an evil monster, a moral dilemma, and a happy ending (or some similar set of fill-ins.) This process may take a few days.
Closure
Students will make copies of their Mad Libs and trade them with each other. We will review and solidify our list of what makes a fairy tale.
Assessment
Students will complete each others' Mad Libs and will grade each other using a rubric which we have created at the beginning of the assignment.
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