Cinder-yeller

Learning Intention

I am learning about how the historical context of a text can influence the characters, setting and message of the story.

Success Criteria

I can:

• compare two texts from different historical contexts
• explain how context affects a story and the way that readers engage with a text
• creatively plan a new version of a well-known fairy tale

Essential knowledge

For more information about context, view The School Magazine’s video about Context.ungroup

Introduction

Explain that the class will be reading a playscript that is an unusual retelling of Cinderella. 

Prior to reading the play read a traditional version of Cinderellaungroup. Explain that Cinderella is an example of a traditional folk tale which has had thousands of variations over time, the earliest being sometime between 7 BC and AD 23! Perhaps the most famous published version is by the Brothers Grimm in their Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812).

Explain that traditional retellings of the tale (particularly the Brothers Grimm version) had elements that were quite cruel and violent. One of the stepsisters chops off her toe trying to squeeze into the glass slipper, for example. At the end of the tale the stepsisters are attacked by birds for their cruel treatment of Cinderella. Modern versions of the folk tale are typically less gruesome.

Prior to engaging with The School Magazine version. Read a more traditional version of the Cinderella story to the class, such as this versionungroup on the Stories to Grow By website. Alternatively, you may find a traditional picture book version in your school library.

Assign roles to students as per the character list on page 20. There are seven roles that need to be filled. Organise the students who are acting out a role, use the front of the classroom as a stage, and encourage them to follow the stage directions to add gestures and actions. Explain that they do not get a rehearsal because that is part of the storyline of the playscript.

Teacher modelling (I do)

20 minutes

Work together as a class to list the differences between the storyline of ‘Cinder-yeller’ and the traditional version of Cinderella. Sample ideas are as follows:

Explain the idea of ‘historical context’ to students. Provide students with a simple definition of historical context: what the world was like at the time a text was either created or set. You may like to show the video on The School Magazine website: Context.ungroup 

Discuss the context of the Brothers Grimm, who wrote the most popular versions of many fairy tales. Examples about living in the time of the Brother’s Grim included some of the following:

• the gap between the rich and the poor
• entertainment such as balls and the opera
• poor children often had to work as servants
• no cars, phones, computer, television

Explain that the historical context of ‘Cinder-yeller- is right now – the world that students are living in. Explain that part of our historical context is that through Disney movies and picture books, generally people in modern day Australia are familiar with the story of ‘Cinderella’. 

Guided practice (we do)

10 minutes

Work together as a whole class to complete the following T-chart comparing the original story of Cinderella that demonstrates aspects of historical context with the playscript ‘Cinder-yeller- and it’s historical context (which is now!)

After completing the table, ask students the following questions:

• What is the ‘Script-o-matic 500’? (An Artificial Intelligence machine that writes playscripts)
• What does it remind you of in real life? (Possibly students might know about ChatGPT or another AI program or app)

Explain to students that technology is changing and improving all the time and that in recent years, Artificial Intelligence has become a new tool for people to use. Use the think aloud strategy to discuss some problems with the use of the ‘script-o-matic 500’ – includes ideas such as:

• The script-o-matic 500 took so long to write the play, the actors didn’t have a chance to rehearse
• The script-o-matic 500 wrote some strange changes to the Cinderella story, based upon puns/rhyming words (step-quizters/stepsisters, Prince, Vince, they ‘seived’ happily ever after)
• When the narrator says ‘I think the Script-O-Matic 500 still needs a bit of work!’ what do you think that means? (It is referring to the fact that the ‘Script-o-matic 500 did not produce a perfect text. This statement can also apply to texts created by real forms of Artificial Intelligence, as the products it produces are not always accurate)

Independent activity (you do)

15 minutes

Instruct students to imagine that they have the ‘Script-o-matic 500’ in their classroom. They are to choose a well-known fairy tale (such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’ or ‘Snow White’ and imagine that they have asked the ‘Script-o-matic 500’ to plan a modernized version of the story.

Students are to use a T-chart to show how aspects of historical context influence the original story and the new, modern-day version (see the T-chart from the ‘guided practice’ activity). 

Suggested modern day contextual clues students could include in their stories are the use of modern technologies, such as video calls, computers, text messages, transport like cars, buses, trams and planes or modern colloquial language. A sample idea is included below for ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’

Differentiation

Students requiring assistance can be offered the T-chart as a cut and paste activity where they cut out the suggested ideas included in the Learning Resource and then glue them into the appropriate place on the chart.

Students requiring extension can use their planning T-chart from the ‘independent’ activity to write their own playscript of the modernised fairy tale. 

Assessment

Students answer the following question as an exit ticket: 

• How are stories affected by the time in which they were written?