Students read multiple versions of the fairytale Cinderella, challenging them to think about how the culture, or setting, of the story influences the plot, and examining the setting and characters.
As part of the upgrade to Fishtank Plus, this unit was revised in October 2020. Some texts, materials, and questions may have changed as part of the revision. If you are looking for the 2019 version of this unit, visit our archives.
In this first unit of second grade, students read multiple versions of a classic fairy tale, Cinderella. Through reading various versions of the same story, students are not only exposed to a wide variety of cultures, but they are also challenged to think about how the culture, or setting, of the story influences the plot. In 1st grade Literature, students took a trip around the world, exploring a wide variety of themes and stories from all over in order to build a foundational understanding that our world is made up of many diverse and unique cultures. This unit builds on the exposure to new cultures students received in 1st grade and provides an opportunity for students to explore the idea that even though cultures may appear to be different, there are many things embedded within the unique characteristics of different cultures that make them similar. Storytelling, and the role of storytelling, is one of those similarities. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others in the sequence, helps students build empathy and understanding of people and cultures that might be different from them.
The different versions of Cinderella help students understand the components of a fairy tale and the lessons associated with traditional fairy tales. Over the course of the unit, students will be challenged to ask and answer questions about the text and illustrations as a way of deepening their understanding of plot, setting, and characters. In the first section of the unit, students will focus deeply on the setting, characters, and plot of the different versions of Cinderella, learning to compare and contrast the nuances across different versions. In the second section of the unit, students will read Cinderella stories that vary from the traditional plot structure but still include the underlying theme that a person’s actions (good or bad) influence their life outcomes. In this section, students will dive deeply into three texts to analyze different characters’ traits and how the author uses those traits to help reveal the lesson of the story.
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Book: Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci (Aladdin, 2002) — AD670L
Book: Cinderella by Marcia Brown (Aladdin, 1997) — 1000L
Book: Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani (The Islamic Foundation, 2011)
Book: The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo (HarperCollins, 1992) — AD810L
Book: Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie (Puffin Books, 1998) — AD950L
Book: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe (Puffin Books, 2008) — AD790L
Book: The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin (Puffin Books, 1998) — AD540L
Book: The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci (Dial Books for Young Readers, 1989) — AD870L
Book: What is Culture? by Bobbie Kalman (Crabtree Publishing Company, 2009) — IG700L
Assessment Text: “The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella Story” by Mindy Dwyer
See Text Selection Rationale
This assessment accompanies this unit and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
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Below are some of the lessons students might learn from Cinderella:
When applying the lessons to their own lives, encourage students to be proactive and antiracist. If possible, connect it to causes bigger than themselves (e.g. racial justice, anti-bullying, etc.).
This unit is one of the only units in the sequence where the majority of texts are read aloud to students. Therefore, the focus of this unit is on modeling reading aloud with prosody. This involves reading with expression, timing, phrasing, emphasis and intonation in a way that supports comprehension and meaning making. In later units, and during independent reading, students will have multiple opportunities to practice fluent reading in grade-level texts.
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Complete sentences are the foundation for all writing. In this unit, students learn to differentiate between a fragment and a complete sentence. We recommend using our guide Sentence-Level Feedback and Support (K-5th Grade) to provide individual and small-group feedback to ensure that all students are able to use complete sentences by the end of the unit.
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admire arrogant ashamed cross crafty culture delighted deceitful desperate dread envy entranced fairy tale generous genuine graceful humble jeer long marveled obedient peer pleased proud relieved sob temper vain weary
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What is Culture? — pp. 4–21 and pp. 26–27
RL.2.1
Identify culture and the ways that cultures can be similar or different by identifying key details in a text Read Aloud.
Cinderella pp. 1 – 14
RL.2.1
RL.2.3
Describe Cinderella, her stepmother, and her stepsisters, and how they act toward people who treat them poorly by describing characters and how they respond to events.
Cinderella — pp. 15-end
RL.2.1
RL.2.3
Describe what happens at the ball and how it changes Cinderella and the stepsisters’ lives by describing characters and how they respond to events.
Cinderella pp. 1 – 20
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe the setting of Cinderella and how it influences what characters do by identifying and describing key details from the text and illustrations that describe setting.
Cinderella pp. 20 – 40
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Explain how the queen knows that Cinderella has good character, and what else Zahra does to show her good character by using the text and illustrations to describe characters and how they respond to events.
Writing
L.2.1.f
Produce complete simple sentences orally and in writing.
Cendrillon
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe why Cendrillon says, “You gave me this night. It is enough,” by analyzing details in a text to draw conclusions about characters’ actions and motivations.
Cendrillon
Cinderella
Cinderella
RL.2.3
RL.2.5
RL.2.9
SL.2.1
Compare and contrast two versions of Cinderella by describing how the setting impacts the characters and plot of a story.
Yeh-Shen pp. 1 – 15
RL.2.2
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe Yeh-Shen’s relationship with the fish and why it is important by analyzing details in a text to draw conclusions about characters’ actions and motivations.
Yeh-Shen — pp. 17 - end
RL.2.2
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe why the king did not allow Yeh-Shen to bring her stepmother and stepsister to the palace after they were married by analyzing details in a text to draw conclusions about characters’ actions and motivations.
Writing
L.2.1.f
Produce complete simple sentences orally and in writing.
The Egyptian Cinderella
RL.2.2
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Explain the role of the falcon and how it makes this version of Cinderella different from others by analyzing details in a text to draw conclusions about characters’ actions and motivations.
Yeh-Shen
The Egyptian Cinderella
RL.2.3
RL.2.5
L.2.6
Compare and contrast two versions of Cinderella by describing how the setting impacts the characters and plot of a story and analyzing the different lessons learned.
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe Nyasha and how her character is different from Manyara by analyzing details that describe character traits and motivations.
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
RL.2.2
RL.2.3
Analyze how the author uses character traits to demonstrate the lesson or moral of the story by analyzing details that describe character traits and the lesson.
The Talking Eggs
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe Blanche and how her character is different from her mother and sister by analyzing details that describe character traits and motivations.
The Talking Eggs
RL.2.2
Analyze how the author uses character traits to demonstrate the lesson or moral of the story by analyzing details that describe character traits and the lesson.
Writing
Determine if a sentence is a complete sentence or incomplete sentence.
The Rough-Face Girl
RL.2.3
RL.2.7
Describe the Rough-Face Girl and how her character is different from the two older sisters by analyzing details that describe character traits and motivations.
The Rough-Face Girl
RL.2.2
RL.2.3
Analyze how the author uses character traits to demonstrate the lesson or moral of the story by analyzing details that describe character traits and the lesson.
Discussion
All unit texts
RL.2.9
SL.2.1
L.2.6
Debate and analyze what lessons we can learn from the characters in traditional fairy tales and folktales and how these lessons translate to our lives by citing evidence from the entire unit to support an idea.
Writing
W.2.3
L.2.1
L.2.2
Write a different version of Cinderella by writing narratives that include a beginning, middle, and end.
Writing
W.2.3
L.2.1
L.2.2
Write a different version of Cinderella by writing narratives that include a beginning, middle, and end.
Writing
W.2.3
L.2.1
L.2.2
Revise your version of Cinderella by adding temporal words to help events unfold in a logical way.
Writing
W.2.3
L.2.1
L.2.2
Identify the four different types of sentences and explain when they are used.
Writing
W.2.3
L.2.1
L.2.2
Edit your version of Cinderella by applying generalized spelling patterns when spelling a new word.
Assessment
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