House B Language Arts
Mrs. Gann
Title of Unit: “This isn’t your mother’s Cinderella or The Multicultural Fairy Tale”
February 14-March 3, 2005
WHAT: In this unit, we will be studying the story of Cinderella from the perspective of many different cultures. You will learn that the same story can wind its way through different languages and time periods and that each retelling of the story is important and valuable in its own way.
WHEN: We will begin our adventure on February 14. The final project for this unit is due at the beginning of class on Monday, March 7.
HOW: This unit is largely a “collaborative unit.” “Collaborative” means that a lot of class time will be spent working in groups of four (4) students. Please be advised that if a class is unable to manage the many benefits that come with groupwork, I will go back to traditional lecture for the rest of the unit. Additionally, the final project, which is scheduled to be a GROUP PROJECT, will become an individual project and everyone will have to do all the work (instead of each student just taking a small piece of work). I don’t think I need to tell you which way is going to be better for you!
CALENDAR:
Monday, February 14: Pretest (10 points)
Unit Introduction
Pick groups
Tuesday, February 15: Essential terms and concepts about Cinderella (short day, quick notes).
Wednesday, February 16: Disney Day. We will watch Disney’s Cinderella and answer questions from a guided worksheet.
Thursday, February 17: Read “Rashin Coatie” from Cinderella packet in class and do some compare-contrast to Disney.
Friday, February 18: Bistro Day. Learn about book reviews.
Monday, February 21: No school. Please be reading Book II for the Bistro.
Tuesday, February 22,
Wednesday, February 23: Group work on Cinderella stories. Each group will read one story from Cinderella packet and prepare to teach the rest of the class the big elements of that story.
Thursday, February 24: Peer teaching day. Be ready to teach your friends about your particular Cinderella story. (50 points)
Friday, February 25: In-class essay on Cinderella. Do not be absent. (40 points)
Monday, February 28-
Thursday, March 3: Work on final projects in class.
Friday, March 4: Movie day. We will have on Ever After in class. You may watch the movie if your group is done with your project OR you may continue to work on your final.
Monday, March 7: Final projects are due at the beginning of class. (100 collective points)
FINAL PROJECT:
The final project for this unit is called “All the News that Fits.” Your group will be designing a newsletter, newspaper, posterboard, or some other mass communication device to communicate to your audience four (4) news articles about Cinderella, her story, the ball, the prince, etc. These stories will follow the traditional model that regular newspapers use: Front Page News, Metro, Sports and Arts & Life. Your project should incorporate art (either cut & pasted or your own drawing), color, text (either handwritten IN PEN or typewritten), and anything else that makes your project spring to life. Your stories about Cinderella should be creative and fun, but should also incorporate elements from any of the stories we learn about in this unit.
Remember, if this class can’t handle groupwork, we go back to individual work and each student must complete the entire project on his/her own. Collectively, this project is worth 100 points and each student in the group will receive the same grade. Don’t let your teammates down! Put forth your best effort!
These projects should be nice enough that we can hang them in the hall and show them off to the rest of the Annex. Make this project your own!
**Mrs. Hanlon and I reserve the right to bust up a group that is not productive or that makes it difficult for other groups to stay focused and on-task.**
