3rd Grade Crew // Remixing a Classic
Exploring literary classics is a major element of any student’s journey through their school years and in 3rd grade we are just beginning this exciting work! I chose to update our selected classic text from Peter Pan to Cinderella in order to allow students to be exposed to versions from all around the world.
We began with what we call the “classic” version - a European retelling inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ text. Students learned the basic elements of a Cinderella story and discussed how and why this version came to be the most widely or popularly known despite not being the first. We then moved our focus to a few American retellings - the 1997 Rodgers & Hammerstein film; Sootface, an Ojibwe version; and Cendrillon, a Caribbean retelling. Students recounted key details and compared these versions to the “classic”, expanding their paragraph writing skills to compose short essays with multiple paragraphs.
Next, we took our Cinderella exploration to India and Zimbabwe. Anklet for a Princess introduced us to a story that was very similar to the “classic”, but was infused with lots of East Indian cultural additions. In Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters the beautiful, realistic illustrations and clear central lesson taught us a moral about kindness and compassion. With both texts, students continued to grow their comparison & contrasting skills as close readers.
We wrapped up this module with our final text - one that is the most distant from the “classic”. In Sneakerella (2022), a boy named El fights to win respect as a sneaker designer along with the heart of the sneaker industry’s “princess”. Students were so inspired by the music and modern setting of this particular Cinderella story. For our final product, students used that inspiration to create book review essays in which they shared their opinions on their favorite text with three strong reasons. I hope students will extend their learning by writing their own Cinderella story - keeping in mind the essential elements, but switching up the details to reflect their own culture and interests!
