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| Overview |
This lesson begins with a study of story structure and the six traits of writing, using both traditional and fractured fairy tales. In a collaborative writing activity, students use the Fractured Fairy Tales tool to plan their own fractured tale with several alternate plotlines and endings. A PowerPoint template provides the framework for the fractured fairy tale, with hyperlinks leading through the alternate plotlines. Students then add images, transitions, and motion to enhance the meaning of the text.
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| From Theory to Practice |
Anstey, M., & Bull, G. (2006). Teaching and learning multiliteracies: Changing times, changing literacies. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
- The interactive nature of hyperlinked electronic texts means that the reader can choose different paths through the text.
- If the text is nonlinear, the reader (and writer) needs to develop effective reading (and writing) strategies.
Olness, R. (2005). Using literature to enhance writing instruction: A guide for K–5 teachers. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
- Literature can be used to discover how authors use the six traits of writing.
- The six traits are ideas, organization, voice, word choice, fluency, and conventions.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- Become more familiar with the six traits of writing through a review of a variety of fairy tales and fractured fairy tales
- Practice the six traits in original writing
- Evaluate the work of their collaborative group and the work of their peers according to the six traits of writing
- Apply their knowledge of story structure in the creation of coherent hyperlinked stories
- Develop visual literacy skills in creating effective presentations using color, font, and images in addition to text
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| Instructional Plan |
Preparation
| 1. |
Choose a variety of traditional and fractured fairy tales to read with students. (The Online Fairy Tale Collections and Activities page provides links to online texts and annotated lists of titles.) Note how the chosen titles exemplify the six traits of writing. Practice reading any stories you plan to read aloud to the class. If students will be reading independently, collect multiple copies of the chosen titles for classroom use.
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| 2. |
Review information about fractured fairy tales. (See resources under “Fractured Fairy Tales” on the Online Fairy Tale Collections and Activities page.) Depending on your students’ knowledge, you may want to conduct the EDSITEment lesson “Fairy Tales Around the World” to introduce them to the characteristics of fairy tales.
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| 3. |
Familiarize yourself with the Fractured Fairy Tales tool, and use it to create a sample fractured fairy tale for one of the titles included in the tool. Bookmark this tool on students’ computers, in addition to any online fairy tales or webpages students will be reading.
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| 4. |
Review information about the six traits of writing and make sure students are familiar with these traits. You may wish to use materials from the following websites:
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| 5. |
Schedule access to computers with Internet access for Sessions 4, 6, and 7.
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| 6. |
Familiarize yourself with the PowerPoint Template for Fractured Fairy Tales, using the instructions on the PowerPoint Tool Tips handout. Practice changing backgrounds, using transitions, and inserting and moving clipart. You may want to visit the Clipart ETC Site Map and scroll down to the Literature heading; it has links to many relevant images. You can insert some samples in the template and direct students to the site when they are working during Session 7. Install a copy of the PowerPoint template on students’ computers for use during Session 6. (Note: The hyperlinks only work in the template when the story is in Slide Show presentation mode.)
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| 7. |
Introduce (or review) the basic features of PowerPoint software that students will need to use in their hyperlinked stories. If you choose to have students create their own hyperlinked fairy tales, review the online instructions on how to Use Microsoft PowerPoint to Develop an Interactive Story and bookmark this page on students’ computers. Be prepared to demonstrate the process and assist students with their individual stories.
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| 8. |
Make a copy for each student of the PowerPoint Tool Tips handout, Drawing in PowerPoint handout (optional), and What I Learned About My Writing self-evaluation sheet. Make a copy for each student and one overhead transparency of the Organization Chart for Fractured Fairy Tales. Make copies of the Presentation Rubric and Six Traits Rubric for Fractured Fairy Tales so that each small group can evaluate all the other groups’ presentations.
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Instruction and Activities
Sessions 1 and 2: Exploring Fairy Tales
| 1. |
Introduce students to a variety of fairy tales and fractured fairy tales. Read several stories aloud or distribute copies of the titles you have chosen for students to read silently.
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| 2. |
Have students work with a partner to choose several books or online stories and examine these texts for the six traits of writing.
- Ideas
What is the theme? What are some details the author uses to develop and support the theme?
- Organization
How is the story structured (beginning, middle, end)? What patterns do you notice in the story?
- Voice
Is the voice of the author strictly narrative or does it show feeling, conviction, emotions, humor, etc.? How does the choice of words contribute to the voice? (Provide examples.)
- Word Choice
What words in the text do you find especially interesting, unexpected, or powerful? Are there any repeated phrases? What metaphors or similes does the author use?
- Fluency
Read some of your favorite sections out loud. How do the words flow together? What transitions and connector words contribute to the flow of the story?
- Conventions
Focus on one or more conventions such as capitalization, punctuation, grammar, spelling, and paragraphing. Discussion of conventions should be grade specific.
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Session 3: Comparing Different Versions of Fairy Tales
| 1. |
Ask students to choose a classic tale on which they would like to base an original fractured fairy tale. Have them work in small groups (three or four students who have chosen the same story) to compare the classic version of the tale with two or more fractured versions.
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| 2. |
Have students compare their two favorite versions of the fairy tale in terms of the six traits of writing.
- Which aspects are the same? Which are changed?
- What elements need to be present for the story to be recognizable as a variation on a certain classic tale (e.g., a Cinderella story or a Frog Prince story)?
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Session 4: Planning Original Fractured Fairy Tales
| 1. |
Have students access the Fractured Fairy Tales tool and read the sample fractured fairy tale and the three traditional fairy tales.
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| 2. |
Arrange students in small groups to discuss ideas for fractured versions of one or more of the three fairy tales by brainstorming alternate plots and endings. Students can either write collaboratively, or work on individual fractured fairy tales and then combine their efforts, incorporating the plotlines and endings developed by each member of the group.
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| 3. |
Using the LCD projector and the Fractured Fairy Tales tool, model the creation of a fractured fairy tale. As you move through the questions on the Choose My Changes part of the tool, conduct the demonstration as a shared writing project, with students providing suggestions.
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| 4. |
Have students work in their small groups to create their own plans for a fractured fairy tale. Remind them to print out the completed plan.
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Session 5: Organization of Hyperlinked Stories
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Distribute copies of the Organization Chart for Fractured Fairy Tales. Be sure students also have the planning sheets they printed out from the Fractured Fairy Tales tool in Session 4.
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| 2. |
Using your overhead transparency of the organization chart, model how to fill in the sheet. Incorporate the changes suggested by students during the shared writing project in Session 4 and invite additional suggestions. Focus on the alternate plotlines and endings, as these will be new ways of writing for students.
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| 3. |
Have students work in small groups to organize their own fractured fairy tales, using their copies of the Organization Chart for Fractured Fairy Tales and their printouts from the Fractured Fairy Tales tool.
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Session 6: Voice, Word Choice, and Fluency
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Using the LCD projector, model the use of the PowerPoint Template for Fractured Fairy Tales, showing how the links work in Slide Show mode. Encourage students to navigate through their own copies of the template.
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| 2. |
Using your completed copy of the Organization Chart for Fractured Fairy Tales from Session 5, write a rough draft of the shared writing fractured fairy tale into the template. Demonstrate how to place the text on each page.
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| 3. |
Have students work in their small groups with the PowerPoint template to construct a rough draft of the hyperlinked tale they planned in Session 5. Suggest that they take turns typing the text from the organization chart into the PowerPoint template.
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| 4. |
Once the rough drafts are completed, have students edit their hyperlinked tales. Remind them to focus on the following traits
- Voice
Does this sound like me? Would this make the reader feel something? Do I show feelings rather than tell? Do the images contribute to the voice?
- Word Choice
Did I use interesting words? Did I use specific nouns? Did I use lively verbs?
- Fluency
Do my sentences begin in different ways? Does my story sound good when read aloud? Does it have a rhythm or flow? Are some sentences long and some short?
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Session 7: Presentation and Conventions
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Distribute copies of the PowerPoint Tool Tips handout. Using the LCD projector, demonstrate the use of various tools available in PowerPoint software. Have students work in their small groups to try out each feature as you conduct the demonstration. Note: It is not necessary to demonstrate all the features described on the handout. Depending on your students’ experience with PowerPoint, you may prefer to focus on a few basic skills, such as inserting, sizing, and positioning clip art and changing the size and font of the text.
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| 2. |
Have students work in their small groups to find and insert appropriate clip art to illustrate their fractured fairy tales.
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| 3. |
If you wish students to be able to add to the clip art or produce original illustrations, distribute copies of the Drawing in PowerPoint handout and demonstrate the use of the drawing tool. Have students work in their small groups to complete the process of illustrating their stories. Note: The program must be in Slide Show mode for the drawing tool to work.
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| 4. |
Demonstrate the use of different font styles, sizes, and colors, calling attention to the feelings that these fonts can evoke. For example, bold face signifies important text, ALL CAPITALS can be used to denote yelling, Arial is easy to read, Comic Sans MS seems childlike, and so on.
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| 5. |
Have students work in their small groups to apply appropriate font effects to the text of their fractured fairy tales.
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| 6. |
Once students have completed the graphic features of their stories, have them do a final edit of the text, focusing on conventions.
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| 7. |
Remind students to save their completed presentations.
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Note: Prior to Session 8, you will need to transfer all of the students’ hyperlinked fractured fairy tales to a computer with projection capabilities.
Session 8: Presentation and Evaluation
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Have students gather in their small groups. Distribute copies of the Presentation Rubric and the Six Traits Rubric for Fractured Fairy Tales. Each group should have enough copies of the rubrics to evaluate all the presentations.
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| 2. |
Using the LCD projector, present one of the fractured fairy tale projects on the screen. Have the group that created the story introduce the presentation and comment on their use of images and their reasons for the alternate plotlines and endings. (Rather than demonstrating every possible alternative, students can show one or two different choices to provide an impression of the options.)
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| 3. |
As each group finishes its presentation, instruct the other groups to evaluate the presentation using the Presentation Rubric and the Six Traits Rubric for Fractured Fairy Tales. To save time, two group members can work together to fill out the Presentation Rubric and the other two can complete the Six Traits Rubric.
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| 4. |
When all the fractured fairy tales have been presented, have students reflect on their own work on the project using the What I Learned About My Writing self-evaluation sheet.
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Extensions
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
- Keep anecdotal notes as students work together on their projects in their small groups. Pay special attention to student conversation about the six traits and to their use of multiple literacy skills as they create their PowerPoint presentations. Use the information on the rubrics as a guide.
- Collect and review students’ peer assessments from Session 7 (the Presentation Rubric and the Six Traits Rubric for Fractured Fairy Tales). Also use these rubrics to grade the projects from your perspective.
- Collect the What I Learned About My Writing self-evaluation forms. Compare these forms with your own evaluations. Include copies for students to keep in their writing portfolios.
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1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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