This Lesson's Title:

Put 'em on Oprah!

fracturing a fairy tale by putting its characters on a talk show

This lesson was created by NNWP Teacher Consultant Corbett Harrison. Check out all of Corbett's on-line lessons by clicking here.

The intended "mentor text" to be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the picture book Cindy Ellen: a Wild Western Cinderella by Susan Lowell. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author.

Check out Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella at Amazon.com.

If you are a Washoe County teacher, click here to search for this book at the county library.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

The paramount rule of this writing assignment to stress to your students: absolutely no Jerry Springer Show imitations!  After enjoying Susan Lowell's unique re-telling of the Cinderella story, students will brainstorm a fairy tale whose characters might share their stories on an Oprah-like talk show.  As a group, students will compose a script that can be rehearsed, possibly costumed, and then performed in front of the class. Teachers: Click here to see the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait in this writing assignment is voice; the writers will create dialogue and monologues as though writing from the voices of fairy tale characters.  The support trait in this assignment is word choice; this activity encourages writers to carefully choose words...possibly dialects...that fit characters' personalities.