Folklore mirrors the culture but we can only understand it if we have knowledge of the culture.

Our best known fairy tale, Cinderella, came from 9th century China.  Think about what you know about Chinese customs.  What was considered the most beautiful part of the female?  Was it her face? Her hair?  No...it was her feet.  Small feet were considered feminine and beautiful.  What custom did the Chinese have for maintaining small feet?  What importance did small feet play in the identification of the true Cinderella?  It is not surprising that in most of the 345 registered Cinderella versions some type of footwear is the actual identification tool.

How do fairy tales meet the criteria or definition of folklore?  What was the purpose of folklore?  What was the real reason behind the fairy tales?  Were they strictly stories or was there an underlying reason for the tale?  You will discover this as you read, research and analyze your Cinderella tale and research the country or ethnic group which is associated with the tale.

Good luck!  Pick apart the tale and find as much as you can on the culture or country associated with your version. Begin to see the relationship of everyday things in people's lives were utilized in telling the tale.   Sometimes the relationship will seem far-fetched.  That's ok.  Remember--just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (such as the Chinese and feet) meaning is in the minds of the researcher and critic.
 
 

The Task
 

• Each team of 2-3 students will select, read and analyze one of the many versions of the Cinderella fairy tale.  The choice is yours.  You may select one from your own ethnic background, from a group or country you would like to visit someday but the team must decide on one version.
• Teams will research the country or ethnic group which claims that particular version.
• Each team will present their analysis orally to the class via a power point presentation.

Resources

The following are suggested resources, however, you may find additional information by searching the name of your ethnic group.  Be very specific when searching for information on a particular country.

                  WEB-BASED                                              CD-ROM *                                                  PRINT**

*    Resides on your desktop.
**  Check the Athena on-line catalog on your desktop to locate these volumes.
 

The Process

1.  The class will divide into teams of 2-3 students and each team will select a Cinderella version.  Your homework assignment will be to carefully read the version and generate a list of unique aspects of this tale that differ from the versions discussed in class, i. e., the Perault version, "Cinderella and the glass slipper," and the Grimm version, "Aschenputtel."
2.  Each team will discuss the lists and generate, via Inspiration, a web which graphically depicts these unique items.As you begin your research on the country or people, this will be an initial guide in your quest to correlate research to aspects of the tale.. A model for this is the Mjadveig web which we looked at in class.
3. Teams will research the country or ethnic group of origin.  Teams will be looking for information which correlates to aspects in the tale.  Initial research could be centered on the following:
        a.  History of folklore of your country or group;
        b.  Geo-physical characteristics of the country or environment of the group, natural resources;
        c.  History of the country or group such as early inhabitants, the path and timeline of the migration;
        d.  Cultural aspects such as food, religion, occupations;
        e.  Symbolism of characters, names, etc., which appear in the tale.
4.  Source cards and note cards are required.
5.  Team members will analyze information and attempt to correlate research on the country to aspects found in the tale.  This analysis will be the basis of the power point presentation.
6.  A power point presentation must support your team's oral presentation.  All members must participate in the creation of slides and the oral presentation. The presentation should include the following:  a brief synopsis of your tale, a copy of the web you created depicting the unique aspects of the tale, slides depicting your analysis.  Other slides may contain a map tracing the route of the early inhabitants and their current location in the world; drawings of scenes or symbols in the tale and how they are based in the culture of the country or group.
 

Evaluation
All students are expected to participate in all aspects of the WebQuest, i. e., research and analysis, brainstorming, slide creation and oral presentation.  Students will submit source cards (different from your partner) and note cards based on the sources researched.  Although the slide presentation is a group project, all members of the team must contribute to the oral presentation. A project rubric has been developed to assess all aspects of this WebQuest.  The multi-media projects (power point slides and brainstorm web) are team projects, however, each student will be assessed individually.
 

Conclusion

As you probably discovered, researching can sometimes be looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack."  Also research is not necessarily cut and dry and often one has to extrapolate information and find relationships that are not necessarily clear at first glance.

What you should have learned from this Webquest is that fairy tales are based on  the social, moral and intellectual beliefs of a particular group.  Elements within the tale are those which the people were familiar with and can be traced back to their environment.  You should have also come away with the basic understanding that we can read and analyze a piece of literature on several different levels.  The young child reads Cinderella as a poor girl, a victim.  He may not see the lesson to be learned or any of the cultural aspects of the tale.  As a critic you have analyzed the tale on a much deeper level.  Remember to apply these same strategies to your reading and research for your SENIOR LITERARY PAPER.
 

Teacher Notes
 

A Unit Plan is included which indicates the Maryland State Core Learning Goals and provides a timetable for the unit.

The following resources will provide different versions of the Cinderella tale or lists of resources about the tale:

The Children's Literature Web Guide:Cinderella Stories

Legends: Fairy Tales

Cinderella Books from Around the World
 
 
 

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