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, who credits his mentor and friend Kay Henjum with the original idea. Check out all of Corbett's on-line lessons by clicking here.

The ideal "mentor text" that can 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.

Click here to view this book 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.