What Makes a Cinderella Story?
For this activity, students will read stories that experts have categorized as Cinderella variants. The goal is to help students see that a plot element can seem quite different yet accomplish the same purpose in the narrative. In the Mi’kmaq (Native American) Cinderella tale, below, the heroine’s ability to see the mighty hunter replaces the familiar identity test of the slipper while accomplishing the goal of allowing the heroine to be recognized. Using the Native American Cinderella story the Mi’kmaq Cinderella, available through a link from the EDSITEment reviewed website Native Web, model for the class the process students will later complete with other Cinderella stories. Before you share the story, remind students of the plot elements of the familiar Cinderella, listed in Activity 1 and now featured on the chart “Plot and Setting Elements in the Familiar Cinderella Story.” Ask students to predict how plot or setting elements in the familiar Cinderella tale might change in a Nati
