Multicultural Cinderella Project for Grade 3 Social Studies

APPENDIX XII

Multicultural Cinderella Project for Grade 3 Social Studies

Some 1500 versions of the basic Cinderella story have been recorded so far, and many of them are at least 1000 years old. In each, the cruel and thoughtless get their just rewards, as do those who are good and kind. Cinderella stories have both a rags-to-riches theme, and a good wins out over evil theme. Sibling rivalry is also a part of every story, and the stepmother is cruel and predatory. Cinderella is always the household drudge, and treated badly by her older sisters. Because Cinderella’s mother is dead, a helper character usually appears who can help Cinderella in her despair. Folktales place a premium on beauty, but also on a good and pure heart.

The following stories can be used as the starting points for this writing and cultural learning project.

Martin, Rafe. The Rough-Face Girl. 1992, 0698116267. In this Algonquian Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beautiful but heatless sisters compete for the affections of the invisible being.

San Souci, Robert D. Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story. 1994, 0-440-41363-X. Poor Sootface is forced to work day and night for her cruel and lazy older sisters. Her hair is singed from the cooking fire and her face is smeared with ashes, but Sootface still dreams that she will find a husband. Then a mighty warrior who can make himself invisible announces that he will marry the woman who can see him. Though the whole village laughs at her, Sootface sets off to try her luck, never once looking back. Here is another version of the Cinderella story.

Hillary Knight’s Cinderella, by Hillary Knight

Brucker, Meredith Babeaux. Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India. 2002, 1885008201. Cinduri, hungry and ragged, is befriended by Godfather Snake, who feeds her delicacies and dresses her in gold cloth and anklets with bells and diamonds, to meet the prince.

In the context of studying India, Tunisia, Peru, and Ukraine, read these and any other Cinderella stories aloud.

Vocabulary development

After reading Rough-Face Girl, have students put the following words into no more than five groups. Ask them to be able to tell the reasons for their groupings, that is, how the words in a single group are related.

APPENDIX XII

powerful

scarred

Milky Way

bark

wigwam

rich

burnt

brother

reeds

sled runners

cracked moccasins

broken shells

bow

arrows

ugly

APPENDIX XII

Now do the same with and 15 of the following words from Anklet for a Princess:

APPENDIX XII

anklet

sari

yogurt

serpent

lentils

flatbread

pomegranate

pavilion

toe ring

cholera epidemic

curry

veil

trunk

servant

conch shell

jasmine

peacocks

goddess

ankle chain

carriage

almond rice

APPENDIX XII

Here is a possible list of words for a story from Tunisia. Have the students do the same activity again using 15 of these words:

APPENDIX XII

tent

Bedouin

Berber

henna

shepherd

mosque

mosaic

Muslim

medina

souk

couscous

rooms underground

granaries

pottery

hookah

Arabic

loom

weaving

Ramadan

nomad

water pump

donkey

oasis

veil

seafood

vendors

dates

olives

carpet

robe

tattoo

courtyard

APPENDIX XII

APPENDIX XII

Here are some possible words for a story from Peru:

APPENDIX XII

Carnaval (Spanish)

flute

valley

firewood

Andes Mountains

corn kernels

potatoes

llama

panpipe

shearing

wool

anchovy fish

alpaca

yarn

spin

dye

burlap bags

village

fava beans

mask

APPENDIX XII

APPENDIX XII

Have the students develop a similar list for Ukraine.

Have the students fill in a matrix such as the one provided. Discuss and list the cultural information available in Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India. This could be done during a second reading where students listen for and record these details. Be sure to capture information from the illustrations as well.

Organize the students into groups and have them collaborate on creating Cinderella stories, each group choosing either Tunisia, Peru, or the Ukraine, and inserting cultural information similar to that found in Anklet for a Princess wherever appropriate.

If needed, a simple Cinderella story follows. This could be read to the students if a suitable picture book version cannot be found, or the students could read it for themselves.

Also included is The Wicked Stepmother, a Cinderella story from Kashmir, India.

Some questions for students about Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India:

1. Why do you suppose the Cinderella from India wears an anklet? Why doesn’t she wear a slipper or shoe like other Cinderellas?
2. Describe and explain Cinduri’s behaviour with the snake. Why does she behave this way?

APPENDIX XII

Cinderella Matrix

Title / Characters / Setting / Problem / Events / Magic / Features
Cinderella (one of the Perrault (French) versions)
Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story
Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India
The Rough-Face Girl

Multicultural Cinderella

Version: Title, Retold by / Country or Region of Origin / Aspects of Culture Shown / Cinderella Character / How the Story Resolves / Ending / Universal Theme /
Rough-Face Girl, by Rafe Martin
Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story, by Robert D. San Souci
Hillary Knight’s Cinderella, by Hillary Knight
Brucker, Meredith Babeaux. Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India.

Multicultural Cinderella Sample

Version: Title, Retold by / Country or Region of Origin / Aspects of Culture Shown / Cinderella Character / How the Story Resolves / Ending / Universal Theme /
Rough-Face Girl, by Rafe Martin / Folktale from Algonquin Indians of eastern Canada, part of a more complex traditional story / People lived in wigwams, painted on the sides with sun, moon, stars, plants and animals. The youngest sister had to sit by the fire and feed the flames. The older sisters got new buckskin dresses, beaded moccasins. The youngest made her clothes from birch bark. / Modest, brave of heart, persistent. A scarred face does not prevent the Rough-Face girl from seeing the beauty of the earth around her, nor does it disguise her beautiful, courageous and kind heart. / The older sisters cannot see the Invisible Being, cannot tell what his bow is made of, even though they have beautiful clothes. Only the Rough-Face girl is able see the Invisible Being. When she bathes in the lake, her scars disappear and her black hair becomes long and glossy. / The Rough-Face girl and the Invisible Being marry and were never parted. The helper character is the Invisible Being’s sister. Beauty is only skin deep: the ugly one was truly beautiful. / A courageous and kind person will win out over the greedy and vain. There is someone who will help the good and kind person.
Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story, by Robert D. San Souci / Folktale from Ojibwa Indians of the Canada and United States (Great Lakes area), from mid-18th Century Ojibwa village life / Glimpses of the unique lifestyle of the Ojibwa in the birch forest. The older sisters made the youngest do the work of cooking, gathering berries, sewing skins, gathering firewood, and smear her face with soot. The two older sisters took the best skins for dresses and moccasins. Tools (baskets, fire, weapons), clothing (deer hide), shelter (wigwams), religion (wedding ceremony, special powers given by medicine man), food (gathering berries, deer, getting water). / Kind and honest heart, hopeful (never lost sight of her dreams), perseverance, hardworking, knowledgeable
Innovative (made creative dress) / A mighty warrior in the wigwam across the lake can make himself invisible. Sootface decides to see if she can find a husband like all the other women in the village. She can see the mighty warrior and describe his bow and string. Sootface is the only one who can see him, because she is kind and honest. She is also beautiful when she gets cleaned up. / The mighty warrior and Sootface, now called Dawn-Light are married, and the two sisters have to do their own cooking and cleaning. Persistence and kindness are rewarded. / There is someone who will help the good and kind person.
Hillary Knight’s Cinderella, by Hillary Knight / Based on the folktale from France, North American influence / Called Cinderella because she spends her few free hours huddled by the ashes and cinders of the hearth, the king holds a royal ball which is held in a castle. Cozy house, people well dressed, carriages, style of homes and clothing depict France in the past. / Good and sweet, beautiful and kind, quiet, obedient, sweet voice / Has a fairy godmother who uses magic to help her get a lovely gown and who creates a carriage, etc. in which she can ride to the ball. Loses her glass slipper, but keeps its mate, and the prince finds the lost slipper and uses it to find her. / Marries the prince and invites her stepmother and stepsisters to live with her, lives happily ever after. Kindness overcomes evil. Forgiveness is a virtue. / Good wins out over evil. There is someone who will help the good and kind person.
Brucker, Meredith Babeaux. Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India. / India / Cinduri has a lot of work to do. Every day she walks to the lake to fetch drinking water, milks the cow, cleans the house, prepares the meals, cleans the animal pens, and sells vegetables. Her stepmother and stepsister, however, don’t do any of the work. They just order Cinduri about and give her a bowl of rice and a few leftovers to eat. / Cinduri is hungry and ragged, but beautiful, kind and good. / The lake, however, is full of magic. When Godfather Snake hears of Cinduri’s troubles, he vows to make her life easier. And when the Prince comes to visit the village during the annual Navaratri Festival, Godfather Snake makes it possible for her to go, dressed in the most beautiful gold-threaded sari and sparkling diamond anklets. It is there that she wins the heart of the Prince. / Good wins out over evil. There is someone who will help the good and kind person.

APPENDIX XII

Sample Lifestyle, Traditions and Culture of India to be Discovered in Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India – from the TEXT

(more can be inferred from the illustrations)

·  Cinduri balances a heavy pot on her head

·  Cinduri has to milk cows, make yogurt and cheese, clean the animal pens

·  She has to pick vegetables and sell them to neighbours

·  She also has to carry water many times a day

·  Men used to be able to have more than one wife

·  Cholera epidemics were common

·  Helper character is not a fairy godmother but a snake – snakes are important in Indian culture

·  Sisters ride in a carriage

·  Foods include almond rice, lentils, flatbread, curries

·  Pressing hands together and bowing to show thanks

·  There are peacocks and green parrots in the garden

·  Navaratri Festival

·  Women wear toe rings, veils and ankle chains

·  An aarti lamp is lit for ceremonial occasions

·  Have a goddess called Durga, in whose honour the festival is held

·  Women wear saris

·  People may have servants

·  A conch shell may be used as a bugle

·  Jasmine flowers are used in wedding ceremonies

From the notes:

·  The underwater world is mysterious and threatening, ruled by snakes and dragons

·  These creatures would respond to offerings from people by giving good fortune and luck.

·  The snake is a symbol of strength and might.

·  Snake venom is used for medicinal purposes

·  Snakes stand for wealth, prosperity and royalty

·  Dances contain movements like those of the snake

Cinderella

Once upon a time there lived an unhappy young girl. Unhappy she was, for her mother was dead, and her father had married another woman, a widow with two daughters. Her stepmother didn't like her one little bit. All the nice things, kind thoughts, and loving touches were for her own daughters. And not just the kind thoughts and love, but also the dresses, shoes, shawls, delicious food, comfy beds, as well as every home comfort. All this was laid on for her daughters. But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters' hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No nice rests and comfort. For she had to work hard all day, and only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That is how she got her nickname, for everybody called her Cinderella.

Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said,

"Meow", which really meant, "Cheer up! You have something neither of your stepsisters have and that is beauty."

It was quite true. Cinderella, even dressed in rags with a face dusty grey from the cinders, was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy, and ugly and always would be.