Lesson 5 - The Brothers Grimm

🕐 Lesson Overview

• Bellringer - Turn & Talk
• Fairy Tales & the Brothers Grimm
• Introduce Vocab: "Hansel and Gretel"
• Begin Reading: "Hansel and Gretel"^[1]

⭐ Objectives

• I can explain what a fairy tale is.
• I can define and use new vocabulary.
• I can use evidence to support my claims.

📏 Standards

🗽 NYSNGSS

🗒️ Lesson Plan

Anticipatory Set

Students will engage in a Turn & Talk around the following prompt:

What do you know (or think you know) about the story of “Hansel and Gretel” and the Brothers Grimm? What about fairy tales in general? What are they? What types of stories and characters are typically featured?

The teacher will take attendance while students discuss. Once sufficient discussion time has elapsed, the teacher will invite students to share their ideas with the whole class. The class will review the agenda and objectives.

Developmental Activity

The teacher will provide background information on fairy tales and the Brothers Grimm, emphasizing that the brothers compiled oral stories from cultures across Europe and that the stories often feature clear morals and differences between good and evil. The teacher should connect to students' existing knowledge by mentioning some of the stories with which they may already be familiar (e.g. Snow White, Rapunzel, etc.) but explaining that the modern versions often deviate significantly from those published by the Brothers Grimm.

The teacher will then pre-teach vocabulary from "Hansel and Gretel." Students will copy the following definitions into their journal. The teacher should provide examples for each word as well as explain word roots, prefixes, and suffixes as appropriate (e.g. for disheartened).

• famine: (n.) an extreme scarcity of food
• plane: (v.) to make smooth or even
• forsake: (v.) to leave someone or something forever; to give up a habit, belief, or way of life
• weary: (adj.) exhausted in strength, endurance, or vigor
• disheartened: (adj.) without hope, enthusiasm, or courage
• perish: (v.) to be destroyed or ruined; to die
• scornfully: (adv.) feeling or showing open dislike, disrespect, or a lack of concern

Closure

The class will begin reading "Hansel and Gretel" aloud. The teacher will use the Equity Sticks strategy to select readers on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. The teacher will pause the reading to check for understanding, introduce new vocabulary, or explain unfamiliar concepts. The class will get through as much of the story as possible and continue the following day. At the end of the period, the teacher will pass out the "Hansel and Gretel" Reading Check assignment and encourage students to do as much of it as they can based on what they have read thus far.