Summary The classic fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel” is retold in an original way. A television game show called “Who’s Telling the Truth?” puts Hansel and Gretel in the spotlight. First, the children tell their version of what happened in the house in the woods. Then, Esmerelda, the woman that the children claim is a witch and who had the children in her home for three days, tells her side of the story. The studio audience listens to both sides and decides who is telling the truth. Hansel and Gretel’s father and stepmother are on hand offering their opinions as well!

Objectives FluencyStudents will:• Buildfluencythroughecho-reading,choral-reading,andrepeatedreading

• Readwithdramaticexpression• Readitalicizedwords

cOmprehenSiOnStudents will:• Analyzestoryelements• Identifymainideaandsupportingdetails

• Makeconnections• Makeinferences/judgments

WritingStudents will:• Writeadescriptionaboutthetext

genreStudents will:• Identifyandanalyzefeaturesoffracturedfairytales

VOcabulary and WOrd StudyStudents will:• Buildvocabulary:farfetched,

hooligans,preposterous• Role-playwords• Askquestionsaboutwords• Analyzecompoundwords

character educatiOnStudentswilllearnabout:• Fairness• Responsibility

Hansel and Gretel

The True Storyteacher’s guide

Reader’s Theater™for Fluency and comprehension

characters levelsMindy N/30Hansel O/34Gretel P/38Esmerelda R/40Charles T/44Tina V/60

leVelS 30–60 n–V

“Fractured” Fairy tales

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build background•Askstudentswhattheyknowabout

thestoryofHanselandGretel.Ask a volunteer to summarize the story.

•Askstudentstotalkaboutotherfairytalestheyknow.Remindthemthatfairy tales sometimes include magic and also a moral, or a lesson to be learned.

•Askstudentsifthey’veseengameshowsontelevision.Talkaboutsomecommon features of game shows, such as contestants, the host, prizes, and the studio audience.

introduce the Script•Giveeachstudentacopyofthescript

and explain that they are going to read a new version of the story of Hansel andGretel.Askstudentsiftheyknowwhat a fractured fairy tale is and if they have ever read other fractured fairy tales, for example, The True Story of the 3 Little PigsbyJonSciezska.

•UsetheLearningAboutGenre sidebar to help teach characteristics of fractured fairy tales.

•Explainthat“HanselandGretel”isa classic fairy tale about a brother and sister who get lost in the woods and end up at the house of a witch. Explain that the fractured fairy tale will use some of the same characters, but some new characters will be added, and the story will be retold in an unexpected way.

•Readthetitleandbackcoverblurbwithstudents.Askthemtopredicthow this version of “Hansel and Gretel” might be different from the classic version.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

Day One

2

Copyright©2007BenchmarkEducationCompany,LLC.Allrightsreserved.Nopartoftheguidemaybereproducedortransmittedinwholeorinpartinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyinformationretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

ISBN:978-1-4108-7194-7

•Elementsoffairytalescombinedwithhumor

•Original,well-knownstoriesareretoldinanunexpectedway

•Newcharactersmaybeadded•Classiccharactersdounexpectedor

out-of-characterthings

learning about genre: Fractured Fairy tales

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introduce Vocabulary• Introducetheglossarywords:

farfetched, hooligans, and preposterous. Explain that farfetched is a compound word, a word made of two smaller words.Askstudentstopredictthemeaning of farfetched bylookingatthe two smaller words. Tell students that farfetched means hard to believe.

•Tellstudentsthemeaningsofhooligans(troublemakers) and preposterous (ridiculous).Askstudentsto identify which word is the noun, and which is the adjective.

•Guidestudentstopage4andthephrase “tell your side of the story.” Explain that this is a figurative way to say that the story will be told from your point of view.

•Askstudentsiftheythinktheterm“gingerbread-ologist”(page12)isreal.Explain that this is an imaginary word made up for the story. Explain that the suffix means one who studies and give examples, such as geologist.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

model Fluent readingAskstudentstolistenandfollowalongwith you as you read the script aloud to model fluency and expression.

background information

“Hansel and Gretel”— A Grimm Fairy Tale

•TheclassicGermantaleofHanselandGretelhasbeenaroundforcenturies.Inthe early 1800s, the Brothers Grimm, from Germany, published their version of “Hansel and Gretel” in Children’s and Household Tales, a collection of fairy tales. Grimm’sfairytalesarethebest-knownworksinGermanliteratureandhavebeentranslated into over 160 languages.

• Intheoriginaltale,HanselandGretel’sparents abandon them in the woods. The Brothers Grimm introduced an evil stepmother as the one who wants to abandonthechildren.Intheirversion,the split between good and evil is more obvious, and it is clear that the father loves his children.

• In1893,“HanselandGretel”wasmadeintoanopera.Intheopera,thepartofthestory where the children are abandoned in thewoodsiscompletelyleftout.Instead,the children’s mother sends them out into the woods to forage for food.

•Thehumorousaspectinthefracturedfairy tale is that the roles of good and evil have been switched. The reader is used to Hansel and Gretel being the good characters and the stepmother and witch being the evil characters. However, the script twists the classic, makingthechildrenthebadcharactersand the stepmother and “witch” the good characters.

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build Fluency: echo-read•Readthescriptaloud,andask

students to echo-read, or repeat, the lines after you. Stop where necessary toexplainpunctuationmarksthatindicate where students should pause or change their tones of voice. For example, point out the dashes on pages2and3.Explainthatthesedashesindicatebreaksinthedialogue,such as when one character interrupts another.Demonstratebyaskingastudent volunteer to read Tina’s line on page 2 that ends in a dash. Then read Esmerelda’s line on page 2, emphasizing how to begin reading right after the student says the word witch.

•PointtothethreedotsafterTina’slastline on page 2. Tell students that this punctuationmarkiscalledanellipsisand it indicates that the reader should pause. An ellipsis signifies a pause or an incomplete thought.

•Explaintostudentsthatsomeofthecharacters have words in italics and parentheses before their lines. These words tell the character how to read hisorherlineswithexpression.Pointout the stage direction on page 2 that says “(cheering).” Explain that this line should be said by both Hansel andGretelasacheer.Pointoutother directions such as “(bratty)” on page4,“(overly sweet)” on page 6, and “(sniffling)” on page 7.

•Atthebottomofpage2,pointtothe word “we” in italics. Tell students that italicized words indicate that the reader should use extra expression when reading these words. Hansel should give extra stress to “we” in the line.

•PointtothewordsinTina’slinesthatareinitalicsonpage3.Modelhowtoreadtheselineswithexpression.Askstudents to echo-read, or repeat the lines after you.

•Encouragestudentstosearchthroughthe script to find more examples of italicized words and phrases. Each time students point out some dialogue, offer to model how they should say the lines. Askthemtorepeatthelinesafteryou.

build comprehensionEnsure students understand the ideas in the story, as well as character development, by involving them in discussion.

•What is the setting of the story? (analyze storyelements)

•How is this story different from the classic story of Hansel of Gretel? (compareandcontrast)

•Who do you think is telling the truth? (makeinferences;makejudgments)

•How is the game show in this story like other game shows you have seen? (makeconnections)

•Why is it important to know that Hansel and Gretel are bratty and undisciplined?(analyzecharacter)

Day Two

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assign roles•Usethereadinglevelsprovidedonthe

front of this guide to help you assign roles that support or challenge each student appropriately.

•Thisscriptcontainssixparts.Ifyouhave more than six students in your group, divide the role of Tina into two parts, or invite students to be a stage manager or props master.

•PointouttothestudentsreadingHansel’s and Gretel’s parts and Charles’sandMindy’spartsthatthey have some lines that they read together.

•What must the audience of the game show decide? (identify main idea and supportingdetails)

•Which character believes that Hansel and Gretel are telling the truth? (analyzecharacter)

•Why does Esmerelda not want to be called a witch?(analyzecharacter)

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

build VocabularyMakesurestudentsfullyunderstandthe glossary terms. The Vocabulary in Actionsuggestionsontheinsidebackcover of the script provide further ideas for building students’ understanding.

Fluency assessment rubric•TheReader’sTheaterOverview

contains an assessment rubric you can usetoquicklyassesseachstudent.Usetherubricatdifferenttimesduring the lesson to assess different skills.Forexample,youmaywantto select students to assess their understanding of characterization during the comprehension discussion. Alternatively, you may wish to use their performance to assess how appropriately they develop their characters.

•Discusstheassessmentrubricwithstudentssothattheyknowwhatyouexpect of them.

character tips for Voice and expression

Tina lively

Hansel loud,bratty

Gretel loud,bratty

Esmerelda strong,honest

Mindy impatient,suspicious

Charles patient,trusting

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build Fluency Skills: read with dramatic expression•model: Tell students that good

performers read their lines with dramatic expression. Say: Tina must have a lot of energy in her voice. She is the host of the game show so she is trying to get the audience excited about the show. ReadTina’slinesonpage3for students—once without any expression and once with dramatic expression.Askstudentswhichreading they preferred.

•guide:AskstudentstolookatTina’slinesonpage3.Guidethemtoreadthelinessilentlyandthinkaboutthedramatic expression they might use in their voices. Then invite them to taketurnsreadingthelinesaloud.Comment on students’ pacing and dramatic expression as they read.

•apply:Askstudentstoworkinpairsto practice reading with expression. Encourage them to be aware of punctuationmarks,wordsinitalics,and other indications that will help themreadthelines.Remindstudentstolookfordirectionsinparenthesesthatwillhelpthemknowwhatemphasis to give to their lines.

choral-read for Fluency Involvestudentsinachoral-readingofthescripttoreinforcethefluencyskillof reading with dramatic expression. Remindthemtousedramaticexpression to bring each character’s mood or personality to life.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Discusstheexpectationsyouhavefor

student behavior during the rehearsal. UsethesuggestionsprovidedhereandintheReader’sTheaterOverview.

•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudentstorehearsetheirscript.Monitorstudentsas they rehearse, and tell them you will be listening to how they develop the characters through their reading.

•Offersuggestionsforexpression,voice,and characterization as you monitor students’work.Seethecharton page 5 for tips on voice and expression. Usespecificcomments,ratherthangeneral ones, directed at the character, notthestudent.Forexample:Hansel, can you sound more like a brat?

•Usethistimetoobserveparticularstudentsandassessforbehavior.Remindstudents of the assessment rubric and let themknowyouwillbeassessingthemasyou monitor the rehearsal.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

Day Three

Whenperforming,studentsshould:•knowwhenitistheirtimetospeak;•speakinaloud,clearvoiceusing

expressionandfluency;•enunciateforunderstanding;•promptothersifnecessary;•acceptbothcriticismandpraise

appropriately.

expectations for rehearsing

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perform the ScriptInvitestudentstopresentthescripttoan audience. The audience might be members of their class, students from other classes, school staff members, and/or parents.

assess Students’ Fluency•Usetheassessmentrubricto

complete your assessment of students’ fluency.

•Taketimetobrieflyconferencewitheachstudenttoprovidefeedbackonhis or her reading and behavior.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudent

rehearsal. Do not interrupt this second rehearsal, but simply observe students as they read.

•Usetheassessmentrubrictomonitorstudents’ rehearsal behaviors and reading fluency.

Staging and performance SuggestionsDecide on a stage area, how students will be positioned, and whether props or movements will be added. See staging tipsintheReader’sTheaterOverview.Herearesomeotherideas:

placement/mOVement

•Setupthestagelikeagameshow.Usedesksforeach“contestant”tostandbehind.Ifpossible,makeTina’spodium higher than the others.

•PlaceTinabetweenHanselandGretelon one side and Esmerelda on the other.AskCharlesandMindytostandbehind Hansel and Gretel.

muSic/SOund eFFectS

•Helpstudentsfindmusicappropriatefor a game show. They can play the music at the beginning and end of the show.

•Haveseveralstudentsavailabletoplaythe role of the audience and clap when necessary.

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Day Four Day Five

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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving ReadersSupport for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

build background and make connections (day One)•Readaclassicversionof“Hanseland

Gretel.”Talkaboutthemainfeaturesof the story, such as the witch who wants to eat the children and her house made of gingerbread.

•Explaintostudentsthatthestoryof Hansel and Gretel is a fairy tale. Explain that a fractured fairy tale is a humorous version of a fairy tale. Explain that most fractured fairy tales are based on classic tales. Fractured fairy tales are retold in a humorous way with a slightly different story, some new characters, and sometimes a different setting.

•Reviewthesettingforstudents.Explain that in game shows on television, contestants try to win prizes in front of an audience, often called the “studio audience” because the game show is filmed for television inastudio.Askstudentstodiscusspopular “reality” shows that are on television. Ask: How are people who watch involved in the show? (They vote forthewinner.)

develop Vocabulary and language (day One)•Writethefollowingphraseonthe

board:“turnyouagainstus”(page14).Askstudentstorepeatthephraseafteryou. Explain that the phrase means to make someone an enemy.

•Writethefollowingphraseontheboard:“yourownfleshandblood”(page14).Explainthatthephrasemeans someone related to you.

•Writethewordwounds on the board andaskstudentsiftheyknowthemeaning of the word. Explain that wounds are cuts or injuries and that “tendtohiswounds”(page11)meansto clean the wounds and put bandages over them. You may wish to act out putting on a bandage.

•Askstudentstopreviewthetextandwrite down words or phrases that are notfamiliartothem.Thenaskstudentsto share their lists. Write the words and phrases on the board, and explain the words and phrases that several students have on their lists. Examples mayinclude“stepmother”(page2);“strange brews and evil concoctions” and “fateful” (page3);“meritbadgesfor nature conservation,” “lure,” “innocent,” and “unsuspecting children” (page4);“Preposterous” (page5);“obsessed”(page7);“inaccuracies,”“battered,” “soot,” “abandoned,” and “refused”(page9);“tolerate”(page13);“undisciplined”(page14);“foibles”(page15);and“consequences”and“Grounded”(page16).Askstudentstowrite down the words or phrases and to write or draw a definition for each word or phrase.

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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers•Pointoutplacesinthescriptwhere

the characters are being sarcastic. For example,explainthatwhenMindycoughs(page9)shedoesnotactuallyhave something wrong with her throat. She is trying to draw attention to the behavior of Hansel and Gretel without words. Explain that sarcasm is a way of making fun of something.Pointoutthat when Hansel and Gretel act “overly sweet” on page 6, they really don’tmeanit.Theyaremakingfun oftheirfatherforthinkingtheyare so innocent.

build comprehension (day two)Engage students in discussion about the script, starting with simple literal questions and progressing to more difficult ones. As students discuss the questions,askthemtopointtoplacesinthe script that best answer the questions. Suggestedquestions:

•Who are the main characters of the story? (recalldetails;analyzecharacter)

•Who is the host of the game show? (recall details)

•Why does Esmerelda get angry at Hansel and Gretel?(drawconclusions)

•How is the TV show in the story like a real TV show?(makeconnections;compareandcontrast)

•The audience thinks Hansel and Gretel are lying. Is this a fact or their opinion? (evaluatefactandopinion)

•Why do Hansel and Gretel say they went to Esmerelda’s house? (identify main ideaandsupportingdetails;recalldetails)

•Why do you think Hansel and Gretel’s father believes them?(makeinferences)

•Why is it important to hear each character’s story? (determine text importance)

read and perform (days two–three)•Provideextrapracticereadingthe

script as a group before students read their individual parts to ensure they are familiar and comfortable with the language and vocabulary.

•Youmaywanttoassigntwostudentsto a role so they can read the part together. This will help support their reading.

•Besuretousethereadinglevelsprovided on the cover of this Teacher’s Guide to help you assign the roles.

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Literacy Extensions

Word StudyrOle-play WOrdS

• Invitestudentstoactoutwordsandexpressions from the script. Gather students into small groups and assign each student words or phrases to act out for the other members of the group to guess. Suggest the followingphrases:“strangebrews,”“evil concoctions,” “fateful day,” and“studioaudience”(page3);“unsuspectingchildren”(page4);“admiring” and “interrupting” (page5);“prisoner”(page7);“threaten”and“abandoned”(page9);“overturnedfurniture”(page13);“blind spot” and “discipline” (page14);“foibles”(page15); and“misbehavior”(page16).

•Explainthatstudentsmighthavetrouble performing some of these wordsontheirown.Iftheyneedhelp,encourage each of them to choose another student from the group to helpthem.Iftheotherstudentshavetrouble guessing the words or phrases, askthestudentwhoisrole-playingtofind the word in the script and tell the page number, and perhaps even the name of the character who says the word or phrase.

•Asstudentsguesseachword,writethewordontheboard.Invitestudentstouse each word in an original sentence that is not related to the script.

aSk QueStiOnS

•Reviewthethreevocabularywordswithstudents:farfetched, hooligans, and preposterous.

•Ask: Which of the following is most farfetched: mowing the lawn in summer, mowing the lawn in spring, or mowing the lawn during a snowstorm?

•Askstudentstoworkwithpartnersandaskeachotherquestionsaboutthe words hooligans and preposterous.

analyze cOmpOund WOrdS

•Remindstudentsthatfarfetched isacompoundword.Reviewthedefinition of compound word.

•Createacompound-wordwall.Invitestudents to go through the script and add compound words to the wall. Encouragethemtolookatthetwosmaller words in each compound word and to use context clues to figure out the definitions. Students may add illustrations next to their words on the compound word wall to show the words’ definitions.

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reader responseAskstudentstoreflectontheirreader’stheater experience by writing or drawing intheirjournals.Studentscould:

• reflectonhowtotellifsomeoneistellingthetruth;

• visualizeEsmerelda’ssideofthestoryanddrawit;

• visualizeHanselandGretel’ssideofthestoryanddrawit;

• reflectontheirfluencyandpacingduring the performance and how it couldbeimproved;

• reflectonwhatitmightbeliketobeon a reality TV show.

Writing•Askstudentstolookthroughthe

textandtrytomakepicturesintheirminds of, or to visualize, the point of view of a character or characters from the story. They can choose either Esmerelda’s side of the story or Hansel and Gretel’s side of the story.

• Invitestudentstowritetheirownclear descriptions of what happened in the story from the point of view ofthecharacter(s)theychose.Encourage students to use adjectives, or describing words, that give concrete sensory details.

• Inviteeachstudenttoreadhisorherdescriptionaloudtoapartner.Invitepartnerstogivepositivefeedbackabout the details in the descriptions, andaskstudentstoadjustanydetailsthat they did not agree about.

read across texts•Askvolunteerstocomparethisversion

of the story of Hansel and Gretel withtheoriginalversion.Ifstudentshave not read the original version, or if they forget the details, read the original story aloud to them.

•CreateaVenndiagramthatcomparesthe original fairy tale to the fractured fairy tale. Comparisons should include characters, story details, and setting.

both

•settinginwoods•childrenare

good,witchisbad

•stepmothersendschildrentothewoods

•childrenarewitch’sprisoners

•settinginTVstudio

•childrenarebad,Esmerelda(witch)isgood

•childrenarelyingaboutwhathappenedtothem

•fatherdoesnotknowchildrenaredishonest

hansel and gretel: Fractured Fairy tale

hansel and gretel: Original Fairy tale

•samecharacters,exceptforTina

•partofHanselandGretel’sstory

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Fairness•Explaintostudentsthatsomeonewho

displays fairness plays by the rules, takesturnsandshares,andlistenstoothers. Explain that someone who is fairdoesnottakeadvantageofotherpeopleorblamethemcarelessly.Askstudentstothinkaboutsomeonetheyknowwhoshowsfairness.

•TellstudentsthatCharlestriestoremind Esmerelda and Tina that they should show fairness by not allowing Hansel and Gretel to be interrupted when they are telling their story.

•Askstudentstothinkaboutatimewhen they showed fairness toward other people. Ask: When did you show fairness in school? At home? Askvolunteers to give their answers.

responsibility•Explainthecharacteristicsofa

responsible person. Tell students that people who show responsibility do what they are supposed to do. They keepontrying,evenwhentheydon’tsucceed the first time. A responsible person always does his or her best and uses self-control. Explain that it takesresponsibilitytoconsidertheconsequences of your actions.

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Character Education Connection

•Askstudentstothinkofaresponsiblepersonthattheyknowandtotalkaboutways that person acted responsibly.

•PointoutthatHanselandGreteldidnotact responsibly in this story. They lied about what they did in the woods. They did not use self-control when they stayed atEsmerelda’shouse.AskstudentstotalkabouthowHanselandGretelmighthave acted more responsibly and how thiswouldhavechangedthestory.Askstudents to share examples of when they have acted responsibly.

demonstrate Fairness/responsibility•Takingcareofayoungersibling,or

babysitting someone’s child, requires responsibilityandfairness.Invitestudentstoworkwithpartnerstobrainstormlists of ways they could behave fairly and responsibly when babysitting. For example, to be responsible, they would need to arrive on time. To encourage fairness,theywouldtaketurnswiththechildrenandwouldlistenandshare.Invitestudents to share their lists with the class.

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