Using Fairy Tales to Debate Ethics

Subjects
Arts & Humanities

Language Arts

Literature

Social Studies

Psychology

Grades

K-2

3-5

6-8

Brief Description
Three fairy tales challenge students to think about honesty, right and wrong, and
other questions of ethics.
Objectives
Students will

listen to or read three popular fairy tales.

respond to questions those tales raise about ethical issues.

take a stand on the ethical question raised by the story From the Elephant Pit.

Keywords
fairy tale, ethics, honesty, self-esteem, Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots, folk
tale, debate
Materials Needed

copies of the stories "Puss in Boots" and "Jack and the Beanstalk" from the
library
copies of two stories from the Internet: Jack and the Beanstalk (an older
version of the familiar story) and From the Elephant Pit
the Education World article, Using Fairy Tales to Debate Ethics

Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students consider the ethics of characters in three fairy tales.

In "Puss in Boots," a clever cat engineers a succession of hoaxes and lies for
the benefit of its master. As a result, the master eventually marries the king's
daughter and appoints Puss in Boots prime minister, and all parties live
happily ever after. Among the debatable questions inspired by this fairy tale
are Was Puss in Boots wrong to lie to the king and deceive him?, Was the cat
wrong to trick the ogre and then kill him?, and Is trickery ever
justified? Challenge students to support their positions with at least three
cogent arguments.

In "Jack and the Beanstalk," young Jack, whose impoverished mother is left
with nothing but the family cow, is sent to market to trade the cow for as
much money as he can. Jack trades the cow for a handful of beans and, in
despair, his mother throws the beans out the window. Jack narrowly escapes
from the giant with two stolen treasures that will secure the future for himself
and his mother. Among the debatable questions posed by this story are Since
the giant wanted to eat Jack, was it OK that Jack stole the giant's goose and
harp? An older version of this familiar tale offers up some unique twists that
will add to the debate: Since the giant had stolen everything from Jack's
father, do you think it was OK for Jack to take it back?

A lesser-known Tibetan folk tale, From the Elephant Pit is about a hunter who
happens upon an elephant pit, in which a man, a lion, a mouse, a snake, and
a falcon are trapped. Among the debatable questions posed by this story
are Was the hunter better off because he rescued the man from the pit? If
yes, why? If no, why not?

Create a two-column graphic organizer for the first two fairy tales above. Print one
of the ethical questions raised by the tale at the top of the graphic organizer. Print
"Yes" at the top of the first column and "No" at the top of the other. As students
share their responses to the questions, write the responses in the appropriate
columns.
For a printable comparison chart, see Comparison Chart.
Provide students with a copy of a two-column graphic organizer such as
the Comparison Chart. After reading the story "From the Elephant Pit," pose the
question Was the hunter better off because he rescued the man from the pit? Let
students consider both sides of the question by writing statements in support of a
"Yes" and "No" answer in the appropriate columns on their charts. Then give
students an opportunity to take a stand; they use the information on their graphic
organizers to support that stand.

The lesson ideas above and more are posed in an Education World article by Elaine
Lindy, an expert on storytelling for character education and CEO of Whootie Owl
Productions. Lindy created the popular children's storytelling Web site, Absolutely
Whootie: Stories to Grow By. To find more ideas for using fairy tales in classroom
debates, as well as tips for managing a classroom debate on ethics, see the
complete Education World article Using Fairy Tales to Debate Ethics.
Assessment
Students write a brief response to any one of the questions posed in the lesson; in
addition, they might draw an illustration to accompany their writing.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World (with resources from Absolutely Whootie: Stories to Grow By
Submitted By
Elaine L. Lindy
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
NL-ENG.K-12.1NL-ENG.K-12.2NL-ENG.K-12.3NL-ENG.K-12.4NL-ENG.K-12.6NL-ENG.K12.9NL-ENG.K-12.11NL-ENG.K-12.12
GRADES K - 12
Reading for Perspective
Reading for Understanding
Evaluation Strategies
Communication Skills
Applying Knowledge
Multicultural Understanding
Participating in Society
Applying Language Skills