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 takes 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, folktale, 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:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0328jack.html - lang

http://hazel.forest.net/whootie/stories/elephant_pit_tibet.html
The Education World article,
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr295.shtml
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 kings daughter and
appoints Puss in Boots prime minister, and all parties live
happily ever after. Among the debatable questions inspired
by this fairytales 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 of 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 giants goose, and will add to the debate:
Since the giant had stolen everything from Jacks 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 of 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
baove. 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
http://www.abcteach.com/GraphicOrganizers/CompareChart.htm
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 the 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 the 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 childrens storytelling Website, Absolutely Whootie: Stories to
Grow By. http://www.storiestogrowby.com/ 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.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr295.shtml
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
http://www.educationworld.com/standards/national/lang_arts/english/k_
12.shtml
GRADES K-12

Reading for Perspective

Reading for Understanding
Evaluation Strategies
Communication Skills
Applying Knowledge
Participating in Society
Applying Language Skills