The Little Mermaid: A Treasured Tale for

Reading, Writing, and ThinkingSarah Conrad

Carolyn L. Cook, Ph.D.cook@msmary.edu

SoMIRAC March 30, 2012

Overview of the Session

• Connection to CCSS• Mermaid stories– Compare and contrast

• Critical literacy– What and why

• Activities– How to read, write, and think

Common Core State Standards

• Reading (CCSS 4.7)– Make connections between the text of a storyor drama and a visual or oral presentation ofthe text, identifying where each version reflectsspecific descriptions and directions in the text.

• Writing (CCSS 4.9)– Draw evidence from literary or informationaltexts to support analysis, reflection, and research

Andersen’s Original (1837)

Disney Version (1989)

little mermaid no name Ariel

Five sisters, father

Grandmother No grandmother

Sea witch – not evil Sea witch (Ursula) – evil and manipulative

Visits surface on 16th birthday Visits surface whenever she wants

Saves prince from a shipwreck

Seeks humanity for a soul Seeks humanity for love of the prince

Andersen’s Original (1837) Disney Version (1989)Potion from sea witch turns her fin into legs for the price of her voice

Prince marries another princess despite his growing affection for the little mermaid

Prince plans to marry the girl whom he thinks saved him, but actually is the sea witch Ursula in disguise

Sisters procure a knife for the little mermaid to use to kill the prince and return to them

Scuttle cracks the seashell hiding Ariel’s voice so it can return to her

Little mermaid sacrifices herself for the prince’s happiness and joins the daughters of the air to do good de eds to gain a soul

Triton grants her wish to be human after Eric defeats Ursula, so that she can marry her prince and live happily ever after

Goals of Critical Literacy

• Read, write, and think in a critical manner• Take a questioning stance on texts encountered daily• Consider social, political, and ethical issues in text• Learn to read the text beyond the words on the page• View texts from a new perspective• Analyze all texts

– Books, Movies, Signs, Artifacts, Magazines, Newspapers…

Critical Literacy

Encourages “students to use language to question the everyday world, to interrogate the relationship between language and power, to analyze popular culture and media, to understand how power relationships are socially constructed, and to consider actions that can be taken to promote social justice.”

(Lewison, Leland & Harste, 2008, p. 3)

9

Situated Context

Personal and Cultural Resources

Critical Social Practices

Critical Stance

(Lewison, Leland &

Harste, 2008)

10

Situated Context

More than just reading a book

11

Situated Context

Personal and Cultural Resources

TOOLS FOR LIVING:

Personal experiencesSocial issues

Popular culture/mediaSocial issues

BooksTextbooksOral textsDesires

Community concerns

12

Situated Context

Personal and Cultural Resources

Critical Social Practices

• Disrupting the commonplace

• Seeing multiple viewpoints

• Focusing on the sociopolitical

• Taking action to promote social justice

THINK

14

Situated Context

Personal and Cultural Resources

Critical Social Practices

Critical Stance

Taking a Critical Stance

• Involves an attitude, a way of thinking and teaching –Being consciously engaged–Trying new ways of viewing things–Being responsible to solve the situation–Being reflective to challenge common

assumptions

Critical LiteracyIs “a transaction among the personal and cultural resources we use, the critical social practices we enact, and the critical stance that we and our students take on in classrooms and in the world.”

(Lewison, Leland, & Harste, 2008, p. 5)

Consider Little Mermaid Text

• Read selected text from Andersen’s Little Mermaid

• Complete graphic organizer• Discuss findings

Reading, Writing, & Thinking withAndersen and Disney

Andersen’s Original (1837) Disney Version (1989)Potion from sea witch turns her fin into legs for price of her voice

Prince marries another princess despite his growing affection for the little mermaid

Prince plans to marry the girl who he thinks saved him, but actually is the sea witch Ursula in disguise

Sisters procure a knife for little mermaid to use to kill the prince and return to them

Scuttle cracks the seashell hiding Ariel’s voice so it can return to her

Little mermaid sacrifices herself for the prince’s happiness and joins daughters of the air to do good deeds to gain a soul

Triton grants her wish to be human after Eric defeats Ursula, so that she can marry her prince and live happily ever after

Consider Little Mermaid Movie

• View video clip from Disney’s Little Mermaid• Complete graphic organizer• Discuss findings

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyFVG4VfPmg&feature=related

Discuss and Write

Discuss- What did you notice?- What questions do you have?- What ideas have been challenged?

Write- How could you use critical literacy in your

classroom?Share

Using Critical Literacy• Reading and Viewing• Talking and Thinking– Text vs. Film– Role of Females– Differentiation of Motives

• Writing– Persuasion: tell Ariel what to do– Description: describe female role– Comparison: compare and contrast motives

Read, Write, and Think Critically

• Use critical literacy in all classrooms • Model taking a critical literacy stance with all

types of texts (books, media, advertisements)• Question assumptions, see other

perspectives, analyze language and power structures, seek to promote social fairness in all things

References

• Andersen, H. C. (1993). The mermaid In Andersen’s Fairy Tales (p. 9-29). Great Britain: Wordsworth Editions Limited.

• Disney, W. (2006). The little mermaid – 2 disc special edition [Motion picture]. Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Pictures.

• Lewison, M., Leland, C., & Harste, J. (2008). Creating critical classrooms: K-8 reading and writing with an edge. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

The Little Mermaid: A Treasured Tale for

Reading, Writing, and ThinkingSarah Conrad

Carolyn L. Cook, Ph.D.cook@msmary.edu

SoMIRAC March 30, 2012