COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Inspiration software was used to construct a compare/contrast web of three versions of Cinderella and two versions of another tale. Each student had to identify six main elements of a folktales; setting, good character, evil character, conflict, reward, and lesson learned. This was first done on a written organizer, and then on their webs.

Students were accustomed to linear-designed organizers. The inspiration software allowed a more creative, unstructured way to organize information, which especially appealed to the kinesthetic learner.

HYPERSTUDIO PRESENTATION
Students used Hyperstudio to demonstrate what they learned about the regional influence on folktales. The students are very fluent with PowerPoint presentations so using Hyperstudio was a challenge. They persevered and now know about an alternate way to demonstrate learning.

CHARACTER PERSPECTIVE
Students rewrote a folktale from the antagonist's point of view. KidPix was used to create a slideshow of their tale.

The writing process was used in the development of rewriting the folktale. More time should have been devoted to this process to ensure a better quality project. Students had to do much editing while using the KidPix program.

Resource packets were prepared for each student. Included in the packet were organizers to help guide the process. This included: a character behavior chart, pretrial questions, and witness question patterns.
Mr. Garczynski worked with the students on a mock trial of Peter Rabbit to help them understand more fully the judicial system.
Trial day consisted of five trials:

• The witch in Hansel and Gretel
• The stepmother in Snow White
• Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk
• Goldilocks in The Three Bears
• The Troll in Three Billy Goats Gruff

Witnesses dressed up as the folktale characters they played. Our elected classroom judge was the trial judge. Students not participating in the current trial acted as the jury. 
This project had activities for all the learning styles. The kinesthetic learner really enjoyed the acting!

FOLKTALE NEWSPAPER
The culminating activity- used as a performance assessment- had each student develop a folktale newspaper using a template created from Microsoft Publisher. They could include any projects already done or create new articles. Examples to choose from included: trial results, an excitement map, retelling their folktale, a "Wanted" poster, and interviews. Students were only limited by their imagination!

Brainstorming was done as a group to generate ideas, and individual plans were submitted before rough drafts were written.

OVERALL GOALS
During this unit, I hoped that students would gain deep knowledge of folktales, as well as how folktales are influenced by their place of origin. Because of this, there was a large amount of discussion that took place about students observations of the stories. Students often used pictures, as well as clues from the story, to determine the place of origin. I believe that students accomplished a lot through this unit. They gained more experience with keyboarding and the use of programs that they were not familiar with. They gained an understanding of geography, and how culture can be influenced by climate. They also gained a general understanding of, and appreciation for, a different genre of literature. That, I believe, is invaluable .