We have completed our study of original fairy tales in literature class, and it was a very enjoyable experience. Together we read The Little Mermaid and The Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson, Rapunzel, The Frog Prince, and Rumplestiltskin by the Grimms brothers, and Sleeping Beauty, Bluebeard, and Little Red Riding Hood from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book.
The students completed weekly written and illustrated narrations of our reading, and to cap off the unit we played a fairy tale themed game of Who Am I?
I wrote the names of characters from the stories that we've read onto name tags, then stuck the name tags on the students' backs. They had to ask their classmates yes or no questions to find out what character they were, which ended up being a lot of fun. Not only did we enjoy the game, but it was an excellent test of everyone's understanding and knowledge of the stories!
For our Art elective this year we are studying the life and works of John James Audubon. We started out by reading The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies and discussed the value and lasting impact of Audubon's work. We have done picture studies of several Audubon prints, once studying a print and then turning it over and writing a detailed description of the print, and once studying a print and then sketching the print as accurately as possible from memory. We have also gone outside to look for birds in nature, and sketched a single feather in detail.
Currently we are studying and drawing a stuffed bluejay on loan from the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. This is very similar to the way that Audubon created his artwork, and we are gaining a new found appreciation for how detailed and perfectly executed his paintings are!
After we have completed these drawings, we plan to learn some basic watercolor techniques and then create replicas of different Audubon prints.
Our reading list for the coming school year includes the following books: The Tempest by William Shakespeare, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. But before we read any of these wonderful books, the students in the Upper School will spend the month of September reading fairy tales.
Many high school students are unfamiliar with traditional fairy tales, which is unfortunate. Fairy tales connect us to our common culture, inspire the imagination, and explore important and sometimes frightening topics in a comforting manner.While fairy tales are generally associated with early childhood, older students are able to delve into the deeper meaning of these stories and get quite a lot out of them.
I can't wait to see the responses our students have as we rediscover these stories. As we read and discuss, we will be looking not only for the differences between the original story and its more widely known versions, but also for deeper meaning and timeless truths that are contained within the pages of these stories.
