Fairy Tales Around the World - Cinderella Fairytale Variants - World Folktales

Use these enchanting fairy tales from around the world and world folktales to explore other cultures! Students will analyze Cinderella around the world stories as fairytale genre examples and examples of multicultural folk tales. This teaching unit identifies the elements of a fairy tale, includes activities on inferring the theme or moral of the story, and analyzes how a world fairytale reflect a country's unique culture.

The multicultural stories chosen for this unit reveal aspects of life within each country. Cultural references include region-specific foods, distinct customs, world celebrations, specific dress, and historical traditions from each of the countries represented. The full text for each world fairy tale is also provided!

The Cinderella fairy tales around the world include the following world fairy tales, folktales, and Cinderella variants:

✅ Korea's Kongjwi and Patjwi

✅ China's Yeh-Shen

✅ Ireland’s Fair, Brown, and Trembling

✅ Native American’s The Hidden One and The Rough-Face Girl

✅ Egypt’s Rhodopis

✅ Mariang Alimango: A Cinderella Story from the Philippines

✅ Italy’s Cenerentola

✅ Scotland's Rashin-Coatie

✅ Russia's The Golden Slipper

✅ Norway's Kate Woodencloak

✅ Vietnam's The Story of Tam and Cam

Through the study of world fairy tales, students will be able to compare and contrast the world fairy tales to the traditional Cinderella story while identifying references that reflect a distinct representation of culture.

The World Fairytales teaching bundle concludes with a student project featuring a world cultural fairy tale. Students will create an online, interactive poster using the free website Padlet. Their World Fairy Tales Padlet will feature images, text, symbols, and media files representing the country and story they have chosen. Their final projects will require text evidence specifying unique cultural references.

A sample student project is included based on China's Yeh-Shen! Students will be excited and motivated to complete their own projects once they view this dynamic example.

Implementation, a pacing guide, and teaching notes are included!

This high-interest multicultural resource includes the following materials:

• Access to a project Google Site that conveniently includes all resource links (access is not required to participate in activities and to complete the final project)
• 15 enchanting Elements of the Fairy Tale Genre slides presentation
• Fairy Tale Elements Quiz or slides review activity with an answer key
• YouTube video link on the evolution of fairy tales and the good vs. evil fairy tale motif
• The Moral of the Story (Literary Analysis Activity) with a Graphic Organizer and Answer Key
• Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Folktale Video Link with notes on cultural references
• Links and Full-Text Options for 11 World Fairy Tales
• World Fairy Tales Comparison/Contrast Chart and Student Activity
• Student World Fairy Tale Padlet Project Sheet with Editable Requirements
• World Fairy Tale Checklist Handout (Includes Reminders for all Final Project Requirements)
• Sample World Fairy Tale project based on China’s Ye-Shen to motivate students and serve as a model
• World Fairy Tale Project Teacher’s Grading Rubric (2 Editable Rubric Options)

Directions for accessing the Google Drive resource files and optional printing are included for Google Drive, Microsoft Office, and One Drive users.

This resource bundle and project will take approximately 4-6 days to implement and is designed for students in grades 7th-12th.

This resource is perfect for fairytale and folktale units, world literature courses, world history, world geography, or for any multicultural unit of study!

See what teachers just like you have to say about this resource!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“Detailed, well thought-out activity that required a lot of work to create for the creator! Definitely worth the money, very satisfied with the purchase."

Social Studies Giraffe

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“This was such a wonderful resource to add to my fairy tale unit. Students loved exploring the different stories, and the digital capabilities made it super easy to share on Google Classroom.”

Jennifer Sykes

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“I love that this resource extends past the cliché fairy tales.”

Cassandra B.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“This is an excellent resource. I used it with my Human Geography kids during our unit about culture. They were all very engaged, and enjoyed the lessons very much!”

Ashleigh B.

Explore these fascinating world fairy tale variants from around the world and celebrate diversity with your students by implementing this world fairy tale unit!

Looking for additional multicultural resources?

Check out my high-interest Urban Legends resource!