Introduction
Students will remix classic fairy tales into original narratives by reconfiguring story elements and characters. They will structure their stories and enhance them with digital skills, coding background music and voiceovers on Elementari. Students will finish by publishing, sharing, and commenting on each other's stories!
Objectives
Students will:
- Identify story structure elements such as beginning, middle, end, setting, conflict, and resolution.
- Remix classic fairy tales by mixing and matching characters and settings.
- Code background music and voiceovers to enhance their fairy tale remixes.
- Publish and share their stories on Elementari, receiving and discussing feedback from peers.
Code Stories and Games with Elementari
In this lesson, students will use Elementari to remix classic fairy tales into unique stories. They will design their stories, code background music and voiceovers, and enhance their narratives with digital elements. Elementari’s creative coding platform makes coding easy and fun, blending coding with arts and literacy.
New to Elementari? Click on the orange Start button to jump right into the lesson for free. Check out our Getting Started Guide for an overview of how Elementari works with your class. Get started for free for up to 35 student accounts.
Lesson Resources
Coding Concepts Covered
Function in Parallel Background Music Voice RecordingStudent Facing Instructions
- Explore the list of 20 popular fairy tales and consider how you can put your own spin on them.
Here are some prompts to get you started:
- Imagine a new ending for one tale.
- Swap roles between characters from different tales.
- Set a tale in a different time/place.
Click Next Milestone when you are ready to add pictures or text!
Find and add two characters from different fairy tales to your story page.
- Fill out the worksheet (PDF or Google Doc) to plan your story.
- Use the 2 fairy tale characters you chose as your main characters.
- Add a background image and title of your story (e.g. The Quest of [character]".
- Code a voice over and background music to play!
- Add an image of your main character from the Elementari library or upload your own if preferred.
- Add a text box with the character's name and a brief description or introduction.
- Choose a background image that represents the setting of your story.
- Use descriptive text to set the scene (e.g., "In the heart of the Enchanted Forest, where ancient trees whisper secrets and magic hangs in the air, our story begins...").
- Select an image or series of images that depict the main conflict or challenge faced by the protagonist (e.g., a wicked sorcerer casting a dark spell).
- Use text to introduce the conflict.
- Show the main character’s journey and the obstacles they encounter along the way through a series of images (e.g., Princess Aurora overcoming challenges).
- Use text to narrate the rising action and build suspense
Choose images that represent the climax and describe the moment. (e.g., Princess Aurora facing off against the villain)
- Show the resolution of the conflict and the outcome of the story (e.g., Princess Aurora defeating the villain)
- Use text to narrate the resolution
- Include a final message or moral of the story. Example: "Kindness changes everything."
- Thank your audience for experiencing your story
Personalize your fairy tale remix. Here's some ideas:
- Record the narration to play on each page.
- Add more pages to your story.
- Add details with more images, text, or interactive code.
Project Example for Students
Play through this lesson's example project created on Elementari. Use this example to guide and motivate your students.
Standards
CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017)
Algorithms & Programming
1B-AP-10 - Create programs that include sequences, events, loops, and conditionals.
1B-AP-11 - Decompose (break down) problems into smaller, manageable subproblems to facilitate the program development process.
1B-AP-12 - Modify, remix, or incorporate portions of an existing program into one's own work, to develop something new or add more advanced features.
1B-AP-15 - Test and debug (identify and fix errors) a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended.
Impacts of Computing
1B-IC-18 - Discuss computing technologies that have changed the world, and express how those technologies influence, and are influenced by, cultural practices.
Common Core ELA Standards
Speaking and Listening Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.4 - Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5 - Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Writing Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.a - Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.b - Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
ISTE Student Standards
Creative Communicator
6a - Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
6d - Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
6c - Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.
6b - Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
Computational Thinker
5a - Students formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.
5c - Students break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.
Global Collaborator
7a - Students use digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual understanding and learning.
Innovative Designer
4d - Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.
4c - Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
4b - Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
4a - Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
AASL Standards
Inquire
I.A.2 - Recalling prior and background knowledge as context for new meaning
I.B.3 - Generating products that illustrate learning.
I.C.1 - Interacting with content presented by others.
I.C.4 - Sharing products with an authentic audience.