Hansel and Gretel (dir. Lotte Reiniger, 1955)
Key Stage
KS2
Subject
PSHE
Requirements
Trailer: A3 paper, post-it notes, ‘Diamond 9’ template
Main Attraction: DVD of ‘Hansel and Gretel’, coloured card
(red/orange/green)
End Credits: ‘Hansel and Gretel’ (6.10 onwards)
Lesson description
A lesson that uses ‘Hansel and Gretel’ (1955) as the basis for
recognising and responding to a range of risks, focusing on the
importance of individual responsibility and decision-making through
the use of ‘conscience alley’.
Key words
Risk, situation, consequence, moral, lesson, reason, decision, choice,
option.
Curriculum Links
PSHE KS2
 3e Recognise the different risks in different situations and
then decide how to behave responsibly
 2f Resolve differences by looking at alternatives, making
decisions and explaining choices
Media literacy
opportunities
This lesson will enable students to reflect on the use of silhouette
animation within film and its effect on the audience’s understanding
of character. Close consideration will be granted to the role of
movement in expressing emotion.
Lesson work
summary
Students will generate their own definitions and ideas associated
with ‘risk’ by creating ‘thought showers’ as part of a group,
developed using a quick ‘Diamond 9’ activity. The short film ‘Hansel
and Gretel’ will then be used as the basis for recognising and
identifying risks, which children will explore and respond to using a
conscience alley activity.
Lesson work value
Students will learn to identify what constitutes a risk and reflect
critically on the degree of risk posed by different situations. Students
should develop independent decision-making skills and an
understanding of the role of individual responsibility for one’s
actions.
OBJECTIVE
To recognise and evaluate the level of risk posed by different
situations, and identify appropriate actions to reduce risk.
TRAILER
Ask: what is a ‘risk’? Allow students time to discuss in partners and
share feedback. Encourage students to consider:


How can you recognise a ‘risk’?
Can you think of any risks you have recently taken? How did
you feel? How did you respond? Would you respond
differently in the future?
In groups of four, ask students to create a thought shower on a large
piece of paper with the word ‘risk’ written in the middle.

Students should list as many different risky situations as they
can think of around the outside, including people and/or
places they associate with these situations – e.g. playing in the
middle of the road, or getting into a stranger’s car.

After five minutes, groups should swap their pieces of paper,
circling any risks they had also thought of and writing down
any additional examples.
Collect nine examples and write up on the board. Using the ‘Diamond
9’ template, students should write the situations on post-it notes and
arrange them in the shape of a diamond to represent their views on
the level of risk posed by each.

Emphasise that there are no right or wrong answers, but
students must be able to justify their order of ‘risk’ by thinking
carefully about the potential consequences of each situation.
MAIN ATTRACTION
Watch ‘Hansel and Gretel’ once through as a class to familiarise
students with the story. Explain that fairy tales usually involve some
kind of “lesson learned” – a moral that can guide us how to respond to
certain risks in life.
Re-watch the film using the Stop/Decide/Do strategy (taken from the
Cambridgeshire PSHE Service):



STOP (Red) – Something doesn’t feel right, I think there’s a
risky situation developing.
DECIDE (Amber) – What are my options? Should I say
something, go somewhere or get some help?
DO (Green) – Action taken to reduce risk.
Students should hold up a red card when they identify a risky
situation developing. Pause the film and ask students to explain their
reasons.
 How did they recognise the risk?
The following situations will likely be identified, although students
may think of further examples:
 Playing in the fields instead of the garden.
 Following the squirrel into the forest.
 Approaching a stranger’s house.
 Accepting sweets from a stranger.
Each time a risk is identified, keep the film paused and use
‘conscience alley’ to explore the different options available to Hansel
and Gretel.



The class should stand in two opposing lines, with two
students walking slowly between them in the role of Hansel
and Gretel.
Each line should argue either in favour of or against each
situation, and students should take turns to play different
roles.
Following the arguments from both sides, ‘Hansel and Gretel’
should decide what their decision will be.
END CREDITS
Re-play the following line from 6.10 onwards and then display the
quote on the board:
“Gretel wept bitterly and told the squirrel that it was all his fault that
they had got lost in the forest and had been caught by the witch.”
EXTRAS
Other Ideas

Ask students to decide whether they agree or disagree with
Gretel by forming a continuum from opposite sides of the
classroom, with students who remain unsure situated in the
middle.

Based on the majority’s decision, ask students to decide what
the ‘moral’ of the film is – what lessons have Hansel and Gretel
learnt?


The ‘conscience alley’ activity could be followed up with a
‘telephone conversation’ between two characters – e.g. the
mother and Gretel – to extend the argument into a more
elaborate discussion. This would provide a good opportunity
for modernisation of the story - e.g. the mother could call
Gretel on her mobile phone to persuade her to come home
and play in the garden.
Use of silhouette animation means that the characters are
without facial expression – all emotion is expressed through
movement and dialogue, which is limited. Students can be
given the opportunity to reflect on and empathise with
Hansel and Gretel’s reactions to the different risks and
situations they encounter through interpretative dance or

Read




Watch

freeze-framing.
Students could compare this version of ‘Hansel and Gretel’
against the original story by the Brothers Grimm, in which
the children use pebbles and breadcrumbs to avoid getting
lost. Cross-curricular links with Geography and Mathematics
could be explored through a mapwork activity, focusing on
the children’s journey through the forest.
Screenonline
The original version of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ in the Grimms’
Fairy Tales
The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy Tale
Films by Jack Zipes (2011)
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of
Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim (1976) – a seminal analysis
of the psychological importance of fairy tales for children’s
emotional growth to enable their preparation for adulthood.
Lotte Reiniger: The Fairy Tale Films (BFI DVD compilation)
Resources: Diamond 9 Template