This Teacher Guide is a convenient source of background information, mini-lessons, and
activities that coordinate with the performance and the Student Guide to encourage
learning across the curriculum. Most activities can be easily adapted to suit different age
groups. This guide supports the “Blueprint for Teaching & Learning in the Arts,” and
includes City and State Learning Standards.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Founded in 1999, the Kaleidoscope Theatre Company is dedicated to producing "serious"
comedy. They produce comedies of all types: romantic comedies, black comedies, and farces plays that seriously explore the comic perspective in the theatre. The company primarily works
to build strong relationships with contemporary playwrights that write smart, comedic plays
with insight and great humor.
CURRICULUM FOCUS: ARTS
• Coordinate with Student Guide: “FAIRY GODMOTHER FOR HIRE”
• Career Development and Occupational Studies Standard: 1
• NYC Arts Standard: 1
• DOK Level 2 and 4
Activity 1: Illustrate your tale:
Decide how you will portray a “modern day” setting of Cinderella’s Christmas? Be true to the
time period in your depiction of setting, transportation and costume. Publish your story in a
slipper-shaped book.
Activity 2: Compose themes for your characters.
Using a keyboard, string or wind instrument, compose a several note theme for each character
that will play every time that character enters. Also compose a theme for when magic is
performed. Choose one person to play these “sound effects”
CURRICULUM FOCUS: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
• Coordinate with Student Guide: "HOW MANY WORDS CAN YOU FIND?"
• Coordinate with Student Guide: “THE PROVERBIAL END”
• Coordinate with Student Guide: “YOU TELL THE STORY”
• Coordinate with Student Guide: “CHRISTMAS WISH”
• NYC Language Arts Standards: 1, 2
• DOK Level 1
Activity 1: Create your own modern-day “Cinderella” Tale.
Whole Group: Graph the themes that make a “Cinderella’ tale. Include: Enchantment (magic),
some form of royalty or a contemporary VIP figure, a wicked character, and a kind character
(who is usually treated badly), begin the story with “Once upon a time…” and end with, “…they
lived happily ever after.”
Small Groups: Each group will select a modern day era in which to set their “Cinderella’ story,
and what their changes to the key elements will be – will the Fairy Godmother be something
else that’s magical? Will “royalty” be a pop star or a movie star? Will there be a ball, an opening
event, a school dance or a hippie “happening?” Will Cinderella wear a ball gown? Etc.
Individual work: Each person writes a description and character sketch of one character on
which to base the dialogue of the script. Will they have an accent? Valley Girl? New Yorker?
What are their likes/ dislikes? What do they do for fun? Draw a picture of that person in the
clothing they would wear.
Small Group work: Create dialogue based on the characters they created, following the action
of the plot. Use the sensory activity and invitation activity in the student guide to help with
descriptions and ideas.
CURRICULUM FOCUS: SOCIAL STUDIES
• NYC Arts Standard: 1
• NYC Social Studies Standard: 2
• DOK Levels 1, 2
Activity 1: Learn about Medieval Times
The version of Cinderella you will be seeing is set in medieval times. Research the food,
costume, music, housing, customs and class system of the medieval era- about 400 A.D. to 1350
A.D. Report on your findings, or hold a medieval fair right in your classroom!
Activity 2: Globetrotting Cinderella
Whole group: Read different versions of Cinderella from around the world.
Small Group: Select one book whose culture you’d like to investigate. Locate the country on a
world map.
Individual work: Each student in the group researches one of the following: clothing, food,
festivals, dance, music, literature, art, or customs of that culture.
Small Group: Bring the information together in one cohesive report that includes visual
examples, written work, pictures found on the Internet, and even a recording of the music or a
video of the dance of the culture.
Whole Group Share: Present your findings to the group.
Discussion Question: How do roles of women in these cultures change Cinderella’s role in the
story?
Bulletin Board Idea: Title: “Cinderella Around the World.” Have each group dress a large paper
doll in the “ball gown” (traditional dress) of that culture. Staple it on the board with the written
reports.
CURRICULUM FOCUS: MATH, TECHNOLOGY
• Coordinate with Student Guide: "THE MAGIC OF TECHNOLOGY”
• NYC Math Standard: 1
• DOK Level 2
Activity 1: Graph shoe sizes
Small Group: Trace partner’s feet on cardboard. Measure feet with a ruler.
Individual work: Cut out and decorate your feet with “shoes” drawn with crayon, marker, gluedon sequins, bows, etc.
Whole groups: How many centimeters was each child’s largest foot (feet are often slightly
different in size)?
GRAPH ANSWERS to find out what is the most common foot size in the class.
Extension: Kindergarten students can play a “concentration” game with the shoes, matching
them up after they are mixed up; 2nd and 3rd graders can place an equation on the back of one
cardboard shoe and its answer on the other, mix them up and play a math match dame; 4th and
5th graders can compute the average size foot for the class.
Bulletin Board Idea: Create a bulletin board with the title “If the Shoe Fits.” Include the graph,
the decorated feet, the rubric and the standards.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR STUDENT AND TEACHER GUIDES
REVELATIONS: Arts Education for Young People is made possible by the Milton and Sally Avery
Arts Foundation, The Kupferberg Foundation, and The Max and Selma Kupferberg Family
Foundation. Additional funding is provided, in part by public funds from the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and Queens
Borough President Melinda Katz.
Copyright ® 2014, Kupferberg Center for the Arts