Today I’m telling the well-known story of Cinderella. In German she is called Aschenputtel. Asche means “ashes” – or “cinders”.

But listen carefully! This version is closer to the original that we find in the collection of the Brothers Grimm! Can you find the differences in this version?

Instructions for TWS students:

1. Watch the video (below)
2. Write the story into your German Story Listening Log (Get it HERE if you need it!)
3. Choose ONE of the following exercises to complete. Take a picture of your completed work or take a video and email it to me!

• • Retell the story to someone in English – take a video or make an audio recording.
  • Write a summary of the story in English – take a picture of it or record yourself reading it.
  • Draw your favorite scene from the story. Remember to put the story title on it! Take a picture to post.
  • Watch the video again and read along. (See the text below) You could answer the questions below or take a picture of your log, so we know you heard the story.

* If you feel frustrated while watching the story, because you do not understand, please stop and choose another story!

Did you hear the differences in this version? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does her father die?
• What does she have to do before she is allowed to go to the ball?
• How does she get her dress and shoes?
• What color are her shoes?

To read along with the story, here is the text:

https://www.scribd.com/document/453228988/Aschenputtel

I’m SO excited! The 3rd & 4th graders have just started a unit on traditional literature, and they are beginning with fairy tales! This is perfect for Story Listening! So I am planning to tell a fairy tale every day for the rest of the week.

Today’s lesson is Rotkäppchen (Little Red Riding Hood). I recently told the story to the 3rd graders, so it would be more of a review for them.

Instructions for TWS students:

1. Watch the video (below)
2. Write the story into your German Story Listening Log (Get it HERE if you need it!)
3. Choose ONE of the following exercises to complete. Take a picture of your completed work or take a video and email it back to me.

• • Retell the story to someone in English – take a video or make an audio recording.
  • Write a summary of the story in English – take a picture of it or record yourself reading it.
  • Draw your favorite scene from the story. Remember to put the story title on it! Take a picture.
  • Watch the video again and read along. (See the text below) Take a picture of your log, so we know you heard the story.

* If you feel frustrated while watching the story, because you do not understand, please stop and choose another story!

Here is the text, if you would like to read along with the story:

With the kids home from school for at least the next two weeks, I wanted to start uploading more videos to my YouTube channel. I am using two methods to tell German stories. First, I am drawing stories with the Explain Everything app. Second, I am taking live videos of me giving a Story Listening lesson to my own two boys (who happen to also be my students in school, in 1st & 4th grade).

Today I did a live video of a Grimm fairy tale called Brautschau (Looking for a Bride). It’s a short story. But it can be a bit tricky to understand. So I wanted to share a vocabulary list here, just in case. I also will share the text of the story below.

Instructions for TWS students:

1. Watch the video (below)
2. Write the story into your German Story Listening Log (Get it HERE if you need it!)
3. Choose ONE of the following exercises to complete. Take a picture of your completed work or take a video and email it back to me.

• • Retell the story to someone in English – take a video or make an audio recording.
  • Write a summary of the story in English – take a picture of it or record yourself reading it.
  • Draw your favorite scene from the story. Remember to put the story title on it! Take a picture.
  • Watch the video again and read along. (See the text below) Take a picture of your log, so we know you heard the story.

* If you feel frustrated while watching the story, because you do not understand, please stop and choose another story!

Here is the vocabulary list:

• die Braut              bride
• der Hirte              shepherd
• heiraten               to marry / get married
• 3 Mädchen         3 girls
• Schwestern        sisters
• schön                    pretty
• Welche?              which?
• die Wahl              choice
• wählen                 to choose
• Wie?                      how
• die Mutter          mother
• fragte                    asked
• Rat                         advice
• lade ein                invite
• der Käse              cheese
• anschneiden      to cut
• die Rinde             rind
• eilig                        in a hurry
• schnell                  fast
• warf weg             threw away
• ordentlich           orderly
• Frau                       wife

And here is the text to accompany the story: