Students participate in the "Cinderella Project," a service learning project in which students collect donations of monies and shoes for children in need.  The students create and present an "advertisement" to local businesses and sponsors.  The advertisement explains the project and requests money or shoes as donations.

Anticipatory Set: 

Enter the room grandly with the smallest gym shoe on a pillow.  Walk around the classroom looking at feet and comparing them to the shoe.  Pantomime that you are looking for the foot that goes with this shoe.  Go to the tallest students first and make a show of comparing the small shoe to the large foot (but be sensitive not to offend).  Ask students, "Does this remind you of any fairy tale story you know?"  Remind students that this is not the only version of the Cinderella story.  Since the story was told aloud for thousands of years, it passed through many countries and developed many versions.

• Before reading aloud the original French version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault (see Bibliographical References), discuss students' prior knoweldge of the Cinderella story.  Tell them to listen for differences from their expectations.
• Tell students to pay special attention to the shoe and its meaning in the story, as well as the role of the fairy godmother or magical helper.  Point out that Cinderella has bare feet at the beginning of the story, but the step-sisters have many shoes.
• After reading, talk about the symbolism of the shoes and the fairy godmother.
• Draw a rough image of Cinderella's shoes before the ball and during the ball.  Under each sketch, write a description of the shoe and what the shoe says about the person (students tell you what to write). For example, the first shoes are tattered, poor, dirty, flat, gray and soft. The second shoes are shiny, rich, firm, high-heeled, see-through, and match her sparkly disposition.
• Discuss the fairy godmother and her role.  Why does she help Cinderella?  Why does Cinderella need her?  When does Cinderella stop needing her help?  Is the fairy godmother a philanthropist?  (A philanthropist gives time, talent, or treasure or takes action for the common good.)  
• Discuss the need for a variety of shoes: gym shoes, dress shoes, winter/summer shoes, etc. Tell the students that some families cannot afford that many shoes for their growing children.  Motivate the students to play the part of the fairy godmother in the lives of these children--not by magic--by being philanthropists.   The teacher should select in advance the recipient of the shoes they will be collecting: local schools, shelters, churches, missions, etc.
• Display pre-made teacher poster (large graph with heading "Cinderella Project"). Pass out the individual charts (see Attachment One).  Decide as a class what each column in the graph should be.  The columns could be types of shoes (boots, gym, dress, sandals) or a timeline, or funding sources (neighborhoods, businesses, families, churches). Write the same column names on the poster graph as the individual graphs.
• Send home a Parent Letter regarding the Cinderella project  (see Attachment Three).
• See School/Home Connection for the students' homework assignment.
• Teacher Note:  Prompt students to think of where they get their shoes. Encourage them to think of sponsors or businesses who may want to help children get the shoes they need.  Explain who a sponsor could be (the students themselves, parents, neighbors, businesses, etc.).

Day Two:

• Have students present their homework in which they share their feelings about the project.
• Review the Cinderella Project graph with students and set a goal for the collection.  Explain that for each pair of shoes collected (or funds to purchase one pair of shoes), they will place a shoe cutout on the class graph and a sticker on their personal graphs. 
• Brainstorm a list of organizations that may sponsor the project.  Students may think of stores they visit regularly, places they have seen that support projects, places that sell shoes, or family-owned businesses.  Encourage students to come up with creative ways to involve supporters (such as a collection box on a counter of a shoe store). 
• Arrange the students into small groups to discuss ways that they personally can collect shoes or money to buy shoes.  After five minutes, groups may add their ideas to the class brainstorm list. (This may include ideas such as a popcorn sale at lunch time with the profits going to the Cinderella Project.) 
• Tell the students that they are going to write an advertisement for their project on Story Paper (see Attachment Two).  This advertisement will tell about the project and encourage people to donate money or shoes.  Guide a discussion about why someone would be interested in helping or donating.  This discussion will help the students appeal to the possible donors. Use the following writing prompts:
  • • If you owned a business, how would it make you feel if you could give?
    • If you didn't have shoes and someone gave you a new pair, how would you feel?
    • How could a pair of shoes make a difference for a child?
• Students will then use the writing process to write on one of the given prompts.  Use peer and teacher editing before students make a final copy.  Students illustrate and color their final copy.
• Optional: Laminate the pages so they will last longer.  The pages can be delivered by students (with parent help) or by the teacher to the designated locations. 

Teacher Note: Check school district policy to see if a parent permission slip is needed to distribute student work to the public.  BE SURE NO STUDENT LAST NAMES ARE ON THE WORK. 

Students tell their families about the Cinderella Project.  Then they draw a picture and/or write about how the goals of the Cinderella Project make them feel. Establish the level of written requirements according to students' abilities.

• Perrault, Charles (illustrated by Loek Koopmans). Cinderella.  North-South Books Inc. New York: 1999. ISBN:  0735814864
• EDSITEment: Cinderella Folk Tales.  http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=419 Teacher resource Accessed on September 21, 2005