33: A Different Perspective

 

“Stories don’t give answers, but they do offer perspective.”

-Dan B. Allender

They say that there are two sides to every story. Sometimes, what we perceive doesn’t give us the whole picture, but rather a snippet of the actual truth. When we read stories, it’s easy to root for the protagonist as the narratives often revolve around the main character. Oftentimes, it would take an extra step before we wonder what the stories of the other characters are —especially the antagonist — that made them into who they are. 

In the IB, perspective is a valuable concept that we teach in the classroom as it provides our students with a different lens on how they view the world and their experiences. According to the IB, different perspectives lead to different interpretations, understandings, and findings. This is particularly useful in reading stories, as it teaches us to wonder, inquire, discover, and decide about other narratives within the story that remain untold. It also broadens our viewpoints and teaches us to think critically. 

This week, the kindergarteners revisited their well-loved fairytale characters and the stories that they know.

Peter Pan is the boy who could fly and doesn't get old.

The Frog Prince is about a frog who is actually a prince.

Cinderella is the lady who wasn't treated well by her family.

Snow White is the princess who was despised by her stepmother.

Belle is the lady who met a beast.

The Gingerbread Man is the cookie who kept on running.

Pinocchio is the boy who doesn't tell the truth. 

Humpty Dumpty is the egg who sat on a wall and got into an accident.

The Three Little Pigs are brothers who outwit a wolf.

Prince Charming is the man who saves the Princesses.

Little Red Riding Hood is the girl who visits her grandmother. 

Rapunzel is the princess who was taken by an old woman and left in a tower.

These are the stories that we grew up with, and have passed on to the children. But I asked the Kindergarteners, 

"If these were characters in your own story, what would be different about them?"

So the children created their own depiction of the characters that we have all grown to love.

These are what they came up with:

Michel's Frog Prince

Ren's Gingerbread Man

Yanchen's Prince Charming

Jae Hee's Little Red Riding Hood

Eda's Rapunzel

Eimi's Humpty Dumpty

Atsuharu's Pinocchio

Sophia's Little Mermaid

Arisa's Belle

Jinnosuke's Peter Pan

Haruto's Three Little Pigs

Diego's Woodstock

Rino's Snow White

The children then shared their reimagined characters with their friends. When they were sharing, I emphasized how important it is to listen, as it helps us to learn and understand better when we pay attention to the stories and perspectives of others.

I then asked them to think about a popular character in many fairytales:

The Big Bad Wolf

The children said that they know him from...

Little Red Riding Hood

The Three Little Pigs

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Beauty and the Beast

The Kiss That Missed

...and I'm sure, many more.

They also said that in those stories, the Big Bad Wolf as always been bad because he wants to hurt the other characters. So I asked them,

"But what if the big bad wolf isn't so bad at all?"

I shared with them a story called The Wolf Who Learned To Be Good by Natalia Moore.

It is a fairytale with a twist -- or what we often call a Fractured Fairytale. What I love about these types of stories is that it gives us a different perspective of the narratives that we have all grown to love. In this story, the wolf isn't so bad after all. 

The children also had a chance to bring their reimagined characters to life, and create their own fractured fairytales. These are the stories that they made:

Before the week ended, I asked the children to think about their own stories. If they were to reimagine themselves as characters, what would be new about them? 

What do you think will their stories be about? 😀

They say that there are two sides to every story, and whoever they are, I couldn't agree with them more. I think that apart from teaching us perspective, these reimagined fairytales also teach us to judge a book not by its cover, but rather, by how it changes the way we see the world. 

Have a good week ahead, everyone.

Your Kindergarten teacher, 

Pam