Fractured Fairy Tale Resources – The GiggleIT Project

Your students can take a well-known story and turn it upside down and inside out as a fractured or modernized fairy tale. If they use unusual or slang words, be sure they make a glossary to explain them so their fractured fairy tale can be understood by all.

https://www.tpjagger.com/2018/09/12/how-to-fracture-a-fairy-tale/ Seven ways to fracture a fairy tale!

https://aml.ca/fairy-tales-with-a-modern-twist/ Fracture a fairy tale by modernizing it

https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2013/lessons/Modernize_a_Fairy_Tale how to modernize a fairy tale

https://mybookcave.com/authorpost/5-tips-for-writing-fractured-fairy-tales/ Five tips for writing a fractured fairy tale

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/lesson-plans-grades-3-5/63445-introducing-a-fractured-fairy-tales-unit-into-your-reading-classroom/A full teaching unit on fractured fairy tales, including comparison with regular fairy tales, how to write a fractured fairy tale, and cooperative learning projects.

This fractured fairy tale switches around the beginning letters of the main characters’ names and uses modern themes to re-tell the story of Cinderella. The audience participation makes it a great story to tell aloud as interactive theatre.

“Rindercella: A modern fairy tale” from Australia

This is a story that MUST be read aloud and requires active audience participation. Use the audience response cue cards provided at the end of this document. As the narrator reads the story, one person holds the cards up, and the audience provides the sound effects.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, well quite recently actually, there was a young girl called Rindercella.

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

Rindercella lived in a fairy tale kingdom that was ruled by a young king called Since Prarming, so called because he was a bit boring and a bit of a has-been.

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

Rindercella lived with her evil Mep-struther and her two Sugly lsters, who were really quite lazy and sometimes even a bit rude.

<Audience: boo, hiss>

Rindercella wasn’t beautiful, in fact she was quite plain really. BUT she was an exceptionally good manager.

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

She could manage the kitchen staff, the gardeners, the delivery boys, all the household accounts, the household web site and the lnternet ADSL account. She even managed to send off the odd letter to the editor complaining about the state of the kingdom’s roads.

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

Her evil Mep-struther and the Sugly lsters were quite happy to let Rindercella do it all, and never thought to pay her any wages.

<Audience: boo, hiss>

One day, an email arrived inviting everyone in the household to a grand royal disco, black tie

only, of course. The evil Mep-struther and the Sugly lsters were ecstatic.

<Audience: boo, hiss>

They spent several days looking through catalogues and on eBay for new funky clothes, spangly tights and a new-age hairdresser. Of course, they insisted that the invitation wasn’t meant for the hired help and that included Rindercella.

<Audience: boo, hiss>

Rindercella was heartbroken. She really wanted to go to the disco to meet like-minded people in the hope of getting a better job. While sobbing loudly in the kitchen a strange and quite bizarre thing happened. A rather rotund fairy appeared in a huge puff of talcum powder.

<Audience: poof>

lt was Rindercella’s Gairy Fodmother.

<Audience: poof>

She transformed Rindercella in a flash and sent her off to the disco in a limo, black Prada ankle boots and a silver power suit with the biggest shoulder pads you have ever seen.

<Audience: poof>

There was one condition of course (there always is in these stories). Rindercella had to be home before midnight.

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

Rindercella was the belle of the disco.

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

She met and chatted to all the business CEOs in the land, shook and shimmied her way around the dance floor and even caught the eye of Since Prarming.

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

Rindercella and Since Prarming danced the night away.

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

However, just as the clock began to strike midnight, Rindercella dashed away leaving poor Since Prarming with nothing but a crumpled business card.

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

The next day, Since Prarming went in search of the mysterious business woman in the silver suit. When he arrived at our heroine’s house, the evil Mep-struther and the Sugly lsters tried to persuade him that they were the person he was looking for.

<Audience: boo, hiss>

Since Prarming might have been a bit of a has-been, but he was a successful businessman (he was the king after all).

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

So he set the evil Mep-struther and the Sugly lsters a test on the computer. When they failed to find the kingdom’s website he knew they were lying. Just then the Gairy Fodmother re-appeared (along with a lot of talcum powder).

<Audience: poof>

She waved her wand and Rindercella appeared in her silver power suit.

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

Since Prarming got down on bended knee and proposed.

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

He’d give her a brand-new office, her own personal secretary and a Christmas bonus if she’d be his public relations manager and help him run the kingdom. Of course, Rindercella said YES!

<Audience chant: Go Rinders, go!>

And they all lived happily ever after.

<Audience: (Loud Sigh) ahhhh>

Except the evil Mep-struther and the Sugly lsters of course, who made a hopeless mess of everything.

Author: Barbara Combes, Lecturer, School of Computer and lnformation Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Audience response cue cards

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