Thumbelina

Storytelling
Components of the group:
CAROLINA ESCANDELL
AMPARO PREZ
Teacher: CLARA GUIEURE
Subject: TEACHING OF ESL AND
CHILDRENS LITERATURE
University: UCV

Index
Introduction............................................................................1
Learning thorugh stories.................................................1
Pre-telling...............................................................................3
Reading the story..............................................................4
Post-telling.............................................................................5
Certificate................................................................................7
Timing.....................................................................................8
Moral of the story and implicit learning...........10
Story Thumbelina........................................................11
Glossary..................................................................................18

Introduction
We are going to present a session plan which includes the story of Thumbelina and its
pre-telling and post-telling activities.
"Thumbelina" is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance- and marriageminded toads, moles, and cockchafers. She successfully avoids their intentions before
falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size.
"Thumbelina" is chiefly Andersen's invention, though he did take inspiration from tales
of miniature people such as "Tom Thumb". "Thumbelina" was published as one of a series
of seven fairy tales in 1835 which were not well received by the Danish critics who disliked
their informal style and their lack of morals. One critic, however, applauded "Thumbelina".
This session plan is aimed to children between 10 and 11 years old. We can use this
story planning for younger children as long as we adapt its vocabulary making it easier for
them.
This plan includes 3 sessions (pre-telling, while reading and post-telling)

Learning through stories

It is very useful because children have an innate love of stories . We can take
advantage of this motivation and work on it in order to teach them a wide range of things.
Through storytelling, for example, we can teach them about life, about themselves (selfreflection, self-esteem), and so many values (charity, goodness, etc.) that are really
important to learn.
There are a number of ways in which storytelling can enhance intercultural
understanding and communication. Stories can:

Allow children to explore their own cultural roots

Allow children to experience diverse cultures

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Enable children to empathise with unfamiliar people/places/situations

Offer insights into different traditions and values
Help children understand how wisdom is common to all peoples/all cultures
Offer insights into universal life experiences
Help children consider new ideas
Reveal differences and commonalties of cultures around the world Stories reveal universal
truths about the world. Through stories we see how very different people
Share the same life experiences and how human nature can transcend culture.

Other benefits of using storytelling in the classroom may be the next:

Promote a feeling of well-being and relaxation

Increase children's willingness to communicate thoughts and feelings
Encourage active participation
Increase verbal proficiency
Encourage use of imagination and creativity
Encourage cooperation between students
Enhance listening skills

Young Learners share a remarkable variety of personal experiences, values and ways
of understanding. The language they learn in the classroom is the tool they use to shape
their thoughts and feelings. It is more than a way of exchanging information and extending
ideas, it is their means of reaching out and connecting with other people. Stories can link
not only between the world of classroom and home but also between the classroom and
beyond. Stories provide a common thread that can help unite cultures and provide a
bridge across the cultural gap.

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Pre-telling
Before telling the story it is important to do some activities to introduce the vocabulary
that we are going work in the reading and to motivate the children and create an interest
about the story.
First of all, we are going to do a short summery of the story. While one of us is telling
the summery, the other member of the group will be preparing the pictures of the story's
characters. Then, we will show the characters and their names to the children and we will
paste it on the wall. Once we have done the earlier activity, we will put the glossary on the
white-board and we will explain the most difficult words of the story.
Before telling the story, we are going to play one of the songs of the film. We will hand
out the lyrics of the song. First, the children will listen to the music while reading the lyrics,
and the can move their lips just like if they were singing but in silence, not singing, just
miming it. After this, we will sing the song aloud all together. The students will have to pay
attention to the pronunciation and vocabulary!
This is the link where we can play the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ep1s7ijyGvg
And this is the lyrics we will give them:
Duck Who is the girl no bigger than a bumble bee?
Goat Who is the angel with a funny name?
Cow Who we don't know where she's from or how she came to be?
Farm Animals But happy was the day she came

Chickens Thumbelina
Goat She's a tiny little squirt
Chickens Thumbelina
Cow Tiny angel in a skirt
Chickens Thumbelina
Farm Animals She's mending and baking, pretending, she's making things up
Chickens Thumbelina

Thumbelina Who would believe the wonder of the world I see

Each little minute brings a new surprise
There's only one peculiar thing that bothers me
Seems I'm the only one my size

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Chickens Thumbelina
Goat Thank the Lord and save our meals
Chickens Thumbelina
Turkey Maybe if you had high heels
Chickens Thumbelina
Farm Animals If you stay here forever we know that we'll never become quite glum
Chickens Thumbelina
Cow She's always in the thick
Chickens Thumbelina
Thumbelina But I get out in the lick
Chickens Thumbelina
Farm Animals Sometimes its sickness, but this time it's bigness
Thumbelina Oh a plum's so big, and the thing's so big
And they call it a twig but a twig's so big
Farm Animals It's a big big world for Thumbelina, Thumbelina, Thumbelina
Thumbelina That's me!

This activity will approach them to the story they are going to read and to bolster the
vocabulary that they will need to know later for the correct story understanding.
After this the class will do a circle in order to read the story (to do this we can go to the
corridor, to the back of the class or to the play ground)

Reading the story

When we know for sure that everyone understands the basic vocabulary, we are ready
to start with the story.
As this children are older and perfectly capable of read, we will give them about 15-20
minutes to read the story in class quietly for themselves. They can ask us anything that
they don't understand and we will help them individually. Once everyone have finished the
reading, we will ask them if they have understood the story. To make sure of this and
bolster the reading, we will ask them to choose their favourite sentence of the story and
read it aloud. They will also have to tell us why they have chosen that sentence and what
they think about it.

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Post-telling
After they have read the story and explained us their special sentence, it's time do a
game related to Thumbelina. This game is mind to remind the vocabulary that we thought
in the pre-telling.
The game we are going to do is called vocabulary bomb!. The whole class are
sitting in a circle. The teacher has the ball, she/he say a word (that was in the
glossary). When she says NOW! the children who know the meaning of the word,
have to raise their hands. The teacher will throw the ball to the child that have
raised the hand first will receive the ball. If the meaning of the word it's correct, they
can keep the ball until the teacher says the next word (when they'll have to pass the
ball to the first student that raises the hand). If the meaning it's not correct, the child
will pass back the ball to the teacher, who will pass it to another student. We will
repeat this with every word we consider appropriate.

Another activity that we can do is a discussion about the book. The children have
to take turns to talk and tell us what they have learnt reading the story and what
they think is the moral of this. We'll tell them that we will give a special reword to
that student who gives us the best answer.

After this, we will give them a crossword to do. This way they can practice the
vocabulary learnt and write it (improving their spelling). We can do this activity on
the white-board (a way to include and involve ICT)
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At the end, we will give to all of them a certificate of good readers, they will be very
happy and proud of themselves!

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TIMING
The reading of the story will take us about 15-20'' (it depends on the number of
students, their reading speed, the questions they may have, etc). It is important to invest
the necessary time in the reading, so we make sure it is enjoyable for everyone and
everyone understands everything.
Before telling the story we will expend about 15 minutes explaining the glossary and
making sure that every student understands every word, so they'll be able to understand
the story during the storytelling part and be relaxed because they already know what is it
talking about.

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Multiple intelligences
and storytelling

Through the reading of this story we also develop some of the multiple intelligences:

Linguistic: due to the fact that we are learning new vocabulary while reading.

Kinaesthetic: because they are moving around and throwing the ball during the
pre-telling activity

Musical: They will have to listen to the music and sing a song.

Interpersonal: they are working as a group and collaborating with other children
(expressing their ideas and knowledge). They are also sharing knowledge during
the post-telling activity and communicating with their classmates.

Intrapersonal: they will have to reflect about what is important for them (so they
can, after this, tell their own idea, feelings and preference to the group).

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Moral of the story and

implicit learning
This story has a moral that teaches us: Basically, this story tells us about a tiny little girl
with a very big dream.
We can find several implicit learning in this story:

Thumbelina is a runaway bride story and notes that it has been viewed as an
allegory about arranged marriages, and a fable about being true to ones heart that
upholds the traditional notion that the love of a prince is to be valued above all else.

So, after reading this story, I believe it will give some positive impacts to the
children. They will learn that if they dont give up, they will get the best result. Just
like how Thumbelina has taught them. In summary, the children will naturally
implement this thing through their daily life.

To never give up, no matter how hard it is. From the story, we can see how hard
Thumbelina tries to avoid several marriages in which the others had forced her to
agree. Starting from she was kidnapped by a toad until she was forced to marry
with a mole. She never gave up until finally she found her true match. As for
children, it will give them more courage in doing their daily activities.

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Story
There was once a woman who wanted very much to have a child. So one day she went
to a Fairy and said to her: 'I should so much like to have a little child; can you tell me
where I can get one?''Here is a barley-corn for you, said the Fairy. Put it in a flower-pot,
and then you will see something happen.'
The woman went home and planted the barleycorn; there grew out of it a large and
beautiful flower, but the petals were tightly closed as if it were still only a bud. 'What a
beautiful flower!' exclaimed the woman, and she kissed the red and yellow petals; but as
she kissed them the flower burst open and in the middle of the blossom sat a little girl,
quite tiny, trim, and pretty. She was scarcely half a thumb in height; so they called her
Thumbelina.

But one night, when she was laying in her pretty little bed, which was an elegant
walnut-shell, an ugly old toad crept in through a broken pane in the window. She hopped
on to the table where Thumbelina lay asleep. 'This would make a beautiful wife for my son
said the toad, taking up the walnut-shell, with Thumbelina inside, and hopping with it
through the window into the garden. There flowed a great wide stream, with slippery and
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marshy banks; here the toad lived with her son. Ugh! How ugly and clammy he was, just
like his mother! 'Croak, croak, croak!' was all he could say when he saw the pretty little girl
in the walnut- shell.

The tiny Thumbelina woke up very early in the morning, and when she saw where she
was she began to cry bitterly; for she was placed on a great green leaf in the middle of the
water, and she could not get to the land. The old toad was decorating her room, to make it
very grand for her new daughter-in-law; then she swam out with her ugly son to the leaf
where Thumbelina lay.
The old toad said: 'Here is my son; you shall marry him, and live in great magnificence
down under the marsh.'Then they took the neat little cradle and swam away with it; but
Thumbelina sat alone on the great green leaf and wept, for she did not want to live with the
clammy toad, or marry her ugly son.
The little fishes swimming about under the water had seen the toad quite plainly, and
heard what she had said; so they put up their heads to see the little girl. When they saw
her, they thought her so pretty that they were very sorry she should go down with the ugly

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toad to live. No; that must not happen. They assembled in the water round the green stalk,
which supported the leaf on which she was sitting, and nibbled the stem in two. Away
floated the leaf down the stream, bearing Thumbelina far beyond the reach of the toad. On
she sailed past several towns, and the little birds sitting in the bushes saw her, and sang,
'What a pretty little girl!' The leaf floated farther and farther away; thus Thumbelina left her
native land.

A great cockchafer came flying past; he caught sight of Thumbelina, and in a moment
had put his arms round her slender waist, and had flown off with her to a tree. Oh, dear!
How terrified poor little Thumbelina was when the cock-chafer flew off with her to the tree.
Later on, all the other cockchafers who lived in the same tree came to pay calls; they
examined Thumbelina closely. 'How ugly she is!' said all the lady chafers --and yet
Thumbelina was really very pretty. When the cockchafer heard all the ladies saying she
was ugly, he began to think so too, and would not keep her; she might go wherever she
liked. So he flew down from the tree with her and put her on a daisy.

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The whole summer poor little Thumbelina lived alone in the great wood. The summer
and autumn passed, but then came winter-the long, cold winter. She was terribly cold.
Poor little Thumbelina! She would surely be frozen to death. She came across the door of
a field mouse, who had a little hole under a corn-stalk. Thumbelina went up to the door
and begged for a little piece of barley. 'Poor little creature!' said the field-mouse, come into
my warm room and have some dinner with me.'As Thumbelina pleased her, she said: 'As
far as I am concerned you may spend the winter with me; but you must keep my room
clean and tidy, and tell me stories, for I like that very much.'

And Thumbelina did all that the kind old field-mouse asked, and did it remarkably well
too. 'Now I am expecting a visitor,' said the field-mouse; 'my neighbour comes to call on
me once a week. He is very wealthy, has great, big rooms, and wears a fine black-velvet
coat. If you could only marry him, you would be well provided for. But he is blind. You must
tell him all the prettiest stories you know.'But Thumbelina did not trouble her head about
him, for he was only a mole. He came and paid them a visit in his black-velvet coat. He
liked Thumbelina very much and expressed his desire to marry he.

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A short time before he had dug a long passage through the ground from his own house
to that of his neighbour; in this he gave the field-mouse and Thumbelina permission to
walk as often as they liked. But he begged them not to be afraid of the dead bird that lay in
the passage. Thumbelina was very sorry, for she was very fond of all little birds.
Thumbelina bent down to the bird, and kissed his closed eyes gently. Later, she plaited a
great big blanket and spread it over the dead bird, so that the poor little thing should lie
warmly buried. Then she laid her head against the bird's heart. But the bird was not dead:
he had been frozen, but now that she had warmed him, he was coming to life again.
Thumbelina was so amazed to see the bird was alive! Thank you, pretty little child!' said
the swallow to her. 'I am so beautifully warm! Soon I shall regain my strength, and then I
shall be able to fly

When the spring came, and the sun warmed the earth again, the swallow said farewell
to Thumbelina and flew away. 'Now you are to be a bride this very autumn, Thumbelina!'
said the field-mouse, 'for our neighbour has proposed for you! What a piece of fortune for
a poor child like you! But she was not at all pleased about it, for she did not like the stupid
mole. Spring and summer passed and the wedding-day arrived. The mole had come to
fetch Thumbelina to live with him deep down under the ground, never to come out into the
warm sun again, for that was what he didn't like.

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'Tweet, tweet!' sounded in her ear all at once. She looked up. There was the swallow
flying past! 'The cold winter is coming now,' said the swallow. 'I must fly away to warmer
lands: will you come with me? You can sit on my back, and we will fly over the mountains,
to the warm countries where the sun shines more brightly than here, where it is always
summer, and there are always.

At last they came to warm lands; there the sun was brighter and the sky seemed twice
as high. The swallow flew down with Thumbelina, and set her upon one flower. But there,
to her astonishment, she found a tiny little man sitting in the middle of the flower; he had
the prettiest golden crown on his head, and the most beautiful wings on his shoulders; he
himself was no bigger than Thumbelina. He was the spirit of the flower. In each blossom
there dwelt a tiny man or woman; but this one was the Prince.
'How handsome he is!' whispered Thumbelina to the swallow. When the Prince saw
Thumbelina, he was delighted, for she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

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He asked her name, and then invited her to his castle. The Prince fell in love with her,
so he asked her if she would be his wife, and Queen over all the flowers. This certainly
was a very different sort of husband to the son of a toad, or the mole; so she said, Yes, to
the handsome prince. She was gifted then with a beautiful pair of wings so she too could
fly from flower to flower. 'You shall not be called Thumbelina!' said the Prince to her. We
will call you May Blossom.' So she married the Prince and became the Queen of the
Flowers.

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Glossary
Word

Meaning

Remarkably

To a remarkable degree

Picture

or extent (something is
worth to point out)

Expecting

To look forward to the

probable occurrence or
appearance of:
expecting a telephone
call; expects rain on
Sunday.

Wealthy

having an abundant sup

ply of money or possessi
ons of value

Blind

Sightless.

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Trouble

A state of distress, afflict

ion, difficulty, or need:

Dug

Past tense and past parti

ciple of dig.
Dig:
To make or form by rem
oving earth or other mat
erial:

ground

The solid surface of the

earth.

neighbour

a person who lives near

or next to another

fond of

Having a strong liking, in Eg.

clination, or affection:

fond of ballet; fond of my

nieces and nephews.

gently

Considerate or kindly in
disposition; amiable and
tender.

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blanket

A large piece of woven

material used as a coveri
ng for warmth, especially
on a bed.

amazed

To affect with great won

der; astonish. See Syno
nyms at surprise.

swallow

Any of various small gra

ceful swift-flying passerin
e birds of the family
Hirundinidae, having lon
g pointed wings,

farewell

The act of departing or t

aking leave.

wedding-day

the day of a wedding

fetch

To come or go after and

take or bring back:

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Tweet
A weak chirping sound,
as of a young or small
bird.
brightly

Emitting or reflecting lig

ht readily or in large amo
unts; shining.

astonishment

Great surprise or amaze

ment.

golden

Having the colour of gold

or a yellow colour
suggestive of gold.

crown

An ornamental circlet or
head covering, often ma
de of precious metal set
with jewels and worn as
a symbol of sovereignty.

delighted

Filled with delight.

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fell in love

begin to experience
feelings of love towards;

toad

Related to and
resembling the frogs but
characteristically more
terrestrial and having a
broader body and
rougher, drier skin.

handsome

Pleasing and dignified in

form or appearance. An
adjective for men.

beautiful

Having qualities that

delight the senses,
especially the sense of
sight. An adjective for
women.

Barley

A cereal plant of the

grass family.

Flower-pot

A container in which to
grow and display plants.

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Grew

To increase in size by a
natural process of
development

Tightly

Stretched or drawn so as
not to be loose

Burst

To break or cause to
break open or apart
suddenly and noisily,
esp from internal
pressure; explode

Bud

Any of the small parts on

the end of a plant stem

Blossom

The flower or flowers of

a plant,producing edible
fruit

Walnut-shell

The nut of any of these

trees, having a wrinkled
two-lobed seed and a
hard wrinkled shell

Hopped

To make a jump

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Marsh

an area of waterlogged
soil covered with tall
grasses

Plainly

obviously

Stalk

The main stem of a

herbaceous plant

Stem

The part of a plant that

grows in an opposite
direction to the root and
that supports a lea

Cockchafer

Any of various Old World

scarabaeid beetles

Slender

Small in size

Frozen

Congealed by cold;

Mouse

A small rodent having a

long, thin tail. a quiet,
timid person:

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Begged

To solicit

Clean

free from dirt

Tidy

eat and orderly

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