Fairytales have always been part of the American classroom. These stories not only foster cultural awareness, but they can also be a tool to prepare preservice teachers to create inclusive classrooms by embedding translanguaging in writing. Strategically using fairytale writing as a tool in a teacher preparation program enhances a culturally sustained pedagogy by allowing preservice teachers to connect with diverse cultural stories and validate the linguistic repertoire of multilingual learners.

However, to fully realize this potential, teachers must be equipped to recognize and address the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of their students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 80% of teachers in 2020 were white while the student population was increasingly diverse—culturally and linguistically—a population that teachers do not reflect. This disparity highlights the urgent need for teacher preparation programs to prioritize cultural competency and equip future educators to effectively weave students' cultural background into their teaching for truly culturally sustained pedagogy.

In the arts integration course I teach, preservice teachers learn about the various arts that can be integrated into the curriculum. I find that literary art in the form of creating fairytale adaptations can open the door to preservice teachers becoming culturally competent. Even though individual fairytales are unique to their specific culture, the similarities they have serve as a bridge that helps preservice teachers understand culture and language, and writing fairytale adaptations requires both a deep knowledge the originating culture and the activation of developing the same translanguaging practices that multilingual students use as part of their linguistic repertoire.

Getting started

I begin my literary arts module by asking who knows the story of the three little pigs or Cinderella, which of course many students do. When I show my students The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone, the preservice teachers recognize it, but when I show them The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, few students do. Further, when I introduce The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell, The Three Little Tamales by Eric A. Kimmel, and The Three Little Gators by Helen Ketteman, no one has heard of these adaptations. This makes a perfect opportunity to teach how to design and facilitate culturally relevant learning that brings real-world experiences into educational spaces.

We start by comparing and analyzing the mentor texts based on their story elements and writing style. I task my students to find other fairytales and their adaptations. Some of the more common ones include Cinderella by James Marshall and adaptations such as Yeh Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie, Isabella: A Cinderella Fairytale of Latina Princess (Puerto Rican Princess) by King Ki'el, and Sindi: A Zulu Cinderella by Desaeay Mnyandu. For Little Red Riding Hood by James Marshall, students have selected Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale by JaNay Brown-Wood and Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young as adaptations.

Comparing and analyzing mentor texts

Now that we have a few to choose from, my students compare and analyze these mentor texts, identifying things like the target audience and any writing techniques such as dialogue between characters that represent a blend of home language and English used by the author to enhance a culturally sustained pedagogy. We create five-column charts to easily see the similarities and differences of each fairytale adaptation. By comparing and analyzing story elements, preservice teachers can begin to see how authors have reframed traditional fairytales with a cultural lens.

In addition, writing techniques are analyzed to identify how the author has embedded translanguaging (e.g., “Tío José and Tía Lupe owned a taqueria” and “He built his casita out of cornstalks”) and cognate words (e.g., tortilla and tamale) as seen in The Three Little Tamales. This analysis also gives preservice teachers awareness of the multi-dialectal nature of language in American society and the social constructs of different dialects, including the learner's natural way of talking, as demonstrated in The Three Little Gators when the author writes, “It’s time you young ‘uns set out on your own.”

Writing an original fairytale adaptation

After preservice teachers have gained a deeper understanding of how authors' adaptations create an inclusive learning space for all readers, they write their own fairytale adaptation. Regardless of their demographic, I have my students research a culture different from their own. This critically reflective practice helps preservice teachers engage in the use of story elements and how character development, setting, problem, and solution align to that specific culture while staying true to the plot of the fairytale. A key component of this lesson is the appropriate use of translanguaging, cognate words, and the dialects of how learners speak in the final assignment.

Writing fairytale adaptations gives preservice teachers awareness of their own cultural biases and assumptions, and the opportunity to demonstrate cultural inclusivity and responsiveness when teaching fairytales to elementary students. This prepares future teachers to understand how to use writing methods in order to be culturally competent and empathetic educators while developing a culturally sustained pedagogy. 

Ivonne Miranda has been an urban educator for 23 years. She is currently assistant professor, supervisor of field experiences and student teaching, and director of the graduate program at Cedar Crest College Education Department. She has the Celebrate Literacy Award from the Keystone State Literacy Association Central Eastern Region for her work with pre-service teachers publishing diverse children's literature, and has also been published in Literacy Today.

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