Abstract
Using a critical pedagogy perspective, this project aims to integrate media literacy within elementary classrooms. Incorporating intertextual analysis of a traditional and non-traditional fairy tale will provide students with the opportunity to engage in the active process of understanding socially-constructed hegemony. The curriculum encompasses three academic weeks and is designed to be conducted within a small group setting. This project is tailored for grades four through six, with the intention of raising media literacy consciousness with a focus on gender identity construction and ideas. The traditional fairy tale is an original interpretation of Cinderella. This story contains the consistent stereotypical messages that have been disseminated through multiple influential, male authors over the past 400 years. The protagonist, Cinderella, is valued by men based on her appearance and yet, it is also her appearance that threatens the other female characters, promoting female competition. Cinderella’s character is idealized as subservient, dependent and possessing only domestic qualities. However, A Fairy’s Tale offers a counter-narrative to the typically celebrated and stereotypical female characters. The protagonist, Esme, finds value in discovering her own strengths and abilities, while cooperating with other female characters to combat intellectual and intuitive suppression. Esme possesses emotional depth and discovers her internal strength through harnessing her masculine and feminine qualities. The conventional format of a fairy tale provides an ideal theme to unearth the depth of hegemonic hidden meanings through scaffolded curriculum. This project has the potential to raise the consciousness of students by transforming them into empowered and critical thinkers.