![]() ![]() ![]() Mirrors play different roles in different stories. Others include The Snow Queen, The Lady of Shallott, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Anthony Browne’s Through the Magic Mirror. Now ask if the children can think of any stories with mirrors? The most famous is perhaps the mirror which never lies belonging to the evil queen in Snow White. They may have been defined as a synchronized routine in dance or gymnastics. Definitions may have referred to imitating or mimicking. The contexts in which the word ‘mirror’ might be used are very rich and diverse. 2 something that gives a true representation of polished metal or silvered glass) that forms images by reflection. Mirror: 1 polished or smooth surface (e.g. Now compare with the definition from the Longman Dictionary of the English Language and note divergence Share definitions and discuss similarities and differences. (Geraldine McCaughrean)Īnd so, with this all in mind, what is a mirror? You could ask your class to write down their own definition for the word ‘mirror’. And how has that always been done? By adult conversation and reading. The only way to make books – and knowledge – accessible is to give children the necessary words. We master words by meeting them, not by avoiding them. It’s been said often in recent years that ‘literary’ fiction for young people has had its day. Vocabulary knowledge is knowledge the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition but also implies how that word fits into the world (Stahl 2005) Just 2,000 words make up 80% of spoken language. Part of this course looks at vocabulary: It is estimated that there are one million English words 600,000 words in the OED of which 171,476 are in use today. Mirrors can provide portents of future events, can hold malevolent spells, can even be a portal to other worlds.Īs part of Just Imagine’s training programme for teachers we deliver a Between the Lines course over three days (with time in-between for connected activities). Mirrors play an integral role in Snow White, The Snow Queen, Beauty and the Beast, Through the Looking Glass and the myth of Narcissus, among others. In myths and fairytales, mirrors are often a mystical thing- half of this world and half of another. As Jillian Lauren writesīut mirrors are more than just a place to check your makeup or your air guitar technique. Mirrors have long been part of literary tradition and far from being simple are high concept words. So if the moral and indeed the composition of the tale reflect historic and current cultural and social influences how about the words and concepts within them? For characterization Disney relied on the formula of early movies, which themselves drew from the nineteenth century melodrama: the innocent heroine, the gallant hero, the evil villain, and comic relief in the form of the clown (Zipes, 1999 in Exploring Children’s Literature, 2019). Indeed the version that we all know so well and enjoy would have been modified even further:īecause most of Disney’s sources were short and emblematic, additional material needed to be added to lengthen the plot and sustain interest in the characters. …in the 17 different editions they produced between 18 editorial intervention is evident and frequent emendations change the tales to reflect the social and moral values of nineteenth-century and middle-class culture. Just Imagine’s founder Nikki Gamble writes in Exploring Children’s Literature (2019) that The repertoire of stories known has narrowed over time and the Brothers Grimm have exerted a particularly strong influence on this. These ‘folk tales’ are stories ‘of the people’ passed down from generation to generation. Who hasn’t heard the line immortalised by Disney’s first feature-length cartoon, Snow White (1937)? The medium of film most likely in a small screen DVD format is how many of today’s children will first encounter folk tales and other traditional tales. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |