Little Red Discussion Guide Little Red is a safety education program of The KinderVision Foundation 2005

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Phillip Atkins
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1 Little Red Discussion Guide Little Red is a safety education program of The KinderVision Foundation 2005 Objective: To teach personal safety using the Red Riding Hood story Skills developed: Communication, Critical Thinking, Group Processing, Community Service Opening Discussion: (5 minutes) Read excerpt from the Grimm s Fairy Tale: Snow White. See if students can guess the title. What is this type of story called? How are most fairy tales alike? (Write on board: innocent/damsel in distress versus antagonist/villain, hero, deception, challenge, rescue, happy ending good triumphs over evil, etc.) Read excerpt from Aesop s Fable, The Hare and the Tortoise. See if students can guess the title. This type of story is called a fable. Can you guess how fables are different from fairy tales? (Fables also often have good triumph over evil but are different in that they make animals appear human and they teach a lesson.) Which type of story is Little Red Riding Hood? How does the story of Little Red Riding Hood fit the elements of a fairy tale a fable? (It appears to be a combination of both: damsel in distress, deception, hero, etc. but the villain is an animal with human qualities and the story teaches a lesson.) RRH is unique in other ways. This story started as an oral tale and has a version in almost every culture. People throughout time have obviously been concerned about protecting their children from people who would harm them and the lessons in this story still apply today. Let s take a closer look at the main characters. How would you describe RRH at the beginning of the story? At the end? What

2 changed Little Red Riding Hood? (experience) How would you describe the wolf when he first meets RRH? At the end? What changed the wolf s behavior? (opportunity got her alone) What lesson do you think this story was trying to teach? Don t be deceived by what appears to be; don t trust your life with those you barely know; don t talk to strangers; don t give out personal information; don t go anywhere alone; don t take shortcuts, etc. (Write all on the board.) Read the moral included in an early version of RRH: Children, especially attractive well-bred young ladies, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf. I say wolf, but there are various kinds of wolves. There are also those who are charming quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all. Charles Perrault, Paris, 1697!!! Is that still a good lesson for today? Why? Safety Tips Discussion: (15 minutes) A lesson learned from RRH is that you can t always recognize someone dangerous by how they look only by what they do. And what they do may change with opportunity. One way to keep yourself safe is to be aware of choices you make that put you in a situation that enables a wolf to trap you. Explain the Risk Meter. RRH was at level one at home Level three in the woods Level five when she met the wolf Level seven when she gave out personal information Level nine when she found herself alone with the wolf What choices could RRH have made that would have protected her?

3 We all need at every age to be aware of choices we make that increase our risk and our chances of being caught in a dangerous situation. Beware, and be aware. Stay alert so you don t get hurt. Knowing what to do can keep you safe and protected. With that in mind, let s see how many modern safety tips we can create and match to the age old story of RRH. Small Group Activity: (10 minutes) Divide class into 7 groups one for each story board. (If you have more time, give the class 5 minutes to brainstorm in small groups and write down as many safety tips as possible from the Red Riding Hood story. You might put on the board Inside the home and Outside the home. Call time and have the group with the most tips list them on the board under the correct heading. Add tips from other groups that are not on the list.) Assign each group one of the pictures from the Red Riding Hood story and ask them to pick the safety tip (or tips) from the list provided (and from the board if that activity was done) that goes with that part of the story. Attach the pictures to the blackboard and under the picture list the tips that apply to that part of the story. Go over the safety tips and discuss them as a class. Be sure to touch on internet safety that s like being alone in the woods AND blindfolded. Obviously this story is not really about a wolf. Why do you think a wolf was used in the story instead of a man? (To make a more lasting impression and to emphasize the danger..) How could we tell the Red Riding Hood story in a way that would make a lasting impression on young people today? Group Activity (20 minutes) Divide class into two or three groups depending upon class size each group has several large sheets of newsprint and markers or crayons. Give each group ten minutes to come up with a modern version of the scene in the RRH story where RRH meets the wolf told in a way

4 that will capture the attention of young people today like the wolf did in olden times. Keep in mind the following questions: a. Who is the innocent target? What s he or she like? b. Who is the villain? What s he like? c. Where do they meet? What is the trap? d. What is the lesson you want to teach? Draw a picture of the updated version of that scene no skill required. Attach pictures to the wall and have someone from each group share their version of the story with the rest of the class. Discuss as a class which story would be most effective or combine elements to create a new version. (An optional activity that would involve creative writing, communication, and community service is to have the story written by the class and then acted or told to younger classes or parents.) Closing Class Activity: (5 minutes) Watch Little Red Said online as a class then do the song as a class clapping the rhythm. One person says one verse and points to the person who will say the next verse; entire class says the chorus each time. Explore different rhythms and activities to do along with the rhyming so that it is said at least three times. Make new Little Red Said verses with additional safety tips. Hang the Red Said posters where students will be reminded of the safety tips included in the lesson and the song. Post-test: Students take the quiz at Helpful Websites:

5 RESOURCES Excerpt from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Grimm s Fairy Tales):..The King took another wife, a beautiful woman but proud and overbearing and she could not bear to be surpassed n beauty by anyone. She had a magic looking-glass, and she used to stand before it, and look in it, and say: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who s the fairest of us all? Excerpt from The Hare and the Tortoise (Aesop s Fables): The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. I have never yet been beaten, said he, when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with me. The Tortoise said quietly, I accept your challenge. (Moral: Then said the Tortoise: Plodding wins the race. ) Lyrics to Little Red Said : Little Red Said Song Wolves still prowl today looking for their prey But knowing how to see a wolf can keep a wolf away. Little Red was cool; she did good in school, And on the street tho she was sweet she was nobody s fool. Whether walking in the wood or playing in the hood She stayed alert for anyone or anything not good. When she was outside her eyes were open wide She kept a space around her and let no one get inside. When visiting the mall she knew not to fall For one who said, Please come with me to do a modeling call. She never took a ride from anyone outside Cause once she left a public place her danger magnified. If her parents didn t know, she refused to go

6 No matter what the reason was, her answer still was no. Little Red had always known to go nowhere alone But always take a friend with you and not just on the phone. Little Red already knew that friends weren t always true And sometimes someone dangerous was someone close to you. She d babysit at home for people on the go But would not go in any car with dads she did not know. While surfing on the net she would not forget To stay away from chat rooms and the folks she hadn t met. She knew that while on line the wolves would try to find Any info they could use to get inside her mind. When in bed at night doors and windows were locked tight So she could sleep quite peacefully knowing all was right. Wolves still prowl today looking for their prey But knowing how to see a wolf can keep a wolf away. Be like Little Red!

ETHICAL VALUES AND OTHER K INDS OF VALUES

3. Defining Ethical V a l u e s ETHICAL VALUES AND OTHER K INDS OF VALUES PURPOSE To help students begin to understand what ethics means To distinguish ethical values from other kinds of values PREPARATION