Ella Enchanted is a Cinderella story with a twist. When Ella is born, a fairy named Lucinda gives her the gift of obedience. Now whenever anyone gives Ella an order, she must follow it. At first, Ella’s mother and their cook protect Ella. When Lady Eleanor dies, Ella’s father remarries.
As you can imagine, this causes Ella all kinds of trouble. Her mean stepsisters, Hattie and Olive, pull simple pranks. For example, Hattie tells Ella not to eat. Hattie even orders Ella to stop being friends with Areida.
Ella meets Prince Char. Even though she cares for him, Ella fears that she will cause someone in his kingdom real danger.
Ella decides to go on a quest to find Lucinda. She wants her to remove the “curse.” Read Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine to see if Ella is successful.
Comparison Activity
Literally thousands of Cinderella stories have been told. Some popular versions include:
- The Rough Face Girl
- Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China
- Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters
- Cinder
In these books, Cinderella is a Native American, from China, from Africa, and even a cyborg.
This free printable may be used to compare Ella Enchanted to any Cinderella story. The three mini-books include guiding questions such as:
- first-line – last line
- royalty
- good vs. evil characters
- magic
- problems and solutions
- events in groups of three or seven
If you wish to go with the traditional version, you may download my free unit. This unit includes the story in an illustrated book form. It also contains a paper-friendly version. The reading level is G.E. 5.1. This makes it the appropriate level for students reading Ella Enchanted.
Download the free mini-books printable here.
Student Projects
These links show some student-created projects completed during our novel study.
Ella Enchanted Projects & Book Marks
Samples from Ella Enchanted Book Unit
This free sample contains the following:
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Comprehension for Chapters 1-3
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Constructed Response Question
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Skill Lesson – Citations (Creating a Bibliography)
Book Unit
Ella Enchanted Book Unit contains graphic organizers for an interactive notebook and game activities covering vocabulary, comprehension questions, constructed response writing, and skill practice.
