Worksheet: drive, docs, pub
Slow Speed Video: HERE, Normal Speed Video: HERE Quizlet: HERE
Sidenotes:
* The information was gathered from several different websites. I probably should cite my sources, but I didn't keep track of which websites I was visiting.
* One of the interesting things I found out during my research was that there was a big difference between what the popular image of the Grimm Brothers and the reality. The popular image is that they were collecting stories directly from the real village people. The reality is that they were primarily just going to their friends--other educated middle class people. They were also shaping the stories to fit their narrative. This video here does a good job of explaining it.
...but, since the goal of ESL is to simplify everything, not complicate it, I just went with the myth.
* I actually did two recordings for this. The first time, there was an ungrammatical sentence in the transcript (something that I had missed in proofreading). "although some of the stories were told are very old". The first version is HERE.
The Brothers Grimm
Video slow speed: https://youtu.be/Izg61MezOEE
Video normal speed: https://youtu.be/qO-2D7KKnFw
Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/_51osk1
Suggested Use:
Step 1: Look at the vocabulary. Check any words that you don’t know in your dictionary.
Step 2: Listen to the video. (Listen only. Don’t look at the reading yet).
Step 3: Practice the vocabulary on Quizlet
Step 4: Watch the video again. This time look at the reading. Read and listen at the same time.
Step 5: Practice the vocabulary on Quizlet again.
Step 6: Listen one last time. The last time, don’t look at the reading.
Vocabulary
Proper names:
The Brothers Grimm
The “Grimm Brothers” or “Brothers Grimm” refers to two brothers named Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm.
Jacob Grimm, the elder brother, was born in 1785. His younger brother, Wilhelm Grimm, was born one year later in 1786. The brothers grew up and lived in the area that we now know as Germany. (Although at the time, the country of Germany did not yet exist, and the land of the German speaking people was made up of several smaller Germanic kingdoms.)
Jacob and Wilhelm came from a large family. Besides themselves, they had seven other brothers and sisters.
Unfortunately, their father got sick and died when Wilhelm and Jacob were only ten and eleven years old. This was the beginning of hard times for the Grimm family. At that time, there were no government programs to help the poor. Without their father, the boys had to find a way to get money for their family by themselves.
The two boys studied very hard, and eventually got into a very good school. The other children in the school were from rich families, and they had had a better education than the Grimm Brothers. But the Grimm Brothers worked extra hard to catch up to the other students. Their teachers began to respect their efforts.
After graduation, the boys went to university. Jacob, the older brother, went first, and Wilhelm joined him the following year. Their mother wanted them to study law so that they could get a good job. But the brothers were also interested in history, literature, and folklore. (“Folklore” means old traditional stories.)
At university, the boys had a favorite teacher--a young professor named Friedrich Karl von Savigny. He got the brothers interested in German history and culture. He also let the brothers use his library. Back in those days, there were no public libraries, and books were very expensive. So most ordinary people weren’t able to read a lot of books. Being able to use the library opened up a whole new world to the brothers.
The brothers were interested in great literature, but they also became interested in old folk stories. These were the stories that were told in the countryside and in the villages. Often, these stories were told by uneducated people who couldn’t read or write. The stories were never written down, but they were told and retold so often in the villages that they had been remembered for many generations. People learned these stories from their friends and neighbors, and children learned these stories from their parents.
Before the Grimm Brothers, very few educated people were interested in these stories. They considered these stories to be unimportant, because they weren’t great literature. But the Grimm Brothers thought that these stories were important, because they represented the culture of Germany. In some ways, they thought these stories were more important than great literature, because these were the stories that most of the people knew and enjoyed.
However, since no one was writing these stories down, the Grimm Brothers became worried that these stories might one day become forgotten. They wanted to write down these stories, so that they could save them for future generations. So they started a project to collect all the stories and folk tales that they could. They went to the libraries, they asked their friends, and they travelled around Germany and Europe. They invited famous storytellers to come to their home, and wrote down all of their stories. They even went to the prisons, and talked to the thieves and robbers in the prisons. They wanted to write down all the robbers’ stories exactly as the robbers told them.
In 1812, they published a collection of stories. In English, these stories were called: Grimms' Fairy Tales.
“Fairy Tale” is the English name for old traditional stories. No one knows exactly where the name “Fairy Tale” comes from. “Tale” is another word for “story” in English. “Fairy” is a magical creature, so maybe the name comes from a magical story. (Many, but not all, of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales have magic in the story.)
When the Grimm Brothers first published their stories in 1812, many people complained. They said that the stories were violent, and cruel, and not suitable for children. It is true that many of the stories were violent and cruel, but it is also important to remember that many of the stories were never intended for children. In the days before television, storytelling was used not only to entertain children, but also adults. Many of the stories were told by adults, for adults.
Throughout their lives, the Grimm Brothers would work on their fairy tale collection. They added new stories, and they also changed some of the old stories to make them less violent and more suitable for children. Finally, in 1857 they published the final 7th edition, with 211 stories.
The Grimms’ Fairy Tales were mostly from Germany and France, although some of the stories were very old and were popular in many European countries.
Many of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales are very famous nowadays, such as: Cinderella, Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and many more. But if the Grimm Brothers had not written these stories down, they might have been lost to history.
Today, the Grimms’ Fairy Tales is the most famous collection of folk tales and fairy tales in the Western world.
Vocabulary
able - to have the ability to do something
add - to increase an amount
adult - a person that has finished growing and is not now a child
although - despite the fact that:
She walked home by herself, although she knew it was dangerous.
area - a region of a country or city
beauty - the quality of being beautiful
besides - in addition to something:
Do you play any other sports besides football?
born - When a person is born, they come out of their mother's body and start to exist:
She was born in London in 1973.
collect - to get things from different places and bring them together
collection - a group of objects of the same type that have been collected in the same place
complain - to say that something is wrong
consider - to have a particular opinion about someone or something
I don't consider myself to be a great athlete.
country - an area of land that has its own government, army, etc
countryside - land that is not in towns or cities and has farms, fields, forests, etc
creature - anything that lives but is not a plant:
Dolphins are intelligent creatures.
cruel - extremely unkind
culture - the habits, traditions, and beliefs of a country, society, or group of people
dwarf - an imaginary creature like a little man, in children's stories
edition - a book that is one of several that are the same and were produced at the same time
educated - Someone who is educated has learned a lot at school or university and has a good level of knowledge.
education - the process of teaching and learning in a school or college, or the knowledge that you get from this
effort - an attempt to do something
elder - the older of two brothers/daughters/sisters, etc:
enjoy - If you enjoy something, it gives you pleasure
I hope you enjoy your meal.
entertain - to keep someone interested and help them to have an enjoyable time
eventually - in the end, especially after a long time
exactly - used when you are giving or asking for information that is completely correct
exist - to be real
expensive - costing a lot of money
extra - more, or more than usual
European - relating or belonging to Europe
fairy - a small, imaginary creature that looks like a person with wings, and has magic powers
final - last in a series or coming at the end of something
finally - after a long time or some difficulty
folk - people
folklore - the traditional stories and culture of a group of people
follow - to happen or come after something
generation - all the people in a society or family who are approximately the same age
German - coming from or relating to Germany
Germanic - typical of German people or things
graduation - an occasion when you receive your degree for completing your education
grow - to develop and become bigger or taller as time passes
history - the whole series of events in the past that relate to the development of a country
hood - a part of a coat that covers your head and neck
riding - the sport or activity of riding horses
however - used when you are about to say something that is surprising compared with what you have just said:
He had always been a successful businessman. Recently, however, things have not been going well for him.
intend - to want and plan to do something
invite - to officially ask someone to do something
join - to do something or go somewhere with someone
kingdom - a country with a king or queen
land - an area of ground
law - the system of official rules in a country
library - a room or building that contains a collection of books
literature - books, poems, etc that are considered to be art
lost - If something is lost, no one knows where it is
magic - special powers that can make things happen that seem impossible
magical - with special powers
mostly - mainly or most of the time:
She reads mostly romantic novels.
neighbor - someone who lives very near you, especially in the next house
nowadays - at the present time, especially when compared to the past:
Everything seems more expensive nowadays.
ordinary - not special, different, or unusual in any way
parent - your mother or father
poor - having very little money
popular - liked by many people
prison - a place where criminals are kept as a punishment
professor - a teacher in a university
program - a plan of events or activities with a particular purpose
project - a carefully planned piece of work that has a particular purpose
public - things that are for everyone to use and are not private
publish - to prepare and print a book so that people can buy it
refer - If writing or information refers to someone or something, it relates to that person or thing
represent - to be a sign or symbol of something
respect - admiration for someone because of their knowledge, skill, or achievements
retell - to tell someone about something again
robber - someone who steals--similar to a thief
save - to stop something from being destroyed
several - some, but not a lot
sick - ill
snow - soft white pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky when the weather is cold
storyteller - a person who writes, tells, or reads stories
storytelling - the art of telling stories
suitable - acceptable or right for someone or something
tale - a story, especially one that is not true or is difficult to believe
television - a piece of equipment, with a screen on the front, used for watching programmes
themselves - the reflexive form of the pronoun 'they':
They're both 16 - they're old enough to look after themselves.
thief - someone who steals things--similar to a robber
traditional - following the customs or ways of behaving that have continued in a group of people or society for a long time
uneducated - having received little or no education
unfortunately - used to say that you wish something was not true or that something had not happened:
I'd love to come, but unfortunately I have to work.
unimportant - not important
university - a place where students study at a high level to get a degree
village - a place where people live in the countryside that includes buildings such as shops and a school but which is smaller than a town
violent - involving violence
whole - complete, including every part:
She spent the whole afternoon studying.
worried - anxious because you are thinking about problems or unpleasant things that might happen
France - a country in Europe next to Germany
Germany - a country in Europe next to France
Europe - a continent that includes the country of France and Germany
fairy tale - a story told to children that involves magic, imaginary creatures, and a happy ending
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