Tell the class that Hans Christian Andersen was a wonderful Danish author who loved children and wrote many beautiful stories for children. (Since most of the students have seen Disney's The Little Mermaid, point out that Andersen also wrote that story.)

Give the students time to explore the materials at the learning center.

If possible, show a few excerpts (the storytelling and a few songs) from the Danny Kaye movie, Hans Christian Andersen.