The lesson is for 3rd and 4th grade ESL students in New York State. Thanks for taking the time to give advice to a practicum student!

I plan to activate prior knowledge by asking if anyone knows what a folk tale is (kids will answer y/n) then explaining if they need it. I will then ask who knows Cinderella and ask them to explain the story a bit. I will then explain that the story is like Cinderella, but this story is an African folk tale instead of one from Europe. I will also tell the students that they will be creating their own folk tale as a group after the story. The students will be asked key questions to clarify unfailiar words and solidify key plot elements throughout the read aloud. Students will take turns making up one or two sentences of their own folk tale that I will then write on a large piece of paper and copy for students to keep.

I know that's kind of vague, but I didn't want to write out the full plan here. Any and all suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
Cheena- thanks for the tips! My kids are all Spanish-speaking first or second generation Puerto Ricans, and I only have one hour to do the lesson because it's part of a tutoring program through one of my block courses. I might try your idea about their own folk tales by telling them to talk to their families the week before I teach my lesson, though. Thanks!

Cheena is right on for this one. You may want to have students come back with their own country's folktale a day before your lesson. I would even remind them two days before the lesson. Chances are, you are not going to get a good feedback on this one. So be sure that you have a Plan B if no students come up with stories. I might even suggest that you research some folktales from Puerto Rico yourself. Get a translation so that you can explain it to the kids. It would be great if you had an Hispanic friend who could help you with this one. Folktales are not the same in every culture.
I like your lesson idea and it looks to be a fun one. The kids will like making up their own stories at this level.
If you have access to a Whiteboard or a Smartboard, you could write these sentences on there and then print it out from the board for your students.
Just a note on your "scripting" - you may want to remember that you are dealing with 8 and 9 year olds. They will have very little knowledge about European vs. African folktales. You might want to expand on that one, even if it means a little geography lesson. Just a suggestion.
Have fun and good luck! I know you will do well!

You totally don't have to take my advice, but I had a thought for you:

How many days do you have on the lesson? Since you teach ESL, and some kids wont know who Cinderella is, have them go home the night before and ask their parents about folk tales from their respective cultures. Have the kids draw their story out or write the story down (whichever they are most comfortable with differentiating) and have them share with someone the next day. Then explain that you're reading another story from another culture.

I was born in Oakland, CA, but I'm Filipino, and I always grew up thinking that folk tales were stories passed on from generation to generation to teach a lesson about the culture. I never thought of Disney movies as folk tales. Just a thought. Good luck!