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Shelf
Guide for
African Folk Tales in the Classroom |
Aim/Objectives:
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Aim:
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To increase students' exposure to African folk tales
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Rationale:
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In order to increase reading comprehension, students need:
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exposure to a variety of literary genres, including content
that is culturally relevant
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to learn how to recognize common themes
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to learn how to make connections across several stories
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Goals/Objectives:
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Students will read a variety of folk tales from different
countries in Africa for their enjoyment.
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Students will identify common elements in folk tales.
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Students will make comparisons and contrasts in folk tales
with common themes.
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Subject Matter:
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Students will use a variety of web resources that contain
folk tales from Africa.
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Pre-requisite experiences:
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Students should have at least a third-grade reading level
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Students should be able to participate in discussions about
literature
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Students should have some ability to navigate among web pages
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Materials:
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Digital library shelf consisting of links to African folk
tales
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Learning Activities:
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See sample activity below
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Evaluation:
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Students will be able to identify, either orally or in writing,
common elements in folk tales.
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Students will be able to identity, either orally or in writing,
common themes in two or more folk tales.
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Students will be able to identify, either orally or in writing,
contrasts in two or more folk tales.
Introduction
for teachers:
While
most students may be familiar with traditional European fairy tales, many
have received only limited exposure to the genre of folk tale. Usually
these are traditional American tales that have reproduced often in
basal readers and other collections, and are easily accessible. While
the last few years has seen a rise in the awareness of the arts and literature
of other cultures, some teachers and students may still have limited access
to a variety of folk tales.
Our page contains
links to a variety of folk tales from countries in Africa. The stories
in the Younger
Kids section would be suitable for students in grades 3-4 to read on
their own. Stories in the Older
Kids section would be suitable for students in grades 5-8, as well
as for teachers to use as resources for students of all ages (as read alouds,
for example).
Sample
activity:
Compare two versions of a tale from Ethiopia, using
The Marriage
of Mouse (in Younger Kids section) and The
Marriage of the Mouse (in Older Kids section).
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Goal/Objective: Students will compare and identify--orally
and through writing-- similarities and differences in two tales with common
themes.
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Procedure: Have students read (or listen to) first
The Marriage of Mouse, and then The Marriage of the Mouse.
Have students respond, either orally or in writing, to the following questions:
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What did you notice that was similar in both stories?
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What did you notice that was different?
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Which version did you like better?
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How did the differences in one story make it better than
the other?
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Required materials: On-line versions of both tales
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Pre-requisite skills: 4th grade reading level, or ability
to listen to stories being read aloud.
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Audience: Students in grades 3-6.
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Extension Activities:
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Find additional print versions of the tale, and compare to
the on-line versions.
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Choose one version to dramatize in class, and list reasons
why this choice was made.
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Evaluation: Students are able to respond, either orally
or in writing, with at least two similaraties and two differences between
the two on-line stories.
Additional
resources for teachers:
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All
About Folk Tales
This site contains a brief history
of folk tales, an activity for kids to write their own folk tale, and a
link to a site where kids can write an interactive folk tale.
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Africa
Resources
This site has a bibliography of
additional resources on Africa, including additional folk tales, fiction,
poetry, and non-fiction.
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The
Living Africa
This student-created site contains
lots of photograph and facts about Africa. Please note: we have also
included a link to this site on the page for older kids.
Return to kids page:
Younger
kids start here
Older
kids start here
Return
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