Based on cowboy poetry and songs, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Old West cowboys produced a category of literature, people still write cowboy poetry, and cowboy poetry or songs have certain characteristics. The main activity in the lesson involves students in analyzing a classic of cowboy literature…

Fables and trickster tales are short narratives that use animal characters with human features to convey folk wisdom and to help people understand human nature and human behavior. These stories were originally passed down through oral tradition and written down later. The legendary figure Aesop was reported to have orally passed on his animal…

Fables and trickster stories are short narratives that use animal characters with human features to convey folk wisdom and to help people understand human nature and human behavior. These stories were originally passed down through oral tradition and were eventually written down. These lesson plans are intended for students in grades 3-5 and…

The Bedouins of ancient Arabia and Persia made poetry a conversational art form, and several poetic forms developed from the participatory nature of tribal poetry. Today in most Arab cultures, people may still experience public storytelling and spontaneous poetry challenges in the streets. The art of turning a rhyme into sly verbal sparring is…

This curriculum unit for middle school students explores the art of folklore and story telling. In the unit, students will explore the nature of various types of stories and tales and will identify the characteristics and motifs of subgenres such as tall tales, fairy tales, and fables. The following lessons are part of the unit: Folktales: A…