Compares the ancient oral tradition of storytelling with modern interpretations where storytelling is blended with acting. Provides guidelines for an exercise in which the students interview members of their family and bring the results to life on stage. (PA)

Stories have always been the means of making a message, of exploring the relationship between past and present, and of giving significance to events. A noted native artist and writer described the "talking stick" of his tribe as a talisman which gives the person who possesses it the right to speak and hold the attention of the tribe. A…

Students are challenged to explore stories told through pictures, objects, and music throughout the units included in this guide. Students learn to identify and analyze a variety of recurring narratives, and in describing their own experiences, create their own stories and find meaning within these stories. Storytelling develops speaking and…

Noting that people enjoy listening to and telling stories, this guide shows bilingual teachers how to use storytelling to stimulate learning, to promote understanding among each other, and to enhance self-esteem. Sections of the guide are: Why Tell Stories?; Reflections Concerning Stories in the Classroom; Suggested Activities for Teachers; and…

This collection of eighteen traditional stories are told in Koyukon Athabaskan, an American Indian language variety spoken in Alaska, on the left page and in English translation on the right page. Introductory sections provide background information on the oral tradition from which the stories come, the translations, the storyteller and her…

Examines seven Hopi narratives that focus on the first death that occurred after the Hopis' emergence into this world. Provides questions to use in teaching this myth and other cultural texts, including questions concerned with use of sacred texts, parallels with Anglo stories, translation issues, audience, storytellers, quality, art of the…

This Amana (Iowa) Folklife Curriculum has been planned as an easily-implemented sequence of activities comparing community and family folklife traditions with current practices. The K-5 activities are planned to coincide with holidays in the regular school calendar whenever possible. All activities compare and contrast present-day practices with…

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…

The lessons in the teacher's guide about the Bible's Old Testament are based on historic and scientific scholarship and, to avoid a sectarian point of view, focus on the factual data generated by academic research. The lessons are based on what is known about the nature of oral tradition, recent archaeological findings, and the academic biblical…

This manual provides a general introduction to folklore and folklife. Certain articles herein may be used in a basic activity-oriented approach to the study of folklore, beginning at the fourth grade level. Other articles proved a more in-depth study of folklife and of the means by which folk culture is preserved and shared. The teacher must…

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…

Developed as part of an educational kit that includes a four-part videotape, maps, photographs, and audio tapes, this guide gives teacher preparation information, objectives, teaching strategies, and student activities for each of 3 lessons in 4 units: Unit 1, "Introduction to Folklife," presents a definition in lesson 1, "What is…

This textbook contains five units of literature by the Plains Native Americans. The first unit presents examples of oral tradition, in which mythology, legends, stories, songs, and personal accounts pass on values, beliefs, and experiences. The second unit contains nonfiction: an account of a young girl's first days at an Indian boarding school,…

This booklet of study plans was compiled to address racial issues in literature. The booklet contains study plans designed to elicit both the dialogue and the silence that racial understanding requires. Included in the booklet are the following: multi-cultural study for fifth-grade reading; literary study for general, remedial, and honors…

This book provides the basic knowledge to be able to tell stories. The stories presented target children in preschool through sixth grade. Following an introduction which considers the value of storytelling in culture and in education, the first chapter explains how to use the book and introduces the "telling guide," which appears…