The study of mythology that passes on stories is cultural reproduction. By focusing primarily on classical Greek and Roman mythology, teachers handicap students' ability to enter into dialogue about more diverse literature, thus limiting their ability to live more fully in today's diverse, multicultural world. A bibliographic case study of the…

Presents and briefly explains 31 African proverbs which are used to guide the behavior of growing childern and to help them to mold their characters. The proverbs deal with knowledge, experience, hard work, and human relations. The author believes that a study of language and literature, including proverbs, can help students understand other…

This guide presents a three-week unit on the literature of Ghana. It is designed as part of an eleventh grade world literature course. General objectives include having students identify the literature of Africa with the outstanding literature of the world, change negative attitudes about Africa, and provide a broad view of the lifestyles of…

This joint project of the American Library Association, Children's Services Division, and the African American Institute is intended to provide kindergarten through ninth grade children with an annotated listing of appropriate works concerning the land and peoples of the African continent. The listings are presented by country and include…

The document presents a 3-week seventh grade English unit on the African folktale. The guide is one of a number of products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The objectives are to help students develop respect for African cultures and lifestyles, compare values of African and American ethnic…

This module contains two African folk tales about death, two descriptions of African funerals, a lesson plan with 11 questions exploring the finality of and customs surrounding death, and a bibliography of five books which deal with African religious beliefs. The folk tales present concepts of death and immortality of the soul. The descriptions of…

Traditionally, an important function of folktales in West Africa has been to educate, as the older generation imparts knowledge to younger members of the family, tribe, societal unit, or ethnic group both informally in everyday life and more formally within the context of the bush schools. This anthology of West African folk literature offers more…

This teaching guide is intended to aid tenth grade English classroom teachers as they develop and implement educational programs on the Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria. The source material for this unit is "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe. The guide is a product of an interdisciplinary summer workshop for teachers on development of…

This three to four-week high school anthropology unit examines the African heritage of black Americans. The unit was written for students in an inner city all black public high school. Objectives are to foster a sense of pride in black Americans' heritage, learn how black Americans can discover their roots, examine causes and consequences of the…

Explains and characterizes some of the basic concepts of East African music. Fundamentally an enhanced way of storytelling, East African music techniques are rooted in the play and rhythm of spoken language. Compares and contrasts East African and Western musical conventions. Includes a list of East African music resources. (MJP)

The document presents a seventh grade social studies unit on Africa. The unit is one of a number of products developed by a summer workshop for teachers on African curriculum development. The objective is to help students understand the concept of culture, how cultures develop, and how and why cultures change. The document is divided into two…

A semester-long unit on African art and culture for high school art students is presented. The unit is comprised of 12 lessons. Lessons one, two, and three examine the concept of the artist as a close observer. Students examine their attitudes about Africa, view filmstrips which depict early African art and sculpture, recreate an African sculpture…

Insights are offered into how speech, melody, and rhythm dramatize the differences in the construction and interpretation of music for Africa and America. Intended for use in instructing American students about African music, the learning module relates music to traditional African culture and maintains that the music is at the same time…

Four modules dealing with African culture are combined in this document. The first module discusses various life-styles of African women, including warrior, queen, ruler, and matriarch. A lesson plan uses a question-and-answer format to encourage discussion of the effects of tradition, society, and nation upon African women. Questions asked…

Based on the premise that familiarity with art forms of other cultures can broaden students' cultural understandings, the teaching guide presents instructions for creating two West African art forms--batik and tie-dye. The unit is intended as the basis of a three and one-half week minicourse for students in art courses in grades eight and nine.…