Children enter grade 1 at an island school in Kosrae, Micronesia with a rich oral language and very little experience with print. One of the main tasks of teachers is to help children become literate. However, the literacy and assessment practices in this early grade classroom are limited and unquestioned. In determining how best to teach early…

This book portrays San Ildefonso Pueblo on the east bank of the Rio Grande river in New Mexico through the lives of Sonja, age 10, and her sister Desiree, age 8. Growing up in San Ildefonso Pueblo, the girls enjoy the same activities as other American girls, such as basketball, cheerleading, playing video games, and sending e-mail. But they also…

Explores the relationship between writing ability, cognitive development, and orality among students of minority cultures, particularly the African American culture. Suggests that students from cultures with strong oral traditions do not lag behind other students but must nevertheless succeed in making the transition to written standard discourse.…

The Yolngu people of Australia's Northern Territory trace their lineage through places in the land and water. Movements of currents represent movements of clans over time. Patterns of sound and design are associated with particular groups and with body parts. These essences are conveyed in ritual songs that are crucial ways of knowing oneself and…

Asserts that the same positive outcomes associated with reading aloud to children also apply to oral storytelling, and encourages parents to share their culture, values, and beliefs through storytelling to their children. Presents specific ideas for storytelling, including "me" stories, story starters, nursery rhymes, books, cooking,…

Based on her belief that all of our lives are stories that are pieces to a puzzle forming the truth behind the sacredness of life, Anne Dunn--Ojibwe storyteller and author--seeks to build bridges between cultures, between generations, and between oral and written storytelling. Includes a review of her book "When Beaver Was Very Great."…

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…

The history of the Hmong people of Southeast Asia is based mainly on oral traditions, and until recent decades there was no written Hmong language. With the introduction of writing, a new view of history is beginning to emerge, as demonstrated by college student term papers. (SLD)

Analysis of three Native American Cinderella-type tales finds that although each has flaws in depicting Native American culture, overall they are culturally accurate and respectful. Such tales can be used as teaching tools to help children understand Native American cultures and beliefs while making them aware of how culture and beliefs can easily…

Native American trickster stories teach lessons about inappropriate social behavior or roles through satire. Frequent targets of such lessons are gender relations, expectations, and transgressions, most notably male licentiousness. Lessons concerning inappropriate female behavior may be conveyed through female trickster stories, found mainly in…

Presents selected suggestions and resources for beginning storytellers in the school library media center. Discusses selecting the stories to tell; tips for learning a story; and planning a storytelling program. Additional resources include books, World Wide Web sites, and commercial sources. (AEF)

Presents a biography of Ashley Bryan, an author and illustrator who is known for presenting the African experience based on oral tradition. Includes ideas for promoting his work and includes an annotated bibliography of his books and sound recordings as well as sources for bibliographical information and relevant lesson plans. (LRW)

An indigenous rights organization works to preserve and revitalize indigenous communities and their lands by recording tribal creation songs. The songs spiritually reconnect Native people with their land, establish indigenous territorial rights, and preserve endangered languages. An ethnographic audio recording training program will enable tribes…

The work of experienced and student lower primary teachers in three schools in Southern Malawi was studied, using lesson observations, interviews and pupil tests. The use teachers make of songs is given as an example of how they use oral culture. The function of songs in lessons is mainly to manage the class rather than to teach content, in…

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…