Starfall
Little Red Hen
In this language arts instructional activity, students recall the story of The Little Red Hen and write a short story about a time they did something all by themselves.
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The Little Red Hen
Students review the of "The Little Red Hen," to make sure that they comprehend that the hen's three friends were the cat, the dog, and the goose. They experiment with character vocies. Students are asked how the gossipy goose would...
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Folktales
Fourth graders read a Haitian folktale. They study main characters in Haitian folktales and explore multicultural information about Haiti. They clarify understanding by retelling a sentence (paraphrasing) and a passage in their own...
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Chicken Little
Second graders listen to the story "Chicken Little" as it is read to the whole group while recognizing similarities in the character's names. They create another character to be added to the story using the same rhyming pattern and make...
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American Folktales and Tall Tales
Students explore the elements of American folktales. They discuss how they are passed on from generation to generation, how they use exaggeration, and how they convey a message or make a point. Students identify common elements of tall...
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From Remus to Rap: A History in Theory and Practice of the African-American Storytelling Tradition
Students examine the specific form and function of tall tales and toasts.
They discover the importance of performance in the telling of a story and the importance of rhythm in the telling of toasts. They create stories of their own, in...
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African-American Folktales
Students are introduced to the characteristics of folktales and their purpose. As a class, they listen to a folktale, answer questions about the characters and share which part they enjoyed the best. In groups, they compare and...
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A Bird's Eye View of the Caribbean: Art, Folklore, and Music
Students examine the Caribbean in terms of its music, art, and folklore. As a class, they listen to a folktale and discuss the difference between telling a story and reading a story. In groups, they write their own folktale and share...
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Similarities Between African Folktales And French Folktales
Learners study the importance of the Storyteller in ancient times as well as in modern times. They realize that this is an art essential to the development and evolution of the mind and that today more than ever we need to rely on...
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Folktales: Oral Traditions as a Basis for Instruction in our Schools
Middle schoolers visit their school library to read a variety of folktales. While they read, they identify the trickster or hero in each and discuss how the character represents the chaos in the real world. In groups, they write their...
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American Folklore
Students develop a class definition of folklore. In groups, they read various folklores and discuss the loss of independence and how to survive. They answer discussion questions and compare the folklore tales to art. To end the...
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A Dash of Folk, A Pinch of Fairy Recipes for Playmaking
Young scholars examine the importance of oral traditions while reading various fairy and folk tales. Given a piece of clay, they can mold it into any shape they want and pass it to their neighbor which keeps building the object. They...
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The Magic Orange Tree
Fifth graders provide examples of folktales and their themes. They define a moral and give an example of a moral of a story. They read the story "The Magic Orange Tree" a Hatian folktale. They discuss events of the story and complete a...
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Fate vs. Mind: A Macedonian Folk Tale
Students examine the work of Carla Bachechi as a Peace Corp volunteer in Macedonia. Individually, they read various folktales from the country and break into groups to discuss how it is different than a novel. To end the lesson, they...
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Larger Than Life Figures
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes six lessons about larger than life figures from the American Literature series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response...
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Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Second graders study folktales and their characteristics. After brainstorming what they know about Africa, 2nd graders read a book about mosquitoes. In groups, students develop a graphic organizer about the characteristics of the...
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Secret Stories: Exploring the Elements of Folktales and Fables
Students are introduced to the characteristics of fables and folktales. In groups, they read and identify the various elements in the stories they read from around the world. For each story, they analyze the setting and the various...
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Outline of a Legend/Folk Tale
Students create outlines of folk tales and legends. They read a folk tale or legend in the target language. They complete an outline of the key events of the story including the main characters, plot, story elements and theme or moral.
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Southeast Asian Folktales
Fifth graders locate and identify the countries of Southeast Asia on a map. In groups, they compare and contrast photographs and artifacts from their own lives with those living in Asia. They write their own folktales based off of...
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Using Southeast Asian Folktales to Teach Reading and Writing
Students use maps to locate the countries of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. In groups, they compare and contrast the three countries in regard to their culture, morals and values. They read various examples of folktales and write their...
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Telling Stories Through Creative Drama
Students examine fairy tales. As an introductory activity, students play the statue game. In groups, they write statements that tell the plot of the story. Using props, and without voices, students retell the story by creating...
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How Does Ancestry Affect Folklore?
Young scholars break into groups of 4 or 5 and choose an option to demonstrate a different cultural perspective in a fairy tale or other folklore that they are familiar. Possible choices are: PowerPoint presentation, video, digital...
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The Yangtze River: Lifeline of China
Students locate the Yangtze river on a map, and label major cities and landmarks. Students identify and interpret the diversity of the people living along the Yangtze. Students explain the pros and cons of the
Three Gorges Dam project.
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Japanese Folktales
Students identify that Japanese folktales reveal information about Japanese history, life, and customs. Students identify and interpret the work kamishibai, paper play and explain that in Japanese folktales are told through a series of...