Unit Plan
Curated OER

Readers' Theatre with African and Chinese Folktales

For Teachers 4th
Students investigate genre of folklore, specifically African and Chinese folktales, and script and perform folktales with examples from The Magic Brocade and Fire on the Mountain. Seven lessons on one page.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folktale through African Art

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students study folktales and other stories from West Africa. By hearing and reading these stories they explore many new cultural and religious beliefs, such as spirits inhabiting nature and possessing special powers. Once the students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Talking Goat

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners read and analyze an African folktale. They read and discuss the folktale, analyze a map of Africa and Liberia, complete a worksheet, answer discussion questions, and analyze the patterns and analogies of the folktale.
Lesson Plan
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African Folktales Lesson

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners explore what a folktale consists of as it relates to oral tradition. In this folktale lesson, students are told the African folktale, Why the Sun is Lives in the Sky and make personal inferences about what the folktale is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing African, American, and European Folktales

For Teachers K - 1st
Students find compare an African, Native American, and European folktale. In this folktale lesson, students listen to three different folktales before finding the similarities and differences in them. They complete a worksheet of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Bird's Eye View of the Caribbean: Art, Folklore, and Music

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Art and Personal Adornment: African Folktales

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students write a folktale based on an African adinkra symbol. They research its meaning and relate it as the theme.
Lesson Plan
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Sun and Moon Folktale

For Teachers K - 4th
Learners become familiar with characteristics of folktales by reading or listening to African folktale that explains why sun and moon live in the sky. Students then create their own folktales about the sun and moon or another aspect of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Folk Tales

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders listen to, recite, and research African folktales. They research African artwork to add to their original folk tales which they write.
Lesson Plan
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African-American Folktales

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
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...
Worksheet
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Traditional African Literature: The Gentleman and the Jungle

For Students 6th - 9th
In this African literature worksheet, students read "The Gentleman and the Jungle," and then respond to 6 short answers questions about the African folk tale.
Lesson Plan
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Social Studies: African Folklore and Geography

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Pupils discover the connection between geography and folklore in several African nations. In groups, they record information from maps of their assigned countries. Students observe the pictures in books and match the geographic features...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Side of the Story: African Americans Share Their Experiences of Slavery

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders listen to a variety of folktales sharing experiences of slavery. As a class, they compare and contrast reading a story and telling a story. They participate in a role play activity to discover the journey of a slave and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Poetry: Family and Traditions

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas

For Teachers K - 2nd
You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider." Learners will act, write, move, count,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tradition through storytelling and music

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art Lesson: Doll Making

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students read and discuss the main characters and supporting characters in the African folktale, "Tiger and the Big Wind." They highlight the physical features of the animal that makes them unique and transfers those same qualities to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Storytelling: Using the arts to enrich the curriculum

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine storytelling in a cross curricular unit. Language arts, social studies, science and math are all incorporated in this project as well as technology through the use of Hyperstudio.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fables and Trickster Tales Around the World

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students analyze fables and trickster tales from various cultural traditions. In this fable analysis lesson, students identify the elements of fables and trickster stories. Students read Aesop's fables and Ananse spider stories....
Lesson Plan
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"Owl" A Haitian Folk Tale

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders read and discuss the Haitian folktale, "Owl." They compare it to the story, "Brer Possum's Dilemma," using a Venn diagram to show how they are different and alike. In groups, they retell the story in a skit format.
Lesson Plan
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Language Arts Lesson: Printing and Publishing

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students listen to an African folktale about an animal character that can walk and talk and retell the main events of the story in their own words. They illustrate the folktale utilizing a relief printmaking method as a replica of an...
Lesson Plan
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Transforming Anansi Folktales Into Storyboards

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to African Folklore

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students are read "Anansi the Spider" to begin their discussion on continents. Using a map, they locate the continent of Africa and the country of Ghana. They discover who the Ashanti people are and view examples of their artwork. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing African, American, and European Folktales

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students listen to John Steptoe's story, "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," and then identify similarities and differences between an African, a Native American, and a European folktale.