Curated OER
Cinderella in Africa
Explore African folk tales! After reading the African folk tale "Mufaro's Beautiful daughters" and the American version of "Cinderella," youngsters list differences and similarities between the two. Draw a T-chart on the board, and hold...
Curated OER
Our Side of the Story: African Americans Share Their Experiences of Slavery
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God
Learners define folklore, folk groups, tradition, and oral narrative. They identify traditional elements in Their Eyes Were Watching God Analyze and understand the role of traditional folkways and folk speech in the overall literary...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A “New English” in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”: A Common Core Exemplar
To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
African American Traditions: Cameroonian and African-American Folktales
Students compare Cameroonian and African-American folktales. In this folktales lesson, students participate in a jigsaw activity that requires them to read "The Owl Never Sleeps as Night," "Why the Lizard Often Nods," "Tappin, the Land...
Curated OER
Folktales (African American, Chinese, Japanese and Korean)
Students participate in a variety of activities that are concerned with comparing different cultures through the literary genre of folktales. The stories are used to stimulate student interest and provide a context for how a society...
Curated OER
African Savannah
Students are read two African fairy tales. Using the text, they create a map and key for each region mentioned. They compare and contrast the various communities and discover how geographic features affect how people live.
Curated OER
Choose Your Path
Middle schoolers identify the plot and theme of cartoons. In groups, they discuss and compare the written and movie versions of popular fairy tales. Individually, they write their own fairy tale and share them with the class. They...
Curated OER
A Moroccan Fairy Tale vs. European Folk/Fairy Tale
Second graders explore world geography by reading two different fairy tales. In this cultural storytelling lesson, 2nd graders read Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and the Moroccan story The Girl Who Lived with the Gazelles. Students...
Curated OER
Africa's Climatic Regions
Students are introduced to the different climates and vegetation of Africa, and compare them to similar climatic regions found in the United States.
Curated OER
Exploring Folk Traditions and Folk Beliefs
Ninth graders work together to brainstorm an idea to focus on the similiarties and differences between various cultures. Individually, they interview family members using questions they created based on their topic. They use their...