Web of Respect

Contents
Lesson Plans
Anti-Bias Books
Resources
Weblinks
Evaluation
Student Work

Bringing People Together

Stories Enlighten Us

 

Grade Level : 1

Objectives

  • To appreciate the universal appeal of stories.
  • To provide a positive environment for young storytellers.
  • To create an opportunity to write and share individual stories.

Vocabulary

 oral tradition --handing down stories from one generation to another by word of mouth.

storyteller--one who tells stories.

painted words--using pictures to tell a story.

griot--story teller in some parts of Africa.

Pre-assessment

 

Have a brainstorming session to discuss the following questions. What are stories? Where do stories come from? What do stories tell us? Who tells stories? What makes a story interesting and exciting? This should be a time to freely exchange ideas about stories. Avoid having the children tell stories at this time.

Stories are for everyone and everyone has a story to tell.
Stories can connect us with the past, teach values, tell of everyday life.

Reading

 

Children of Long Ago by Lessie Jones Little.

A collection of seventeen poems that detail the daily pleasures of the African American childhood during the early l900s. Lee and Low, l988 

 Activities

#1 Stories are told to keep the past alive.

Materials:

  • Markers, pencils
  • Activity sheet 

 Procedure:

  1. Encourage children to tell a short story about their past. Examples: a trip taken last year, a celebration, their first day in school.
  2. Share a few poems from Children of Long Ago to provide ideas. Remind the children that these poems were written by a woman who remembered some of the good times of her childhood. Especially share the last poem in the book to help children understand that children of long ago experienced the same emotions they have.
  3. Use activity sheet to draw a picture of the shared event.
  4. Create a bulletin board with completed pictures . The caption may read, "Keeping The Past Alive."
  5. Home link: parents work with their child to create a book of memories.This book may include photographs, drawings, and stories.
  6. Provide a reasonable time frame to complete the book and have children bring books to school to share.

There are many wonderful stories that connect to the past. When Clay Sings by Baylor and Tell Me A Story, Mama by Angela Johnson are two.

 

Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree by William Miller.

Young Zora's mother teaches her to dream big and never give up. She also teaches Zora about traditional stories that kept her people alive .

 

#2 Stories are told to teach about one's heritage, and about values.

Procedure:

  1. Read and discuss these books to help children understand the meaning of the terms heritage and values.
  2. Encouraged children to give examples of values that are stressed in their family. These ideas may be listed on a chart so the children will be able to see the number of times certain universal values are mentioned.
  3. Have available art supplies for anyone who may wish to make their own dragonfly.

In The Dragonfly's Tale by Kristina Rodanas, two universal values are beautifully explained.

#3 Stories are told to tell HOW things came to be and WHY things are the way they are.
Several short stories should be told or read before having the children attempt to create their story.

Materials:

  • Choose several How and Why stories.A suggested listing has been provided.
  • Writing paper and pencils 

 Procedure:

  1. Read Anansi does the Impossible ! retold by Verna Aardema
  2. Read and tell several short stories.
  3. Children retell their favorite story.
  4. Children create their own How and Why story.
  5. Children share their story orally in small groups.
  6. Stories can be written. Completed stories can be bound into a class book.

Other beautiful picture books in this area are How Music Came to the World, an Ancient Mexican Myth by Hal Ober and The Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale by Joseph Bruchac

#4 Stories are told to entertain.
Enjoy listening to a professional storyteller.

Materials:

  • Cassette tapes
    • Ashley Bryan, Poems and Folktales
    • Joseph Bruchac, The Boy Who Lived with Bears
  • Cassette player

Procedure: Close your eyes and listen . ENJOY!!

#5 Stories can be told in different ways.
Although we have mainly concentrated on stories from the oral tradition, children need to be aware that stories can be told in many different forms. Stories can be told through dance, through music, through art, through needlework.  

Procedure:

  1. Read Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki
  2. The titles of several books have been given to share with the children. Enjoy the pictures and the story behind the creation of each. 
Websites

Storytelling Activities [ProTeacher.com]

Storytelling in the Elementary Classroom Excellent weblinks. [Indiana University]

 

Books

All of You Was Singing by Richard Lewis. A lyrical Aztex myth about the earth's creation and the advent of music. Aladdin Books, l991. 

Anansi Does The Impossible retold by Verna Aardema. An Ashanti tale of how stories came to the earth. Atheneum, l997.

The Boy Who Lived with Bears and Other Iroquois Stories [sound recording] told by Joe Bruchac. Harper Audio, 1990.

Children of Long Ago by Lessie Jones Little. A collection of seventeen poems that detail the daily pleasures of the African American childhood during the early l900s. Lee and Low, l988. 

Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey of Freedom by Dia Cha. The story cloth made for the author by her aunt and uncle chronicles the life of the Hmong people in their native Laos and their eventual emigration to the United States. Lee and Low, l996. 

Dragonfly's Tale by Kristina Rodanas. A Native American tale that reflects the Zuni's concern with kindness to others and respect for nature's gifts. Clarion Books, l992. 

How Music Came to the World : an Ancient Mexican Myth retold by Hal Ober. Retells a Mexican legend in which the sky god and the wind god bring music from Sun's house to the Earth. Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Legend of the Milky Way retold by Jeanne M. Lee. A Chinese legend about the milky way. Henry Holt, l987. 

Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki. This is two separate stories in one book. The first tells in painted words the story of Mari's starting school in a new land. The second, describes village life in her native country before she and her family left in search of a better life. Greenwillow Books, l998. [Teacher's Guide]

Poems & Folktales [sound recording] by Ashley Bryan. Audio Bookshelf, 1994.

The Gold Coin by Alma Flor Ada. With a Central American background, this is a story of love and faith in the human spirit. Atheneum, l991. 

The Story of Lightning and Thunder by Ashley Bryan. In this retelling of a West African tale, Ma Sheep Thunder and her impetuous son, Ram Lightning, are forced to leave their home on Earth because of the trouble Ram causes. Aladdin, l999.

The Story of the Milky Way : a Cherokee Tale by Joseph Bruchac. When cornmeal is stolen from an elderly couple, the others in a Cherokee village find a way to drive off the thief, creating the Milky Way in the process. Dial, 1995.

Tell Me a Story, Mama by Angela Johnson. A young girl and her mother remember together all the girl's favorite stories about her mother's childhood. Bantam, Doubleday, Dell, 1989.

Zora Hurston and The Chinaberry Tree by Richard Miller. Young Zora's mother teaches her to dream big and never give up. She also teaches Zora about traditional stories that kept her people alive. Lee and Low, l994. [Teachers Guide]