Teacher
Notes - African Folktales
I have developed African
Folktales - Stories from the Heart and Land as a collaborative project
for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. This unit is the introductory activity
for a yearlong theme entitled Passages - An African-American Odyssey.
Thanks to the support and input from my colleagues, local community
members, and several national organizations, the unit is beginning
to take on a life of its own.
As a starting point for
a storytelling unit, I recommend checking with your local bookstores
for storytellers. I was fortunate to locate William Smith through
Carol's African- American Bookstore. William Smith is an extraordinary
storyteller with a gift for captivating a diverse audience. He has
agreed to be an artist in residence and to mentor our students in
the craft of storytelling.
All three grade-level
tasks can be done as group projects or as individual assessments.
For background and tips
on storytelling, I would recommend reading the following online sources:
This unit meets many of
the standards for language arts, but it also has a strong social studies
theme. While exploring African folktales, our 4th, 5th, and 6th graders
will be investigating the African legacy in California history, early
United States history, and ancient world history. If you read through
the Social Studies Connections for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, you will
see the potential for students to exceed grade-level standards as
they compare the present with the past and question what has changed
and what has remained the same.
