The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.

Middle schoolers 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...

A great way to learn to understand people and their environment is to study their folktales. Stories from China, Vietnam, India, Iran, Persia, and Palestine offer an opportunity for readers to investigate the cultures of Asia. A list of...

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...

Students work together in groups to create a collection of folklore for a newly created unusual culture. For this folklore project lesson, groups choose from six different cultures and present a description of their culture's...

Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the...

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...

Students read African folktales. In this literature lesson, students share prior knowledge about South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria. Then students work in groups to read an assigned African folktale and answer response questions about...

What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

Americans may think of Mount Everest as a region dedicated to adventurous hikers, but many cultures have flourished there! Learners read informative books, watch videos, participate in classroom discussion, analyze folk tales, and...

Student examine the basic characteristics of folklore. In this folklore lesson plan, students complete activities to identify two kinds of folk, folk groups, and folklife. Students list daily activities in their home, identify folk...

First graders explore the lifestyles of several North American tribes. They investigate about the homes, food, transportation, and daily living habits of each tribe. Pupils use a map to locate several Native American tribes in North...

Young scholars research Native American culture. In this Native Americans activity, students read the folk tale, The Strongest One and identify the natural resources in the poem. Young scholars participate in a discussion of how Native...

Students are introduced in the Humanities class, as they explore the origins of Totems in Native American folklore. In the computer lab, students read Totem stories and explore the meaning and symbolism behind the myths using various Web...

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...

Young learners discover kamishibai, a popular Japanese storytelling art, and explore how these Japanese folktales illustrate the country's cultural themes and values through discussion and storyboarding. 

Students compare and contrast the stories from different cultures by studying the folktales of Japan and their use of animals and antagonist characters. Any activity in this instructional activity can be used as a separate instructional...

What is a proverb? This is the leading question of this resource. First, explore proverbs and their meanings. Then, read aloud The Hidden Feast: A Folktale from the American South by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss and partake...

Students experience a shared reading of Steven Kellogg's, Pecos Bill, while learning the associated vocabulary. They examine similarities and differences in folktales and discuss what a hero is. Finally, journal about their favorite part...

Young scholars read Zora Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and explore her life history as well as novel analysis activities. In this novel analysis lesson, students identify elements in the novel and its overall literary impact....

Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...

Tenth graders compare three Chinese folktales for their "messages" and literary techniques to see how they reflect Chinese Confucian and Taoist values. They discuss how folktales share certain subjects, characters, plots and themes.

Use folk tales as inspiration for learning about and using personification in creative writing. Learners brainstorm together in order to practice personification before writing their own poems or paragraphs about a household object.

Accompany the African folktale, Anansi the Spider, with a collection of five lessons, each equipped with supplemental activities. Lessons offer multidisciplinary reinforcement in English language arts, social studies, science,...