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Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales
Introduce the concept of myths to your class. Using the link to "Myths Around the World," read a story aloud and have learners list characteristics of a myth. Readers then choose their own myths from the site and work in groups to answer...
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Mayan Myths/Folktales
Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or legend. They present...
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Myth, Legend and Folklore
Students examine the role of myths and folklore in the Native American culture. They listen to examples of oral history and write their own. They share their story with the class.
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Legends
Students are introduced to the topic of legends. Using the text of Irving's novels, they gather information on different cultures. They practice using new vocabulary and their listening skills. They retell the stories in chronlogical order.
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Tall Tales and Urban Legends
In this creative writing worksheet, learners sort through old pictures and discuss the characterization in each. Students create characters, a setting, and their own tall tale or urban legend based on the pictures.
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Border Legends, Myth, & Folklore
Students examine the narrative forms and tales unique to the U.S.-Mexico border. They discuss the possible sociological meanings of these stories, and then write their own versions to demonstrate that they explain the forms.
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The Use of Myths in Science
Students examine folk tales to determine the basis for scientific myths. They demonstrate through the discussion of the folk tales that the perception of the world has changed as new information is gained. They write their own folk...
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Act it Out: Dramatizing Asian American Stories
Read and act out folktales, fairy tales, or myths from various Asian American cultures with your class. Each group reads a story aloud and then works together to create a short play or skit about the story. Suggestions for stories are...
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African Folktales
High schoolers read African folktales. In this literature lesson, students share prior knowledge about South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria. Then high schoolers work in groups to read an assigned African folktale and answer response...
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Dramatizing Folktales, Legends and Myths
Learners read different folktales from Native American cultures. They work together to act out different scenes. They discover the difference between folktales, legends and myths.
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Universal Myths and Symbols: Animal Creatures and Creation
Young scholars examine the role of mythology in their own lives. After reading stories, they discover the various theories on the origins of the universe and compare the symbols used by different cultures. To end the lesson, they...
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Greek Mythology -- Part II
Students use the internet to gather information about Greek Mythology. They discover the role of the snake and shamrock and the history of St. Patrick's Day. They compare and contrast their culture to another.
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Folklore and Culture
Sixth graders explore the four kinds of folklore in this seven lesson unit. Through reading a variety of legends, muths, fables, and folklores the concepts pf the lessons are synthesized byStudents.
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Moccasins Are Made for Dancing
Students explore two Native American legends. In this cultural traditions lesson, students read "The Legend of Blue Bonnet," and "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush." Students then study basic Native American dance movements prior to...
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Transforming Anansi Folktales Into Storyboards
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...
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Legends and Myths: Trickster Tales
Students work in groups to research the characteristics of various myths and legends. They read tales, illustrate them, record oral storytelling efforts and write an original folktale. Students then invite parents to a dramatic...
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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...
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Characteristics of Imaginative Stories
Third graders explore genre characteristics. In this genre literacy lesson, 3rd graders listen to a variety of fiction stories and classify them according to genre. Students identify common features in each genre and complete a chart by...
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Introduction to African Folklore
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...
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Archaeology and Storytelling
Students identify and interpret both individual families and whole cultures learn about their pasts by collecting and analyzing stories and artifacts. Then they identify that not all archaeological finds readily reveal their history to...
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Storytelling In America
Students discuss how Washington Irving is considered an important 19th century-American storyteller. They create their own version of a passage from 'The Legend' after listening to the story.
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Personal Experience Narratives
Help your middle schoolers identify personal experience narratives in their own lives through telling stories themselves and from family members or other adults. They study personal experience narratives in Swapping Stories and compare...
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History or Mis-story?
Learners explore some of our country's founding myths and legends by participating in an online poll. For example, did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree, then confess to his father about the deed, saying, I cannot tell a lie?
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What is a Folktale?
Learners are read an apache folktale and discuss the characters in the story. Using the text, they identify the factors that make it a folktale and not a fairy tale. On a map, they locate where the Apache people live. As a class, they...