This week I would like you to provide a reading response to the readings that we read for last week (Ch 6 ("Traditional . . ." pp. 122-145); Ch 10 ("Reading Aloud" pp. 256-273) and/or the reading for this week (portions of Ch 8 ["The Fiction Family"] -- focus on: pp176 through first half of 178 [through "What is Fiction?"] and section on Elements of Fiction up to "Categorizing Fiction" [pp.180-191]). Very simply, your reading response is much like a diary. You will explore your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the readings (choose one or both from above). Use this an an opportunity to express your own opinions about theories, research, and content in your readings. Use the blog comment section below to share your thoughts, feelings, and your opinions. My hope is that this will create an interactive environment that will provide opportunities for you to receive and give feedback that nudges us all to think in new ways.
Sharing traditional literature (Ch. 6)
ReplyDeleteOther than when I taught music, I worked with ELL students almost exclusively in small group or in individual pull-out situations. So, when I imagine having a classroom of 30 students I’m not sure how you “do” a whole reading course. Can you help me out here? So, you get these folk stories and if you’re the reading teacher for a class of 30 7th graders what do you do with them? I’m not talking about the activities from the book. It’s the part where the kids actually READ! You’re probably not going to get 30 copies of the same story and have all the 7th graders read it together, right? From what I can see, most published folk stories are written for the elementary level and any that would be written at a higher level would usually be in an anthology. You’re not going to have 30 copies of an anthology. So, for older kids, I can only picture using these as a read aloud to introduce a larger reading project.
Traditional literature has a lot to offer, especially exposure to literary devices. The stories are often short, condensed and easily unwrapped, so metaphor, personification and other literary devices are easily accessible through them. They also offer exposure to culture in an experiential way. Thinking about the traditional literature that was part of my cultural experience made me realize how much folk tales reflect a culture. They are a great way to reach ELLs and expand all children’s knowledge of the different people and cultures of the world.
Read aloud (ch. 10)
Many ELL students "check out" during chapter book read alouds. Their limited vocabulary prevents them from understanding key elements of the plot. A great way to help them would be to read a section and then recap with the children by drawing a stick figure picture and captioning it. I do this with books I read with my students. I divide the text into sections (sometimes beginning, middle, end of a chapter). After reading each section we discuss, sketch and caption it. After completing three sections we reread our captions the three pictures a title. This allows ELLs to visually clarify what they did not understand. For more advanced students I’ve noticed it helps them read deeper into the text.
Fiction (ch. 8)
Have you heard this joke: “How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? One - but the light bulb has to want to change!” Well, throughout this course I’ve been thinking, “How many reading teachers does it take to teach a child to read?” And just as our text indicates the answer is “One - but the child has to want to read!” As I go through this course, I am really trying to analyze within myself what makes me want to read, in hopes that I will have a clearer understanding of how to work that magic in the lives of children.
Elements of Fiction (ch. 8)
Wow, am I glad I wrote my children’s story before I read the section on the elements of fiction! I was feeling pretty good about what I had done until I read about characterization and plot. Had I read that before I wouldn’t even have attempted my story! But again, it calls attention to the close connection between reading and writing. Just as we are doing in this class, kids can be writing their own texts while learning about the elements that make for great texts in the various genres by exploring great literature. (And of course it would be spoon-fed to them little by little, not by reading an analytical text as we are doing here). Nevertheless, my first reaction is “Dang! I gotta flesh out better characterization and plot? When is recess?”
You might be surprised how well older students can react to traditional literature. Think about what is usually given to them to read... novels and sometimes not even novels they would prefer to read and feel made to read. These students thrive on these different attempts at reading. You could really use these books to incorporate reading and writing with something like them developing their own family folktale or stories. Most often a student can come up with a story they heard about a past relative, even if they have to use a story they heard from a friends parents of something. It could be really fun for them to create something of their very own. You could use this with the young author event or something like what we are doing with the student treasures book.
DeleteHmmm, thank you for this food for thought!
DeleteRe: What to do with folk tales. I had the biggest blast tonight creating a stage adaptation of "The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind", one of Aesop's Fables. We (6 middle school students and a few parents) whipped together a great little play with music, movement and some narrated lines for the 4-H Talent Explosion this weekend. Our play is simple and cute but packs a profound message.
ReplyDeleteI see folk tales as skeletons of stories. The plots and characters are universal and basic. They serve as a foundation to be build upon in any number of ways for any age of student. A wonderful resource that I have relied on when working in the theater is www.storyarts.com. An expansive of list of folk tale "nuggets" are available for storytellers to flesh out in writing, drama, oral retelling or visual art. Good stuff!
Thanks for the website!! I am going to check that out. I can see transforming some traditional literature to plays can be a great time and exciting for students. I know that our fourth graders use Earth Day information to create a play about the history of our town and the founder of Earth Day. This is a very exciting thing for students and they really learn a lot and share a lot of excitement with the rest of the school and their parents that come to watch.
DeleteWell, for me, this is all second nature in my classroom. We are constantly talking about elements of literature and trying to apply them in our writing in various forms. Some students are quite good at the applying part. I do notice a lot however, that students are able to give me a definition of most of the lit terms, but then to identify gets a little trickier and then to take it to the next level and APPLY it becomes the trick.
ReplyDeleteI was reading a blog the other day by a college composition professor. She was waxing nostalgic about the days when kids came to college knowing how to write. They apparently don't any more. At least not on the East Coast where she's teaching. She spoke of students not having a subject/verb, commas all over the place, etc. I thought to myself, "yeah, I see that everyday." Then I started to wonder why. It's because we don't actually teach a lot of writing skills anymore. We are so focused on the literature and garnering meaning from it that we forget how to apply those skills. I also wonder if it has something to do with teaching reading being more fun. We all love reading. We all want to pass that love on to our students. The push from "above" is improve reading skills. Reading skills and math skills are the big pushes from NCLB. I think it's easier for teachers to teach reading and literature. It's not so easy to teach writing. It's frustrating. It seems like an effort of futility at times. We go back to literature. I realize this is a class specifically in reading and literature, but these are thoughts that ran through my head this week and wondered if anyone else sees this. Perhaps it's just me at the high school. Our kids are taught all these lit skills in your younger levels. I wonder why we spend even more time on them at the high school level. We should be doing the APPLYING.
As far as read alouds...... I enjoy doing them with my students. I actually have classes request me read aloud, though at times, it's because they are too lazy to do it themselves. I've actually had kids admit that to me. :) These are parts of novels I specifically choose to read aloud because MY reading of them can bring out more emotion, or perhaps more of the author's intent at emotion, than my student's may get from reading it silently. Some pieces of literature at meant to be read aloud: "O Captain, My Captain" by Walt Whitman; tchapter in TKAM when Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell; the end of Of Mice and Men when Lennie dies. It shows students HOW to read....not just the words, but the meaning behind them and the emotion behind them. We don't really have the opportunity for classroom read alouds at my level. I used to do that when I taught middle school. It was fun and they really enjoyed it. I miss that at times.
And lastly, the fiction family chapter. I have a huge classroom library in my room that travels with the Novels class I teach. It's organized by genre, then again my author's within that genre. It makes it really easy for kids to find books they are interested in and find authors they enjoy. It also makes it really easy for me to look around and find books to recommend to some of my more reluctant readers. I just did that this morning with two boys. I spent a few minutes and pulled about 10 different books off the shelf for them to choose from. They had spent 10 minutes prior to this "looking" on their own and "couldn't find anything good." Of the books I presented, they couldn't decide which one they wanted to read first. :) That was my Happy Friday moment. Hope you all had a good week too!!
I do have to tend to agree with the amount of basic writing skills taught in the high school. I do know there are students that are not particularly excited about English in high school, because they feel they do the same things each year. In saying that I also want to recongize that the majority of students still need practice on those writing skills at that basic level and a lot find new things they learn every day. I think that if there was more concentration on the basics in younger years like we do with math facts and science vocabulary for instance, we would be able to get more involved with the high school years. When I was at my old school we ran a curriculum for both reading and writing, because with state testing we could tell writing needed a big jump. As both of these curriculums were taught alone and sometimes together, the skills seems to increase. Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that I would love to get kids reading and writing at a higher level in high school and it all starts with success in the younger years.
DeleteAuthor Russell Freedman said "Reading a good book is like making a lifelong friend. That book will live in your memory forever." I really believe this is true. I've always gotten very attached to the characters in the books I've read. I usually feel a sense of loss, like losing a good friend, when I'm finished reading a book. I believe that these experiences shaped my love for reading. The books says that falling in love with literature occures in fiction. I totally agree. We've all seen students read science, math, and social studies textbooks. How many of them are willing to read them on their own?
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought out the quote of making friends with books. I think that is so much a part of catching the reading bug. Making friends with the characters does make you want to keep reading to see what comes next. I am excited about reading books myself, but making students excited about reading is the challenge. Some don't feel comfortable reading due to confidence, lack of roll models for reading, and/or many other different reasons. I think it is really important to in the early years to get the basics to the child, so as they grow we can emmerse them in literature, which then they will choose to engage themselves with. As the students grows into the different age groups along the way to adulthood I think it is important for them to have some responsibility for picking and sharing their own readings. This gives them some controll over what they are reading and gives them the opportunity to be friends with their characters, instead of having to read only certain books and relating to only pre-chosen characters.
DeleteWhen you compare fiction to any other genre of narrative such as traditional literature or poetry, fiction allows a change of consciousness. You go to the place of the story and live alongside the characters. Hence, the escape of literature. A good book is so satisfying and a badly written book is so disturbing, so much so, I find myself getting emotional and caught up in the contents AND the craft. I have to remind myself--it's just a book!
DeleteI think Traditional Literature is a great genre to use with students of all ages. I agree with Christine about the value of learning about other cultures through folktales. Sometimes I worry though, especially with younger children, that students with little cross-cultural experience might take folktales as truth or belief in that culture. I would not want to be presenting false ideas about another culture to students. On the other side of things I worry that when we are telling tales from another culture’s religion we are not giving them proper respect. I’m not sure if there is any kind of answer to this dilemma, but it is something that I’ve worried about when using Traditional Literature. Maybe others can enlighten me.
ReplyDeleteI love read aloud. I can still remember by 5th grade teacher reading the novel Cages to us and having to stop to wipe the tears from her eyes. Half the class, including me of course, was in tears and it was a great bonding experience for us, to connect over literature. I have had a lot of wonderful experiences with read aloud. When I taught a particularly squirrely preschool class I could suddenly have their complete attention, well as complete as you can get with 3 year olds, when I would read a picture book. I also had a truly magical experience reading The Velveteen Rabbit to a group of 1st graders. It was my favorite story at their age and I so loved being able to stare it with them. I really enjoy reading aloud to children so I was glad to learn the benefits of it.
I was surprised to learn how critical read aloud is for older students as well. I am working as a Teaching Assistant in 4th and 5th grade combined classrooms. The teachers do read aloud everyday. They often choose books that relate to a social studies unit and even sometimes do a nonfiction read aloud to relate to studies in science class. I like the idea that was in the textbook about letting the students choose the read aloud book, in my experience it is always the teachers who choose the books. But I also think if you can connect it to the curriculum you are teaching it can be a more enriching experience.
Almost always when I observe the read aloud of novels in the classroom I see students engaged and listening. The teacher will stop from time to time to ask questions, reread descriptive or important passages or point out author’s craft. When the teacher is reading if a student hears a word they don’t know they ask. The teacher writes the words on the board and has a student look them up in the dictionary. She then returns to the words the next day at read aloud and makes sure everyone has learned them. I think it is a great way for students to practice that skill and gain new vocabulary.
I’ve seen and participated in a lot of good read alouds. I’ve seen students on the edge of their seats shouting, “Noooooo!” when the chapter is over. But I’ve also seen it go horribly wrong. If the teacher isn’t actively engaged and excited about the book the students will have a hard time too. Like a lot of things in teaching, I think read aloud is what you put into it.
I found it valuable to reflect on the question, “What is fiction?” Probably, I would’ve struggled with an answer, even though I’ve spent my life reading it. The book leads with L’Engle’s definition, “a vehicle for truth.” Certainly it can be and often is, but that’s a little too truth relativistic for me. Fiction can be a powerful vehicle for a point of view, I’d say, and I have learned much of others’ points of view from good fiction. The literature dictionary definition is a good baseline to return to—since we all know that a roomful or writers or readers could argue about a single definition for hours.
ReplyDelete“Characterization is the heart of fiction.” That statement rings true for me; it’s the element of fiction that most makes me read fiction. Even if I like a book’s plot, if the characters don’t have enough depth or truth, I’ll bail on it instead of finishing it. Somehow, I was lucky enough to be grabbed by reading at an early age and addicted to it for a lifetime.
Teaching average students to appreciate characterization seems like it would be a struggle. While every reading teacher will have that small gaggle of dedicated readers, most will probably be just barely engaged in doing what’s required. Like every teacher, I’d like to “crack the code,” and find a way to bring more students into that love of reading. Most young men certainly find the approach to reading esoteric and feminized. The trail to a solution gets kinda cold at that point, but I’m looking.
It’s still kind of a humorous contradiction in life to be an avid reader, yet not be able to talk to friends about it that much. I think my softer suburban friends are even less likely to be able talk about books and ideas than my blue-collar friends, who at least have some kind of bond to ideas. I don’t think me an’ Jim’ll be leanin’ on the pickup with a couple of beers juxtaposing McCarthy’s Border Trilogy with Mishima’s Sea of Fertility tetralogy any time soon
As a kindergarten teacher, I believe reading aloud is crucial. My mom (a retired kindergarten teacher) and I were just having a conversation about how important it is. As she says, "Reading simply doesn't happen in kindergarten without read alouds." Sure they can learn to read the pictures and even put sight words together to form simple sentences. But 90 percent of kindergartners would never get any real substance without read alouds.
ReplyDeleteNot only do kindergartners need someone to read them the words, they need to be asked the questions. Most comprehension and beyond the text thinking skills in kindergarten come from read alouds. No kindergartner is going to ask themselves, "I wonder what will happen next? Why did that character do that? How is that character like me? Etc." These young children need someone helping them to think about the text.
Fluency and vocal expression are two of the most important pieces in comprehension. Even a very high kindergartner struggles with expression. These kiddos need someone to read aloud to them in order to get these aspects. They need a model of what it should look and sound like.
Besides the obvious reasons to read aloud, kids absolutely love it! Last year I had a class that never stopped talking, kicking, hitting, bullying, etc. The only time I could get all of them to behave was during a read aloud. Whenever I needed a break from the madness, I pulled out a book and read. Every eye was on that book and every ear was listening. Why not get kids loving reading with a good read aloud? In kindergarten, I don't think you can read aloud enough!
I really enjoyed reading Chapter 12: Independent Reading. As I was reading this chapter I had many new ideas running around in my mind of things I could implement in my classroom and at the many time I was like, “Alright, I’m doing that!” woo hoo, I’m on the right track!
ReplyDeleteI love learning about different ways you can organize a classroom library to make it friendly for students. Right now, I have my library books in baskets and on an open face bookshelf for my students to pick from. Some of these baskets are leveled with reading leveled books and some of the baskets have different themes in them like holidays and seasons. My open bookshelf has different books that I’m featuring for the month. I also like to place books on my whiteboard, these books are normally about a theme that we’re talking about for the next two weeks. For example, right now I have dental books out for dental health month. I find that students enjoy looking at these books that I put out on the open face bookshelf and on the whiteboard. These are also books that I normally read-aloud to my students. I’m looking forward to adding on to my organizing with different kids of baskets of books that are class sequels and have similar topics to read-alouds that we have read as a class. Organizing books so students can find a “just right” book and a book that they are interested in is very important for a student to develop the love for reading. As we know engagement is a large part of reading and we as teachers need to make that available to students.
I also found providing opportunities for book sharing and providing opportunities to respond to books very interesting in the text. I just started having my students in my classroom share about the good books they have found. This has been great for students; the students that are listening really seem to be engaged and I often hear students whisper to their neighbor, “I’m totally reading that book!” Which, this what we want to hear, right! The student that is sharing becomes excited that others are interested in a book that they have read.
I would love to start having my students document the books that they have read. I also the idea of having students use “response sheets” with a space on top for a picture and on the bottom a space for student to write a couple sentences about the book and eventually students would have response notebooks. I feel by doing this students would take the time to reflect what they have read and the book would become more meaningful to them then just moving onto the next book. The other ideas such as creating a puppet show, plays, choral reading, radio broadcast (LOVE IT), and dramatic productions are a great way for students to come together or independently to discuss a book.
Reading independently in a life-long skill that we hope to instill in our students as readers. As an educator, I also feel like there are always new things I can add to my classroom and all the ideas can surly become overwhelming and yet we still some how find the time and complete it the task. I feel thought its also important to take a step back and look at what’s important for children and what are the simple things that we always need to be doing in our classroom, for example, read-alouds.
So interesting to read all of your posts! I agree with what so many of you have to say but what stuck out to me a lot, because I would like to teach the lower grade levels and because I had issues with this when I was in grade school as well, was what Heidi and her mom had to say about the importance of reading aloud. When I was in school I was SO SHY (grew out of that clearly) but I could read just great and at home reading aloud wasn't a problem for me but at school I would NOT do it. I was too embarrassed and scared and I feel as though it had to do a lot with the format of our reading aloud. What I'm speaking about is more the students reading aloud and when it was random or "popcorn" style reading I would have the worst anxiety and feel sick to my stomach! This is the last thing that I want for my students which is where the importance comes in to know each student, know what they're reading and encouraging the independent reading in the classroom and at home so that they become comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE the idea of the Book Bistro!! Something I totally want to use in my classroom! Thinking back to when I was in grade school I used to LOVE independent reading time because I got to read what I liked and cared about and thanks to my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Anderson, she helped me to find that I too could love to read!
Thankfully, I am happy to say that I do think independent reading is implemented in schools today still. The 5th grade classroom that I am observing in absolutely love their independent reading time and I actually had the pleasure of "evaluating" each of them and where they were at with their books! So fun!
Reading is great in so many ways! :)
I have to agree whole heartedly with the quote from Cynthia DeFelice in chapter 10 of our reading. "To me, the best part of school was when the teachers read aloud to us. I think I have learned many of life's lessons through literature." I too loved read aloud time in elementary school and beyond. As a teacher I refuse to eliminate read aloud time from our day no matter how busy things get. It is the one thing I know I can get all of my students engaged with. Amazing how no matter what else has happened in the day or what's going on, the children will quietly listen to the teacher read aloud.
ReplyDeleteI loved listening to my teachers read and I did learn a lot from the adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder and others along the way. I have strong memories of those read aloud times and the vivid and active pictures playing in my head transforming the words my teachers read. In first grade I have two specific memories. The first being on Friday afternoons we listened to stories broadcast from PBS over the school PA. The "office ladies" would put the microphone up to the radio and broadcast to the entire school. We were allowed to put our heads on our desks to relax and listen to these great stories. I remember the rich, deep voice of the narrator. Can you even imagine this today? Amazing how technology has enhanced our lives. There was no recording for use at a convenient time. If we wanted the experience we participated when PBS broadcast! The second experience from first grade that is still very clear for me and stirs strong emotions is a story Mrs. Anderson read to us. I don't remember the name of the book, but it was about an old, spinster teacher who had a red race car hidden in her barn. After school she would sneak into the barn when it got dark and rev up the engine of her car. Then she would race it around town. Nobody knew it was her because she wore a helmet and racing goggles. (The car was open top of course!) I am giggling as I write this remembering the illustrations of this cute, little, old lady racing her car. It was an image so out of character for her. Or at least what the perceived character of a spinster teacher was! Now that I think about it, I am still fasciated to learn about people and their hobbies. (The things they do behind the scenes!) I think we can learn so much from those around us and their interests and experiences. I encourage my students to find those "things" out about their classmates and others around them. For example, by looking at my beautiful 14 year old daughter, you would never guess that she can handle a 1400 lb steer in a show ring. (Or that our own darling classmate, Heidi, is an expert in swine showmanship and quality meat.) But she can and she is amazing. I marvel at her because I have tried to handle those animals and they still scare me.
Another vivid memory of read aloud was in 4th grade when Mr. Elkin read Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I loved that book. I remember crying when the dog died and being scared when the cats attacked and of being angry at the way the young boy was treated because he was poor. We read that book in part because Wilson Rawls was coming to our school! I still remember my spot on the gym floor as we listened to him speak. I don't remember what he told us but I remember being in awe of him and standing in line for an autographed book. I still have that book!
SORRY- But I wasn't done...it wouldn't let me publish everything I had written, too many characters. So, I'm putting up a second post...
ReplyDeleteTying read aloud into the traditional literature chapter...I think folktales are great read aloud materials and generate such awesome discussions. As we read in chapter 6, this form of literature comes from the spoken word of stories passed down from generation to generation often to teach a lesson or explain an unknown. There are so many rich activites that can be done with traditional literature that touch on all learning styles. In addition to being able to create puppet shows, Venn diagrams, story telling events, story maps etc. we are also able to bring in culture and life lessons. In most cases the awesome illustrations that accompany these folktales and traditional literature make it even more appealing and interesting for the students and spark ideas within them.
Chapter 6
ReplyDeleteI really like traditional literature and the elements of culture it teaches. I am amazed at how many different subjects contain folklore/traditional literature. As I have been preparing for the unit, I even found traditional literature for Earth Day. This surprised me just in the fact that Earth Day really wasn't developed that long ago and when I always thought of folklore, I thought of long long ago. Some of the things I noted in my readings were statments like... As stories have come down to us throught countless retellings over time, their details have changed and evolved. This brings to my mind that it could really be an investigation of a culture or story to find the true nature and story behind the tale. It could really give students a chance to explore literature and its orgin. An interesting piece I found on page 131 would be how careful you have to be with choosing tradional literature. As it says it reflects attitudes, gender roles, and class systems from the distant past and it might offend some. I have never been one to really find literature offensive. I know I steer away from some subjects myself, because I would rather not read them, but I can't say I have noted anything as offensive. As I say that I do realize that this does happen and which we all know can lead to book banning, hurt feelings, and disagreements. I think that we do need to take peoples responses to literature in stride when we choose books for our students, because we want our children reading and reading a lot, so anytime we can keep books in their hands and not have to have any negative interaction it is good. As students get older and form their own thoughts and options I think that they will naturally choose to explore different topics in traditional literature and it might not be so offensive to adults that their children are reading. I agree with the building of a great classroom library that targets the age, interests, and scope of the each group of students you have. This may mean that you would have to change and adjust your library each year as you get new groups of students, but it would be beneficial for you to address each group thoughtfully. When you talk about traditional literature I think the illustrations should be of high quality and be at the best standards in childrens literature. Using award winning books it a great way to start your collection.
I wanted to talk a bit about Chapter 8 and 10. I like the statement that says... the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children in chapter 10. This helps to prepare children for literacy and to develop literacy skills. It helps to develop interest in reading, pormotes language development, increases reading achievement, posiively influences their writng and provides opportunities for social interaction. Seriously, who would want to mess with that. Isn't that what we want from our students and their book interaction!! I like the way writing is brought into the picture as well. It believe that writing and reading can go hand in hand and really should be interacting and enhancing each other. Our students do need to be good readers, lifetime readers, but also good writers and communicators. In chapter 8 it says.... in good fiction, main characters are highly developed. I like how the readers come to know and love or sometimes dislike the characters in the story. They sometimes even can relate them to real life at times. This helps to engage and excite the reader to want more from the book and encourage the reader to continue to enhance their literacy.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the re-occurring elements--the motifs--of traditional literature. Tricksters in many forms, the magic, as if a everyday occurrence, the transformations of characters from animal to human and back again, the journeys with a mission, the special meaning of numbers and the repetitive language that beckons listeners to become part of the story.
ReplyDeleteThese stories are what they are. No one wrote them. It is as if they were sent like some incarnate story-birth straight from the deity of its origin. We humble mortals can only tell them in our own way, for our own purposes. They are borrowed material.
For all the heroes/villains, princesses/hags, kindness/violence, and predicable variants, traditional literature does not get boring. It’s because a folk tale is flexible—it’s up to us to interpret and tell, to keep on telling. It’s also because traditional literature is really a capsule of us, whoever, where ever we are. There’s a worldwide respect and absolute love for gazing like Narcissus, at ourselves.
These tales have always lent themselves to education. Around campfires, grandparents' laps and long walks,
stories have been passed down orally, not purely for entertainment, but to teach and shape the listener. Folk tales are golden nuggets meant to provide a bit of the past as modeling, to help the present understand who we are, where we came from and why we should continue. Our ethnic heritage resides in the folk tales not just in the cuisine or the costume or the customs but in all of these parts rolled up in a few characters. This type of education becomes the foundation upon which much is built. Without this knowledge, other stories just don’t mean as much.
One of my very favorite stories is Abiyoyo, an old African tale done by Pete Seeger. Pete Seeger gives his listeners a new vocabulary word, OSTRICIZE, which he defines quickly as he tells the story. Also there’s a song that leads you in and out of the story, sort of like a curtain raising and letting you into the folk tale dimension. Another is called Manabozo’s Gifts. Manabozo is from the Anishinabe Native American culture.
The son of Nokomis and half-god/half-man, he has the power to change into any animal he wishes in order to solve problems and provide explanations for the nature world. Despite the characteristic magic that plays a part in both these stories, human nature, social order and common sense are firmly rooted. Enough fantasy to keep you listening, enough substance to make it real.