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Overview of
the Project:
This project is a culminating
activity for a unit on Folklore. Your students will have worked
through this web sites Activities 1-3 & read/discussed elements
of Folklore before begining this part of the Folklore Unit. Students
will work together in groups of four or five to create a collection
of folklore for a newly created unusual culture. The groups will
have six different cultures to choose from. Ultimately, each group
will present a description of their culture's people, values,
and land from which they will get ideas for their stories.
Each group member is responsible for one type of story. He or she may choose from the following: a creation myth, a tall tale, a fable, or a folktale (pourqoui tale).
For the presentation of the groups' cultures, we will hold a Multicultural Festival. Each group will also be responsible for making a flag, picture, costume, food or other artifact that represents their culture.
Implementing
the Project:
#1
Each student must understand how a culture's
attributes, beliefs, values, environment & history influence
its folklore. Students will discuss the following in their groups:
*How might a tribe that lives near the ocean differ from a tribe
from a desert?
*What kind of animal-hero might each culture have?
*How might each tribe explain the existence of the sea?
*How does a culture's geography affect its folklore?
#2 Next, groups will read & discuss the cultures from the
list below. Groups may choose
one from the list or upon the teacher's approval create a culture
& its attributes of their own.
The Aquamarines
· Live in an underwater city
· Are sleek & have gills
· Value cleverness
· Are prone to warfare & enjoy raiding coastal towns
· Have a hero that tricks sharks
· Choose saltwater taffy as their favorite food
· Are terrified of scuba divers & submarines
· Never emerge from the water when the sun is out
The Megabytes
· Live in a computer game
· Fear electrical power surges
· Worship video game characters & computer users
· Have a hero that fights evil computer viruses
· Are very smart & have excellent memories, but are
not physically strong
· Choose chips as their favorite food
The High Tops
· Live in a volcanic region high in the mountains
· Are tall, athletic people
· Choose basketball, para-sailing and bungee jumping as
their favorite sports
· Have a sky with two suns & several moons
· Are prone to sunburns & persistent cough due to volcanic
gas & ashes
· Worship gods of fire & lava lamps
· Have chiseled gigantic faces of their heroes in the side
of the mountain
The Space Gypsies
· Travel through space on a fast moving asteroid
· Have eight legs and two sets of eyes
· Choose handball & dancing as favorite recreations
· Are sociable and love to visit alien worlds
· Favorite food is the star fruit
· Greatest fear is black holes in space
· Have a special message (taught by their legendary hero)
for the worlds that they visit
The Swamp Things
· Live in a vast swamp
· Are half human & half reptile
· Are great practical jokers
· Fear being made into shoes & belts
· Choose mud pies & toad legs as their favorite food
· Wish is to be human
· Are deathly allergic to the bite of water snakes
The IceCaps
· Live in a frozen, polar region
· Are known by their strange head-wear and blubber boots
· Have a legendary hero that discovered down coats
· Have one thousand words for snow in their vocabulary
· Sometimes consider penguins, seals, and whales as friends,
other times they are enemies
· Live in purple goedesic domes
· Never grow old
· Value patience
Getting started now that the culture has been chosen:
#1. Groups will begin by adding to the
list of their culture's characteristics. Have them think about
the following to get started…..
· The role that children play in their society
· How food is obtained
· Are men & women equal
· Are there any superstitious beliefs
· How does their tribe travel around
Next
each group will visit the group's
webpage (i.e. The Aquamarines).
The group will be gathering information to include in the development
of its culture. These details will become part of the group's
attributes list for its culture. Also, this information will be
used to write the folklore. Student's will fill out cluster
diagrams while visiting these sites to store newly gained
information.
#2 Next, students will use the "Folklore Brainstorming Sheets" to collaborate on ideas for their stories. Remember each person in the group must write a type of folklore. Once the group has brainstormed some ideas that would fit its culture, each member must choose a topic from the list to write his or her own story.
#3 Each member will write his or her own tale. Students will follow the guidelines on the hand-out, "Organizing your Folklore." Students may also reference the Folklore Grading Rubric to be sure they have included all the needed elements.
#4. Each group will also need to create an artifact that represents its culture. Students will use the "Cultural Artifact Guidelines" sheet to begin this step. Discuss with the students that during the presentation of their culture on Multi-Cultural Festival day, they will need to explain the significance of their cultural artifact. What impact does this artifact have in their society?
Putting it all together: The Presentation
Each group will present its culture to the class during the MULTI-CULTURAL FESTIVAL. Students may choose from the following formats or a combination of them to present their cultures. Each group may come up with its own idea for presenting but must have the teacher's approval. Be sure to reference the "Grading Checklist for the Presentation."
1. A skit of the best tale in your group
2. A video tape of the citizens in your culture telling &
listening to the story being told
3. A taped recording of a dramatic reading of your group's best
tale
4. Powerpoint Presentation of the tale &/or cultural attributes
5. A panel discussion (with visual aids of your cultural attributes)
of your society