Folktales PPT

Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirezlori@miscositas.com

Chair, ESL & World Language DepartmentHerricks Public Schools, NY

for the language classroom

ACTFL National Standards “the 5 Cs”

CommunicationCommunicate in languages other than English

Connections Connect with other disciplines and acquire information

Comparisons Develop insight into the nature of language and culture

Communities Participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

Cultures Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures

WHY use folktales?

“…the great power of the story is that it engages us affectively as well as requiring our cognitive attention; we learn the content of the story while we are emotionally engaged by its characters or events.” - Kieran Egan, Teaching as Storytelling

“The use of literature designed for children in the target culture allows learners of the target language to share cultural experiences and attitudes in a very direct way…”

-Curtain and PesolaLanguages and Children,

Making the Match

WHY use folktales?

Through the characters on the page, children are

able to live out their worst fears and their fondest wishes. Valuable

life lessons are conveyed through the stories which

children readily absorb in a non- threatening and even

enjoyable context. -Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment

WHY use folktales?

Children do not learn about complex grammatical points by either making errors and then being corrected or through explicit instruction in grammar. The knowledge of specific grammatical rules "...is part of a child's biological endow- ment, part of the structure of the language faculty.“

“…about 99 percent of teaching

is making students feel interested in the material.”

-Noam Chomsky, Language and Problems of Knowing

WHY use folktales?

With folktales you…

teach grammar and vocabulary in context

teach grammar and vocabulary in isolated lists

incorporate language, culture and content

teach language separate from its cultural context

communicate with the classroom teacher to reinforce curriculum

organize lessons on topics that are disconnected

from the students

Where to find storiesthe community the Internet

print sources travel

What to look for…

grammar vocabulary

culture

content

interestingstory

webpage www.miscositas.com

www.miscositas.com

PRE-READING

•Vocabulary preparation- “magic box”

- illlustrated words

•Prediction- order story

- summary illustration

•Story background- realia - tradition

- author - geography

Pre-reading and prediction

“Stories allow students to anticipate and predict

thus involving them in activity.”

(Barton and Booth, Stories in the Classroom, 1990)

PRE-READINGStory background

Intro page:Story origins

and geography links

Students click here to begin the

story  

READING

Students navigate the story

by clicking on the left

or right icons

POST-READING

•Comprehension check- factual questions

- opinion questions

- related personal questions

•Story reviews

•Performance•Creative writing similar story from own culture

find another story from target culture same genre story

POST-READINGStory reviewsStudents

summarize the story.

Students review the story with a

“thumbs up” or a “thumbs down”.

POST READINGCreative writing

Genre = Etiological tales, Pourquoi tales, Why-stories“Why the Ocean Has a lot of Salt”

Sample classroom connections

Sample Art connections

Sample Phys Ed connections

Sample Music connections

Creating a curriculum unit

Look at current curriculum Determine links to

– language– culture– content

Find folktale Edit folktale Build lessons & activities

Stories are everywhere…

Go out and find

them!