AMERICAN FOLKLORE - 4-5s

There are many different kinds of stories among the folklore of North America, For example, there are tall tales, Native American legends, trickster tales, and many stories from Canada, Mexico and other areas on this continent. Here are some links that take you to retellings of traditional stories from our area of the world.

American Folklore from American Folklore.net
Aaron Shepards' Folktales. Fairy tales, tall tales, trickster tales and legends from around the world retold by the award-winning author.
Native American Lore Index.  
Folktales from Mexico. This is the section with stories from Mexico but if you explore the whole web site you will also find stories of mythical lands, creatures, gods and goddesses, and even tall tales from over fifteen different cultures and nations!

IN OUR LIBRARY

If you explore the folktale and fairytale section of our library (398.2) you will find many great stories from all around the world. Here are some titles of special interest:
Classic American Folk Tales retold by Steven Zorn 398.2 ZOR
Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales 398.209 MOR
Lies and Other Tall Tales collected by Zora Neale Hurston 398.2 MYE
In the 398.2 section you will also find collections of stories:
The Barefoot Book of Animal Tales From Around the World retold by Naomi Adler 398.2 ADL
The Lion Storyteller Book of Animal Tales by Bob Hartman 398.24 HAR
Paul Goble has retold and illustrated many Native American folktales and you will find the individual books at 398.2 GOB

Note: Sometimes you'll see the term folktales as one word and sometimes you'll see folk tales as two words.

Digital Citizenship

Integrating technology into students' learning is an integral component of our curriculum as it prepares children for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. This article, "Why Integrate Technology into the Classroom?" from edutopia explains the reasons for this model of education. It's a good place to begin the discussion . . .

Cyber Safety
Under faculty supervision students at all grade levels in our school have the opportunity to create multimedia projects using a variety of digital tools. So, learning to behave respectfully, safely, and ethically on the Web is an important part of the school library and class curriculum.  We are lucky to have many resources at our disposal to ensure that students learn these crucial 21st century skills as they take advantage of the numerous Web 2.0 communication tools.
     Both the library and classroom curriculum includes discussion about safe and ethical behavior on the Internet. Some of the safety rules we discuss are:

1. Keep your personal information private.
2. Never give your password to anyone else.
3. If you receive an online message that makes you feel uncomfortable, do not reply and tell a trusted adult as soon as possible.
4. Never give out your photograph, address, phone number, email address or password to someone you meet online.
5. Keep your user name neutral.

You can continue the discussion at home and these are some resources on the Web you can use with your children to reinforce safe behavior on the Internet.

Web Resources

BrainPopJr for younger students contains a free animated movie, activities and games on the topic of Internet safety. You do not need a user name and password to access this topic. However, all the other content of this informative and lively database is password protected. We have a subscription to BrainPopJr so please contact Sarah in the library for our school's user name and password, which you will need to access the rest of the database.

BrainPop for older students contains animated movies, activities, and information on a variety of technology issues including digital citizenry. Please contact Sarah in the library for our school user name and password, which you will need to access the database.

ConnectSafely.org is a project of Tech Parenting Group, a nonprofit organization to help everyone - adults and children - learn how to use the Web safely together.
Family Safety Tips from Google
Growing Up Online from Carolyn Jabbs.


OnGuardOnline.gov's Net Cetera campaign provides information and resources, including short videos, about helping kids make safe, responsible decisions when they're online. For example, here is a short animated video for students from OnGuardOnline about being mindful about what you post online.
NetSmartz from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contains many resources for parents and guardians including videos, tips, discussion starters, and information handouts.
Safekids: Online Safety and Civility created by Larry Magid a technology journalist and author.
A Thin Line from MTV and other media partners teaches teenagers and young adults about safe behavior on the Internet. The site includes information, advice and quizzes on a variety of topics. The resources on this site are for older students.

Webonauts Internet Academy from PBS Kids Go! Elementary age children participate in missions and graduate from the academy with knowledge about media literacy and digital citizenship. The site includes interactive games.

Parent Media Tips from Commonsense Media. Short videos, newsletters, handouts, Web links and other resources to help parents talk about using media responsibly with their children.

BOOKS
Cyber-Safe Kids. Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn to Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly. By Nancy Willard, 2007.
 MySpace Unraveled: What It Is and How to Use It Safely. By Larry Magid and Anne Collier, 2006.
"Own Your Own Space - Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online" Digital Book for Teens by Linda McCarthy.The entire book is available as a free download.

PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Health Information Project at your public library has books and DVDs available for loan that will help teenagers and parents safely navigate the Internet.

Ethical Behavior

One of the responsibilities of being a twentieth-century learner is behaving ethically on the Web. In other words, students need to cite the sources of information they find on the Internet in whatever format - text, images, video or sound. Sometimes, it is hard for students to know what they can or cannot use from the Internet, in what format they can use the information or multimedia, and how to cite their sources correctly. In order to motivate students to be creative with their research and to behave ethically with the information they use, we have a subscription to NoodleBib. NoodleBib takes students through the different stages of the research process with guidance and support at each stage. Ask me for our school's username and password to access this tool.

FABLES

 The Crow and the Pitcher   Source: Annalee Blysse

A fable tells a story and but also teaches you something about life. This is the "moral" or secret message in the story that you can find by reading closely and inferring what the message could be. When you watch this video of a Chinese fable you'll see there are no words to go with the pictures. However, if you look closely you can infer what the story is trying to tell you. If you would like to share your ideas about the message in the fable, post your ideas on the "sticky notes" on the Padlet wall. 

• FABLES: STORIES, ANIMATIONS, GAMES AND PUZZLES

Click here to play Aesop's Cube and read 6 fables by Aesop.
Read fables and play games
Animated Aesop Fables from education students at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

• MAKE A PUPPET SHOW OR DRAMATIZATION

If you would like to retell a fable or create your own, you might find this planner helpful.

• SUGGESTED READING IN OUR LIBRARY

Aesop's Fables illustrated by Nora Fry, edited by Lois Hill
398.2 AES
Aesop's Stories for Pleasure Reading by E. Dolch, M. Dolch and B. Jackson
398.2 AES
The Best of Aesop's Fables retold by Margaret Clark
398.2 CLA
Aesop's Fables selected and illustrated by Michael Hague
398.2 HAG
The Big Book of Animal Fables by Margaret Green
398.2 GRE

• WEB SITES

Aesop for Children from Aesopica: Aesop's Fables in English, Latin and Greek
By Gosh Aesop's Fables
Fairy Tales 4 U
Ivy Joy's Domain
Several web sites about fables recommended by the University of Missouri
For teachers: Fables and Trickster Tales Around the World 

• MORE RESOURCES ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS INCLUDING CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Great Web Sites for Kids from the American Library Association
Myths and Legends from E2BN