DESIGN PHASE

Team Folktales

1. Project Summary
Our project will focus on grade 5 Language Arts and Social Studies with a specific
interest in folklore in the United States. In this project, students will learn about several
types of folklore and their significance in American culture. After exploring the features
of many types of American folklore, such as folktales, folk songs, and folk dances,
students will investigate the cultural and historical importance of the genre. Students will
also consider and discuss the question of whether or not folklore is relevant today's
digital age. Students will share their opinions about the current state and future of
folklore in the U.S. Ultimately, students will work collaboratively in small groups to
create their own folklore using various multimedia and publishing tools. Students will
have the choice to create their own folktale, folk song, or folk dance that relates to
personal or cultural events in contemporary society which they will illustrate using video,
audio, print, and images. Culminating projects will be published on a class Weebly
page, for peer review and to support future discussions.
2. Lesson Content Outline
1. Day 1: Introduction to Folklore

Activate students prior knowledge by asking what they know about

folkloreAsk questions: What is folklore? Why is it important? What types
and categories of folklore do you know about? Can you think of any
examples of folklore?
i.
Have students work in groups to brainstorm these ideas in Google
Doc
b. Folklore = the traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practice of a
community that is spread largely through oral communication and
behavioral example
a.

Includes folktales (fairy tales, myths, legends, tall tales, fables), folk
dances, folk songs, cultural/traditional jokes, etc.
ii.
Folklore can reflect history, culture, values, and events from
different places and time periods
c. Play game of Whisper Down the Lane to emphasize idea of folklore
being oral tradition and changing as it is passed down from generation to
generation
i.

2. Day 2: Folktales, Folk Songs, & Folk Dances

a.

b.

c.

d.
e.

Remind students of definitions learned in previous lesson (ask: What is

folklore? What did we see and learn yesterday about folklore? Why is it
important? What can it tell us?)
Folktales = Oral narratives that usually do not have a singular, identifiable
author and that change as they are passed through generations over time
i.
Usually reflect the values and customs of the culture from which
they come
ii.
Concerned with lifes universal themes
Folk Songs = A song originating among people of a country or area,
passed by oral tradition from one generation to the next, often existing in
several versions, and marked by generally simple melody and narrative
verse
Folk Dances = The traditional dance of the common people and a
reflection of their culture
Emphasize the fact that in all of these types of folklore, a significant
characteristic is that they are linked to culture and tradition of a group of
people

3. Day 3: Folklore & History

a.

In history of all cultures, folklore plays a significant rolewe will focus on

folklore of the United States and how it reflects events and feelings of the
folk from various important eras in the creation of our country
i.
Examples from the Revolutionary Era
1. George Washington chopping down a cherry tree story
explained as myth in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3QW__5Q_Gk
2. Why would people during the Revolutionary Era and beyond
want to believe this story and pass it down through
generations? In the past, the new Americans in a brand new
country needed a strong leader. Now, Americans want to

ii.

iii.

remember their first president as a great one who valued

honesty.
Examples from the Civil War Era
1. Follow the Drinking Gourd African American spiritual
explained/recorded:
http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/Appendix_Recordings
.htm
2. Provide students with lyrics in print or on the screen of
SmartBoard as they listen to recording
Examples from frontier America
1. American square dancinghave students stand up and
perform using video instructions:
http://videosquaredancelessons.com/lessons/
2. Lacking the organized recreation of today, the hardworking
pioneers felt a need for an activity that would provide
recreation as well as social contact with neighbors. Square
dancing filled this need. The only requirements were a
wooden floor, music and a caller. A barn, somebody's living
room, the town hall or, in later years, the grange hall
provided the place.from
http://www.dosado.com/articles/hist-maca.htm

4. Day 4 & Day 5: Folklore & Today

a.

By definition, folklore is based in oral traditionis this oral tradition still

relevant in our culture with all of our technology and convenient
communication?
i.
Examples of digital folklore and the various mediums through which
it is presented
ii.
Meme = an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from
person to person within a culture
1. Could be an image, hyperlink, video, picture, website, or
hashtagall mediums and tools that were not available in
the past when folklore emerged in history
2. Notable memes: planking, Harlem shake videos

5. Day 6: Presenting Todays Folklore in the Digital Age

Students present their created folklore to the class and evaluate peers
folklore using a rubric
b. Teachers give final presentation grades using rubric
a.

3. Lesson Flowchart

4. Screen design and layout of class webpage

Below is a content map illustrating the layout of our class webpage on Weebly. From
this diagram, we can see on the "Class Homepage" that this week's Folktale Multimedia
Project is only one of many class projects displaying student works online. On the left of
the "Class Homepage" screen there is a menu of archived class projects. Dominating
the "Class Homepage" we can see the image icon for "Current Class Project" which
links to the page housing a menu of the students final projects for the Folktale
Multimedia Project. Also, on the class homepage there are many links to content related
to Folktales. These image buttons could include a picture-link to a folk dance video or a
recording of an oral history, et cetera. The "Student Project Menu" page holds images
which link to separate pages for each student group to display their final works.