Legends, Myths and Folktales:
Click here for an introductory overview of the differences between fables, folk tales, myths and legends
In every culture, myths, legends and folktales share the "hero's journey." Watch this introductory video to learn more about the history of the "hero's journey":
The first legend we will read is Beowulf.
We will analyze the "heroic journey" and write a "Bio-Poem."
Here is the "Beowulf" assignment:
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The second legend we will read is Young Arthur.
We will compare the story to an informational text article and video.
We will compare the story to an informational text article and video.
Here is a link to Sir Thomas Malory's collection of Romance tales of King Arthur, Le Morte d'Arthur, written in 1485.
Here is a video clip from the 1981 film, "Excalibur."
Here is a video clip from Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail:
Here is your "Young Arthur" assignment:
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Finally, we will read two cultural legends from Michigan.
Cultural Legends are narratives passed down through generations that relay a significant historical or cultural event through imagery, music, song, dance, and word.
Here are two Michigan legends: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and The Legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Cultural Legends are narratives passed down through generations that relay a significant historical or cultural event through imagery, music, song, dance, and word.
Here are two Michigan legends: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and The Legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Here is your Cultural Legend Writing Assignment:
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Next we will study Greek Mythology.
Here is a documentary on Ancient Greece that you can watch on your own. We will watch a short bit of it in class.
The first myth we will study is Prometheus.
We will compare the re-written version found in our textbook with a short film based on Aeschylus' play, Prometheus Bound, and Lord Byron's poem, Prometheus.
Here is a link to a hand-illustrated short film by Peter Dodd, based on the play Prometheus Bound that Aeschylus wrote in the 5th Century, that you will compare to the written text:
Early in the 19th Century, Lord Byron wrote a poem, Prometheus, in response to the play that Aeschylus wrote 1300 years earlier.
Here is Lord Byron's poem, Prometheus, read aloud:
Here is a link to an explication of Lord Byron's poem, Prometheus.
Here is your Prometheus Myth Assignment:
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The second myth we will study is Orpheus and Eurydice
We will compare the retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice found in our textbook with
William Shakespeare's poem Song of Orpheus and to two modern dances,
Dance of the Blessed Spirits and Orfeu e Eurídice from Gluck's opera Orfeo et Eurydice,
choreographed by Pina Bausch.
Here is a fun introductory video to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice:
Here are two modern dances--Dance of the Blessed Spirits and Orfeu e Euridice--choreographed by Pina Bausch and performed to music from Gluck's opera, Orfeo ed Euridice:
Here is your assignment: to compare and contrast the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as told throughout the ages in story, poem, music and dance:
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The third myth we will study is Icarus and Daedalus:
We will compare the song "Icarus" by Bastille with the myth re
told by Josephine Preston Peabody found in our text.
We will compare the song "Icarus" by Bastille with the myth re
told by Josephine Preston Peabody found in our text.
Here is your assignment to connect the myth Icarus and Daedalus to the song "Icarus" by Bastille:
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Welcome to our study of Folk Tales:
First we will study the African-American tale, Brer Possum's Dilemma
and the Chinese tale, Waters of Gold
We will compare the folk tale format between the two stories.
and the Chinese tale, Waters of Gold
We will compare the folk tale format between the two stories.
Here is your assignment for Brer Possum and Waters of Gold:
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Next we will read the Japanese folk tale, The Crane Wife.
We will compare it to the Decemberist's sung version of the tale.
We will compare it to the Decemberist's sung version of the tale.
Here is your assignment for The Crane Wife:
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Our final study will compare two fables:
the Liberian fable, Two Ways to Count to Ten
and the Jamaican Fable, The Race Between Toad and Donkey.
Here are your assignments for the two fables:
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Below are the Common Core Standards Connected to the Legends and Folktales Unit:
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.6 Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.7 Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.9 Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.2 Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3 Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.9 Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3a Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3c Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3d Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3e Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1a Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1b Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1c Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1d Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.3a Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4a Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4c Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4d Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5a Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5b Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5c Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic, condescending).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.