Retold by: Dawn Casey
Illustrated by: Anne Wilson
Illustrated by: Anne Wilson
Recommended for: Children Ages 9-12
Themes: Folktales, Social Studies, Science and Character Education
Summary:
The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales is a collection of folktales from across the world which have an emphasis on the Earth and caring for it. This collection include folktales from: Australia, Nigeria, the American Southwest, Bali, Kazakhstan, India and Wales. Along with each folktale is a description of the culture of the area which the tale comes from and a learning activity to extend lessons learned within the folktale.
Children will enjoy these stories as they will enjoy the opportunities to be exposed to stories from other cultures, the tales are very descriptive, they would be able to predict many of the events in the story, and they all have happy endings. As a read aloud, these stories would give wonderful opportunities for visualization. The activities selected to go along with each folk tale would also be fun ways in which for the children to tap into their creative energies and furthur connect to the stories and cultures.
Suggestions for the Classroom:
This book could be used in several different ways within the classroom beyond learning simply about Folktales: 1) to extend Social Studies units when studying about different cultures and countries of the world; 2) to extend Science lessons about the Food Web and Food Chain; 3) to educate students about recycling, conservation and waste in connection with Earth Day, and 4) as a Character Education piece (as stories deal with themese of Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Giving, and Manners).
For this selection, I would personally choose to include this book as part of an Earth Day Unit which I would plan for the month of April combining both Science and the study of different cultures. I would first discuss with the students the fact that Earth Day is a holiday held every year in the United States of America on April 22nd. On Earth Day we celebrate the earth by doing extra to care for our environment, however, all over the world different cultures have been celebrating the Earth in different ways. I would also make a list with the children of ways in which we can help to care for the Earth (recycling, cleaning up after ourselves, riding the bus instead of driving, etc.) in order to see what their Schema is.
The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales is a collection of folktales from across the world which have an emphasis on the Earth and caring for it. This collection include folktales from: Australia, Nigeria, the American Southwest, Bali, Kazakhstan, India and Wales. Along with each folktale is a description of the culture of the area which the tale comes from and a learning activity to extend lessons learned within the folktale.
Children will enjoy these stories as they will enjoy the opportunities to be exposed to stories from other cultures, the tales are very descriptive, they would be able to predict many of the events in the story, and they all have happy endings. As a read aloud, these stories would give wonderful opportunities for visualization. The activities selected to go along with each folk tale would also be fun ways in which for the children to tap into their creative energies and furthur connect to the stories and cultures.
Suggestions for the Classroom:
This book could be used in several different ways within the classroom beyond learning simply about Folktales: 1) to extend Social Studies units when studying about different cultures and countries of the world; 2) to extend Science lessons about the Food Web and Food Chain; 3) to educate students about recycling, conservation and waste in connection with Earth Day, and 4) as a Character Education piece (as stories deal with themese of Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Giving, and Manners).
For this selection, I would personally choose to include this book as part of an Earth Day Unit which I would plan for the month of April combining both Science and the study of different cultures. I would first discuss with the students the fact that Earth Day is a holiday held every year in the United States of America on April 22nd. On Earth Day we celebrate the earth by doing extra to care for our environment, however, all over the world different cultures have been celebrating the Earth in different ways. I would also make a list with the children of ways in which we can help to care for the Earth (recycling, cleaning up after ourselves, riding the bus instead of driving, etc.) in order to see what their Schema is.
*Pre-Reading Activities: I would choose one story from the book to read to them (maybe on a week as part of an Earth Day Unit), in this case it will be Grumpy Gecko, which is a Folktale from Bali. I would read to them the section about Bali, which describes the culture of Bali asking them to close their eyes and visualize what Bali looks like as I read the description. I would the students to take a moment to describe their vision to an elbow parter, in a few minutes they would then switch roles and hear from their partner. If possible, I would then show them a picture of Bali to compare to the picture that they had in their minds. I will also give the students a moment to let them ask any questions they may have before I being to read the selection.
*During Reading: I would read the selection to the students once without interuptions, asking them to try to visualize the characters and their actions as I read (set a purpose for reading).
*Post-Reading: As a class, we will fill out a flow-chart to show how each characters' actions had effected one another.
I would also use this story again the next day as an opportunity to do Reader's Theater with the students, giving them all parts to perform. We could practice these roles throughout the Unit and invite parents and family members to come in on Earth Day to observe our performance of Grumpy Gecko.
About Dawn Casey:
Dawn lives with her family in England and has published two books with Barefoot Books (The Great Race:2006) and has previously worked as a primary school teacher and in publishing. She has always enjoyed folklore and believes that it looks deeply at who humans are within.
About Anne Wilson:
Anne also lives with her family in England and has illustrated four projects for Barefoot Books (Storytime:2005, The Great Race:2006, and We're Sailing Down the Nile,2007). She gets the inspiration for her pictures from the traveling experiences which she has had in her life. Anne Wilson graduated with her MA in illustration from St. Martin's College of Art in London.
*During Reading: I would read the selection to the students once without interuptions, asking them to try to visualize the characters and their actions as I read (set a purpose for reading).
*Post-Reading: As a class, we will fill out a flow-chart to show how each characters' actions had effected one another.
I would also use this story again the next day as an opportunity to do Reader's Theater with the students, giving them all parts to perform. We could practice these roles throughout the Unit and invite parents and family members to come in on Earth Day to observe our performance of Grumpy Gecko.
About Dawn Casey:
Dawn lives with her family in England and has published two books with Barefoot Books (The Great Race:2006) and has previously worked as a primary school teacher and in publishing. She has always enjoyed folklore and believes that it looks deeply at who humans are within.
About Anne Wilson:
Anne also lives with her family in England and has illustrated four projects for Barefoot Books (Storytime:2005, The Great Race:2006, and We're Sailing Down the Nile,2007). She gets the inspiration for her pictures from the traveling experiences which she has had in her life. Anne Wilson graduated with her MA in illustration from St. Martin's College of Art in London.
I really enjoy this book to be used as a multicultural tool. It is a great introduction for kids to folklore, and as a plus it also allows them to travel around the world through each story. I like that although the students may not be able to relate to each country because they are not from it, they are still learning about it through stories passed down through the generations. Maybe to try to get students to find relations to their own lives they can discuss a story that may have been passed down in their own family or culture.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I strongly recommend this book and can tell you that every story in it was interesting and fun. I loved that each story had a short synopsis about the region of the folktale and suggested activities. These tales are really great for picturing the setting within their minds.
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