African Folktales

Objectives

• Students will use the Internet to learn about traditional African folktales.
• Students will read two stories from Liberia.
• Students will record their responses to the folktales, then compare and contrast elements of the two folk tales.

Description

This Web site contains folktales, plays and recipes from the West African country of Liberia. The information was posted by an art teacher who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, in order to help bring African culture to the classroom.

Suggested Activities

• Have students work in groups to perform a play of one of the folktales. Students can go back to the Web site they originally accessed and click Play next to each story. This will give them a list of characters and a script for each folktale.

Level Activities

• Have students connect to http://www.afro.com/children/myths/myths.html. Then have them select a story that appeals to them. Then have students:
read the story, then create their own version of it by writing it out in their own words and illustrating it.
work in small groups and use their own words to act their story out for the class.
use the rest of the Web site or another research resource to find out more about the countries that their favorite stories come from. Students can put together a report on a country using their chosen story as an example of the country's culture.