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VI. READING THE WORLD WITH FOLKTALES © 2006 Nancy Polette
1. LET'S GO TO CHINA
The Journey of Meng by Doreen Rappaport. Dial 1991.
Meng tries to help her scholar husband who is sent to work on the building of the Great Wall.
ACTIVITY: Learn about the Great Wall of China.
In a small group, guess the answers to these questions:
How old is the wall?
In what part of China is it located?
How tall?
How wide in feet?
How long in miles?
Check your answers by reading about the wall in the encyclopedia.
Action Pattern
If I were in charge of _____
There would be _______
You wouldn't have _____
I'd cancel ___________
But the most important thing I would do is_________
2. LET'S GO TO SOUTH AFRICA
Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger. Macmillan, 1988.
A boy and his trickster father are banished from the village until they outwit the giant, Abiyoyo. Before reading: describe an African
giant. During reading elaborate on the text.
3. LET'S GO TO RUSSIA
The Wolfhound by Kristine Franklin. Lothrop, 1997.
In Tsarist Russia, for a commoner to own a wolfhound was to risk prison or worse. Paval rescues a wolfhound in a
snowstorm and cannot abandon her. What should Paval do? Set up the problem-solving grid to find a
solution.
4. LET'S GO TO DENMARK
The Little Old Woman and the Hungry Cat by Nancy Polette. Greenwillow,
1989.
A greedy cat eats everything in sight.
PATTERN FOR "Are You Sleeping?"
| ____________________ adjective |
______________________ adjective |
______________ noun |
| ____________________ adjective |
______________________ adjective |
______________ noun |
|
___________________________________________________________ |
||
|
___________________________________________________________ |
||
| ____________________ "ing" word |
and | ______________ "ing" word |
| ____________________ "ing" word |
and | ______________ "ing" word |
| Read this book! | Read this book! | |
5 PERU:
Chancay and the Secret of Fire by Donald Charles. Putnam's, 1992.
Chancay must face fierce panthers, erupting volcanoes and lightning bolts to win the secret of fire for his people.
Use the information in the llama data bank to write a song to the tune of London Bridge.
| Lives | Eats | Has |
| Peru | shrubs | thick hair |
| mountains | grasses | four legs |
| Does | Looks Like | |
| carries loads | brown, buff and gray | |
| spits | white or black | |
| travels 20 miles daily | ||
6. A Modern Folktale: The
Bird House by Cynthia Rylant. Scholastic, 1998.
A young girl alone in the forest comes upon a magical house. Listen for the
"holes" in the story. What do we learn
about the natural world?
7. Let's Visit the Appalachian Mountains with
Ashpet, An Appalachian Tale by Joanne Compton. Holiday House, 1994.
Before reading this Cinderella variant, answer these questions.
Where would she live?
What jobs will she do?
Who would all the girls want to marry?
What would be the big event all want to attend?
Who will help Ashpet?
What will her new dress look like?
Try creating your own Cinderella tale set in another time or place.