Strategies
Think-Pair-Sharere
Each epic being read in class will be accompanied by a www.youtube.com video that captures all three types of storytellers in a musical performance of the narratives. Students will be able to imagine what it was like to hear the stories in the form in which they were originally created - oral tradition. Although these epics are examples of oral tradition, throughout history they have been recorded and translated into many languages. One might ask how I am going to teach a story that defines the idea of oral tradition when I'm having the students read it on paper? I know they are going to ask me the same question, and the answer is explained more elaborately below. Most importantly, I will need to explain that for centuries it was the role of the oral storyteller to maintain accuracy when communicating the story and that it can still be considered oral tradition (even though they will read it on paper) because the stories are still being passed down from generation to generation by oral storytellers in countries across the world. This point will be emphasized while watching the www.youtube.com videos. In another attempt to drive home the notion that just because it is now written, an epic tale can still represent the definition of oral tradition, I will have students watch and listen to the videos of the oral storytellers before reading the epics. Hopefully, as students begin to read the lengthy tales, they will begin thinking about the difficult and complex task the oral storyteller has.
At various times throughout the unit, while working with a partner, students will have to select an excerpt from the epic we are reading and think about the tone and mood of the selection. What words or phrases reveal the tone and mood of the selection? Students will record their answers individually, then share them with their partner. Next, they will decide how to tell the story orally to their partner, based on the tone and mood they determined previously.
This will give students the opportunity to study the elements of a legend while practicing the techniques of oral tradition.
Journal Writing
I begin every class with a journal. During this unit I will ask students to write about their favorite family stories. What is your favorite story? Who told you the story? What effect does the storyteller have on the story? Have the details of the story varied over time? By the end of the unit students will have compiled quite a repertoire of personal stories to share with each other. At the beginning of class students will share their stories (on a voluntary basis) so they can practice the skills needed to become a great storyteller. By the end of the unit they will need to commit two of their own stories to memory and recite them orally to the class. I will record them on a tape recorder so I can play them back when assessing them for technique.
Graphic Organizers
Students will compare and contrast the three epic tales so they can identify the hinge functions and free motifs of epic tales. Hinge functions are the events which move the story forward; these would be the functions that all three tales have in common - a hero who uses his or her inner strength or mysterious power to overcome a conflict, for example. When teaching the elements of a story, I tell my students that when plotting the events of the Rising Action, they need to write down events that have a chain reaction, that help in the progression of the story. Free motifs are the differences that are specific to a given culture, or belief system. For example, all three stories have a hero, but Sundiata is the only male character and he is directly involved in the rise of the Malian empire. In the Japanese epic, women are the main characters, but they are at the mercy of the men. However, in the Irish epic, the woman has control over the man in her life. Students could create a graphic organizer in which they draw a three circle Venn Diagram. The overlapping circles would have hinge functions recorded in them and the outer circles would contain the free motifs. It is important to point out that free motifs are not just the differences in setting, clothing, or traditions within a particular story, but include any actions in the story that do not move the plot forward. For example, if a character takes a vacation, but nothing critical stems from the trip - it was just a point in the story where the character left and returned, it would be considered a free motif.f.43 As we read a story I would have students draw something similar to a timeline where a horizontal line across the paper guides their notes. Above the line they would record the hinge functions and below the line the free motifs would be recorded. This would guide them help guide them in completing the above-mentioned Venn Diagram..
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