Storytelling is a tradition that dates back to a time before there was even written language.
People told stories for several reasons: to pass time, to entertain, to pass down cultural beliefs, to share moral values of a society, to caution people against certain actions and behaviors, to explain occurrences in nature, to explain how things/people came to be, to share fears, to encourage people, and the list goes on. There are many, many types of stories from the oral tradition: folk tales, myths, legends, cautionary tales, fables, fairy tales, songs, poems, epics, and even jokes and riddles. We will be specifically exploring some local legends, lores, and tales in order to see how stories have been passed down for years, decades, and even centuries, and how they have impacted us as Pennsylvania residents.
People told stories for several reasons: to pass time, to entertain, to pass down cultural beliefs, to share moral values of a society, to caution people against certain actions and behaviors, to explain occurrences in nature, to explain how things/people came to be, to share fears, to encourage people, and the list goes on. There are many, many types of stories from the oral tradition: folk tales, myths, legends, cautionary tales, fables, fairy tales, songs, poems, epics, and even jokes and riddles. We will be specifically exploring some local legends, lores, and tales in order to see how stories have been passed down for years, decades, and even centuries, and how they have impacted us as Pennsylvania residents.
Watch the video below twice. FIRST, watch it WITHOUT volume, and record your observations in your writer's notebook. Answer the following questions in as MUCH detail as possible:
1. What is the setting? (Time & Place)
2. What are the basic events? (What happened BEFORE the video, and what is happening DURING the video?
3. What do you believe this video is about?
During the second viewing, play the sound, and add details to your responses.
1. What is the setting? (Time & Place)
2. What are the basic events? (What happened BEFORE the video, and what is happening DURING the video?
3. What do you believe this video is about?
During the second viewing, play the sound, and add details to your responses.
After you watch the video the second time, click here for some MORE information about Centralia. Jot down the basic details from what you read, further filling in your responses.
Here is a PA map with counties & cities in order to help you make more connections between the stories you are reading and the settings.
|
What type of story could be told about this town? What would be a basic plot line? What type of characters could be associated with the storyline? What would be a conflict that you could see unfolding within the storyline? How might this conflict be resolved? Turn and talk.
Discuss your findings and your responses with your neighbor. Are your ideas the same? Do you have similar ideas about the characters? plot? conflict? resolution? Now, view THIS page and THIS page, and write record your responses to the following questions in your writer's notebook: 1. What type of story or tale would YOU tell about this setting? 2. What makes this setting the type of setting that would be perfect for a story from the oral tradition? Someone HAS decided to make this town the setting for a horror story and a video game. On what do you believe they focused for the greatest success? |
Everyone:
Your turn!! You will investigate a series of local Pennsylvania sites that have become settings for stories for one reason or another. What do each of these settings and the stories that are told about them all have in common? Select a minimum of 8 stories (I picked ones from a site of 1000's that are more regional--click to see them all for yourself!) to read on your own. Use your Pennsylvania map to locate the setting for each of the 8 (this may require further independent investigation!!) Create a key on the map, noting the symbol you have used to represent EACH of the 8 locations (I am sure you can come up with an appropriate symbol for each). You will then select ONE to research further, one for which you will create a travel brochure or a movie poster (depending upon your class's assignment). Advanced Literature: Your travel brochure should feature a short story that YOU have created that has characters, a basic storyline (exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, ending), and a theme. It doesn't need to be long, but it MUST have ALL of the basic parts. You should think about things like: Based on the short description of the urban legend you decided to depict, what story would you create? What kind of tale (scary, cautionary, one that shares how an event came to be, tall tale, legend) will you create? You will TELL your story to a group of your peers, so make sure it is one that you can "tell" and not "read". OH, and as a CHALLENGE, I implore you to see how many of your 300 vocabulary words you can incorporate into your tale to enchant your readers while creating an impartial yet legitimate tale of infamous proportions ;) -- you need to use a minimum of 10! Have fun! |
General Literature:
Your movie poster should be completed after completing a basic "plot mountain" graphic organizer on which you will share information regarding your characters and basic plot line of a movie that might be created based on the facts you have? You should think about things like: Based on the short description of the urban legend you decided to depict, what story would you create? What kind of tale (scary, cautionary, one that shares how an event came to be, tall tale, legend) will you create? Who would play the characters in your movie? What would be a movie title that would reflect your storyline? (Remember, "Silent Hill" is based on Centralia's current situation). IN preparation to plan your own story, we will listen to a variety of SHORT stories, noticing specific qualities that all have in common, and identifying the specific, unique qualities possessed by each specific type of story. We will also talk about the purpose of the stories to which we listen. Finally, you will start working on a plot diagram in preparation to tell your own story from the oral tradition.
The Ants and the Grasshopper Knock Knock The Charge of the Light Brigade The Emporer's New Clothes and The Midas Touch Johnny Cake Jack Hannaford |