Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez lori@miscositas.com Chair, ESL & World Language Department Herricks Public Schools, NY for the language classroom ACTFL National Standards “the 5 Cs” Communication Communicate in languages other than English Connections Connect with other disciplines and acquire information Comparisons Develop insight into the nature of language and culture Communities Participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world Cultures Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures WHY use folktales? “…the great power of the story is that it engages us affectively as well as requiring our cognitive attention; we learn the content of the story while we are emotionally engaged by its characters or events.” - Kieran Egan, Teaching as Storytelling “The use of literature designed for children in the target culture allows learners of the target language to share cultural experiences and attitudes in a very direct way…” - Curtain and Pesola Languages and Children, Making the Match WHY use folktales? Through the characters on the page, children are able to live out their worst fears and their fondest wishes. Valuable life lessons are conveyed through the stories which children readily absorb in a non- threatening and even enjoyable context. -Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment WHY use folktales? Children do not learn about complex grammatical points by either making errors and then being corrected or through explicit instruction in grammar. The knowledge of specific grammatical rules " is part of a child's biological endow- ment, part of the structure of the language faculty.“ “…about 99 percent of teaching is making students feel interested in the material.” -Noam Chomsky, Language and Problems of Knowing WHY use folktales? With folktales you… teach grammar and vocabulary in context teach grammar and vocabulary in isolated lists incorporate language, culture and content teach language separate from its cultural context communicate with the classroom teacher to reinforce curriculum organize lessons on topics that are disconnected from the students Where to find stories the community the Internet print sources travel What to look for… g r a m m a r v o c a b u l a r y c u l t u r e c o n t e n t i n t e r e s t i n g s t o r y webpage www.miscositas.com [...]...www.miscositas.com PRE-READING •Vocabulary preparation - “magic box” - illlustrated words •Prediction - order story - summary illustration •Story background - realia - tradition - author - geography Pre-reading and prediction “Stories allow students to anticipate and predict thus involving them in activity.” (Barton and Booth, Stories in the Classroom, 1990) PRE-READING Intro page: Story origins...     READING Students navigate the story by clicking on the left or right icons POST-READING •Comprehension check - factual questions - opinion questions - related personal questions •Story reviews •Performance •Creative writing similar story from own culture find another story from target culture same genre story POST-READING Students summarize the story Story reviews Students review the story with... story POST-READING Students summarize the story Story reviews Students review the story with a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” POST READING Creative writing Genre = Etiological tales, Pourquoi tales, Why-stories “Why the Ocean Has a lot of Salt” Sample classroom connections Sample Art connections Sample Phys Ed connections Sample Music connections Creating a curriculum unit Look at current curriculum . PRE-READING • Vocabulary preparation - “magic box” - illlustrated words • Prediction - order story - summary illustration • Story background - realia - tradition - author - geography . story by clicking on the left or right icons POST-READING • Comprehension check - factual questions - opinion questions - related personal questions • Story reviews • Performance • Creative. stories which children readily absorb in a non- threatening and even enjoyable context. -Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment WHY use folktales? Children do not learn about complex