Storytelling

=Activities =


 * Activity 1 || Introduction to Aboriginal Story Telling || 4 classes ||
 * Activity 2 || Creation Stories || 7 classes ||
 * Activity 3 || Trickster Stories || 7 classes ||
 * FCA || Telling The Tale || 7 classes ||

=Activity 1: Introduction to Aboriginal Storytelling =

Activity 1.1 Intro to Improvisational Games

 * 1) Form a team of 4 or 5 members
 * 2) Choose a name

We will be playing a number of Improv Games over the next 6 weeks.

Read this:

One recurring motif in First Nations storytelling is that of the young man who undergoes ritual initiation and eventually accomplishes an heroic act. Often the young man is born under divine circumstances or has mixed parentage. He doesn't fully belong to his native nation and must prove himself by some daring feat. In the end, the hero often dies tragically and becomes revered by his people.

Another common motif is that of the trickster. For the Lakota tribe, for instance, the trickster is represented by the spider. For the Kiowa, it's embodied by the coyote. The trickster may be a foolish figure who reveals human avarice. Often the trickster's selfish or mean-spirited actions result in being punished. Although the trickster may hurt others or act wrongly, it is nonetheless regarded as a cultural hero in many stories.

First Nations storytelling often involves attributing human characteristics to landmark formations or inanimate objects. Often, animals may be given human behavioural characteristics such as a greed or jealousy. Inanimate objects and animals may be accorded an equal place with humans in the cosmos, and this equality emerges in First Nations storytelling.

Much First Nations storytelling is rooted in the vitality of the oral tradition. Thus, many novels or poems may incorporate storytelling techniques such as song or repetition.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activity 1.3
Listen to Rabbit's Wish for Snow at @http://www.pbs.org/circleofstories/

**Watch** [|//The Girl Who Married the Moon//]
Answer this:
 * 1) //What does nature mean to the girls and their culture?//
 * 2) //Why is patience so important in this story?//
 * 3) //What mystery does this story attempt to explain//?

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activity 2: Creation Stories =


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Choose a group of 4-5 members
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Each person chooses a First Nations culture and a story from the list at the following link: @http://www.native-languages.org/legends.htm or choose a story from []
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Rewrite thestory in your own words
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Make a list identifying all characters
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Define each character’s personality using only 3 words
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Define the physical characteristics of each character using only 3 words, if there is no description in the story, use your imagination as to how you think the character looks.
 * 7) Answer this:
 * 8) //<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">What culture/nation created this story? //
 * 9) //<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">What are they from geographically (be as specific as possible)? Online locate a map that displays the geographic area of origin and save it. //
 * 10) //<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Does the story have a moral lesson? If so what is it? //
 * 11) //<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Does the story explain something or answer a question? If so what? //
 * 12) //<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 11pt;">What does this story tell you about the people and culture that created it? //

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activity 3: Trickster Stories =


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Choose a group of 4 - 5 members (you may NOT work with anyone from your previous group)
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Each person chooses a First Nations culture from the list at the links in Activity 2 above.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Each person finds a Trickster story from the culture you've chosen
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read each story.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Choose one
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Choose a person to be the narrator (if you were a narrator in your first group you may NOT be one now)
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rehearse a mime performance that tells the story you've chosen

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Final Culminating Assessment =


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Group **
 * 1) Choose one of the stories below that is appropriate to the size of your group.
 * 2) Identify all the characters in the story
 * 3) Identify the setting of the story
 * 4) Identify the nation/culture the story comes from and where that people are located geographically. (Steps 2, 3, and 4 are due Wednesday, 9 January)
 * 5) Rewrite the story in your own words (each person). Pay close attention to setting, mood, and the balance between description and dialogue. Due Friday, 11 January
 * 6) Break your story down into specific scenes (Due Monday, 14 January)
 * 7) Create a script for the story. We'll briefly take up script writing in class. [[file:Play template.doc|Download the script template]]. Due Tuesday, 15 January
 * 8) Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.
 * 9) Perform the script - you can use puppets, mime, spoken word, dance, tableaux, etc... as long as it involves performance and tells the story. You may either perform it live or record it. Due Monday, 21 January.


 * Individual**


 * 1) Choose one of the stories.
 * 2) Identify all the characters in the story
 * 3) Identify the setting of the story
 * 4) Identify the nation/culture the story comes from and where that people are located geographically. (Steps 2, 3, and 4 are due Wednesday, 9 January)
 * 5) Rewrite the story in your own words . Pay close attention to setting, mood, and the balance between description and dialogue. Due Friday, 11 January
 * 6) Break your story down into specific scenes (Due Monday, 14 January)
 * 7) Create a script for the story. We'll briefly take up script writing in class. Download the script template. Due Tuesday, 15 January
 * 8) Perform the script - you can use puppets, mime, spoken word, dance, tableaux, etc... as long as it involves performance and tells the story. You may either perform it live or record it. Due Monday, 21 January.
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstpeople.us%2FFP-Html-Legends%2FFrogAndRabbit-Cree.html]]
 * Native American Indian Legends - Frog and Rabbit - Cree
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstpeople.us%2FFP-Html-Legends%2FTheLegendoftheBigBird-Chippewa.html]]
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstpeople.us%2FFP-Html-Legends%2FTheLegendoftheBigBird-Chippewa.html]]
 * Native American Indian Legends - The Legend of the Big Bird - Chippewa
 * Native Americans in Olden Times - Wise Owl (Woodland Indian myth)
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstpeople.us%2FFP-Html-Legends%2FHowFireCameToTheSixNations-Mohawk.html]]
 * Native American Indian Legends - How Fire Came To The Six Nations - Mohawk
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indianlegend.com%2Falgonquin%2Falgonquin_003.htm]]
 * Algonquin Indian Legends - Rabbit Calls a Truce
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indianlegend.com%2Fcreek%2Fcreek_003.htm]]
 * Creek Indian Legends - How Rabbit Fooled Alligator
 * [[image:http://images.shrinktheweb.com/xino.php?stwembed=1&stwinside=1&xmax=155&stwaccesskeyid=4bc3adb04a0b529&stwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indianlegend.com%2Fseneca%2Fseneca_002.htm]]
 * Seneca Indian Legends - How the Chipmunk Got Its Stripes
 * [||Iroquois Indian Legends - Battle With the Snakes]