pageUsing stories to teach the standards – Grades 7-12
George Pilling, Supervisor of Library Media services
Visalia Unified School District
630 S. Atwood
Visalia, CA 93277
(559) 730-7349
Listening is the fourth and most neglected component of language. The California Reading/Language Arts standards address listening briefly, then cover speaking in relative depth. Stories – and the activities that come after them, can help students learn listening skills to meet the standards. When students tell stories, they learn quickly the speaking standards.
Stories also help teach the History/Social Studies standards, by humanizing facts about cultures.
Here are a few ideas for using the stories on Misery,
folktales retold by George Pilling.
“The Monkey who Wanted Misery” - I told this tale on the first day of school to all of my students. Some of them asked for misery, not knowing what it was. For the rest of the year, I could ask, “Are you asking for Misery?” and they knew what I meant.
“The Caged Bird” – This Sufi tale has counterparts all over the world. The lesson is that sometimes you need some help to escape a difficult situation.
“The Wise Old Woman” reinforces understanding of the Japanese reverence for old people (study of world culture, grades 7 and 10). It is also a fun story with a sequence of events that is easy to remember. Activities include: Students write or speak bout a commonly held belief in their own culture that may be strange to others. Students create stories that show an aspect of their own culture and tell or present them to the class.
Somalia is a land of many questions and few solutions. “The Three Suitors” is a tale that fits, and can be used as a conversation starter about difficult world situations. It also lends itself to a “writing the ending” exercise, which can initiate class discussions about culture and understanding.
“The Four Grains of Rice,” from China, has an excellent moral for high school students. It can be compared to the biblical story of the talents to see if the stereotypes of cultures hold true.
“The Princess with the Horns” is just pure fun from Italy. Magic and revenge combine, but losers remain as they are.
