A Short History of Story:

Evolution of Narrative Writing

Wendy S. Girnis

Introduction

I currently teach third grade. One of the most difficult subjects to teach to third graders is writing. By third grade, we expect students to go through the writing process to produce a written piece that contains an introduction, body, and a conclusion. Students need to have events in sequential order using temporal words or phrases, as well as understand character development. Finally, students need to revise and edit their piece. Revisions for a third grader are the most difficult thing to master. This blended curriculum unit focuses on the process of storytelling throughout history, focusing on the evolution of the folktale and pourquoi tale. By having students write their pieces following the sequence of historical storytelling; sounds and movements, hieroglyphics, oral and written, I hope to inspire them to not just write, but also revise and edit their pieces using technology. Using technology in this unit will help my students to become more proficient as 21st century learners who will experience the evolution of storytelling through multiple activities.

Background

My School, Castle Hills Elementary School is one of eight elementary schools in the Colonial School District, located in New Castle, Delaware. The students in my school come from many different backgrounds. These backgrounds not only include, students born in the United States to immigrant and nonimmigrant parents, but students who are immigrants themselves. The ethnicities of our immigrant population are Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European. Each student comes with their own language and beliefs, as well as their own family history passed down through story and pictures.

There are approximately 600 K-5 students in my school. Our school services students from a low socioeconomic status, and is 100% free breakfast and lunch. As a third grade teacher, I have approximately 23 students in my class, 8 of which are ELL students. Third graders are ages 8 and 9.

My students are very computer literate. They are familiar with Schoology, our LMS (Learning Management System) and Google Drive, as well as other various forms of media. My students work well collaboratively with each other most of the time. My goal

for this lesson is to have my students improve upon their folktales and pourquoi tales as they move through the timeline of storytelling.

This lesson will also fit into the broader context of learning, which is to facilitate my students’ learning to move them towards becoming 21st century learners and problem solvers. Today’s students need to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, communicators, and collaborators. My classroom is moving from a teacher centered classroom to a student centered one. This shift in pedagogy has me prioritizing student interaction, communication, and collaboration in my classroom. Blended learning lessons will give my students a chance to practice 21st century skills required for future success. Blended learning is a model that uses online and face-to-face learning practices. Students are taught a concept in a traditional class setting. Students then work independently or in pairs or groups to complete an online component to the lesson. “Incorporating blended learning, schools and teachers are forced to change the ways in which they have historically instructed and interacted with students.”1

Rationale

In my twenty-one years of teaching, writing has either been a major focus in the core curriculum or has fallen to the wayside. Before the implementation of Common Core State Standards writing took a backseat to the rest of the ELA core. With Common Core’s implementation, there is more of a focus on the craft of writing. Writing is difficult for third graders. The expectations for writing in third grade are a lot more rigorous than second grade’s expectations. By third grade we are asking students to include more in their writing and to become independent writers. The second-grade writing standard has students writing narratives that are well-elaborated and include details, temporal words and a sense of closure. The third-grade writing standard has students writing well developed narratives using effective techniques and descriptive details. Students also need to include character development, as well as temporal words and phrases, and provide a sense of closure.”2 For third graders, this is a big jump. Most third graders come to third grade with the mindset that a paragraph only needs to be 5 sentences. They are now asked to write a lot more than 5 sentences. This is a struggle. Most students see a blank piece of paper and it intimidates them. When asked to write, they will write a few sentences, shut down and announce that they are done.

As I have said, getting third grade students to write is difficult, but I have noticed that most third-grade students will write more when given a chance to use computers. The screen is not as intimidating as a blank sheet of paper. Since students produce more and involve themselves more in the lesson when using technology, this will be a blended lesson with the final product completed in Google Docs.

With that said, this year, my focus will be on creating better writers. I am planning to use a different approach to writing. In previous years, my students have gone through the

writing process; prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and finally publication. In the past, once my students had written something down, they believed that they had completed their writing. They had trouble understanding the finer points of revising and editing and don’t want to put in the extra effort.

To get students hooked on this writing project, it will require students to tell a story in the form of non-verbal storytelling like charades and produce artwork in the form storyboarding / cave paintings as a prewriting activity. They will then participate in oral storytelling to improve upon the story they drew and add in missing details. Finally, students will complete a written piece which will include some of the steps of the writing process. Students will write a draft of their story that they have already drew and orally told. They will then revise, edit, and finally publish.

Students will be introduced to folktales and pourquoi tales. A pourquoi tale is a story that tells how and why something, usually a natural occurring event, came to be. Pourquoi tales can be found in every culture around the world. Using the tale, “How Tigers Got Their Stripes”, a pourquoi tale from Vietnam, students will be introduced to Pourquoi tales. They will also be introduced to folktales with a moral through the story “Stone Soup”. A folktale is “a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally among a people.”3 Once students are introduced to both tales, they will then work in pairs to brainstorm a list of natural phenomenon or morals that they could write a folktale or pourquoi tale about. In pairs, students will research and learn about a variety of storytelling methods. These methods will be non-verbal communication of a story, cave paintings (storyboarding), oral storytelling, and finally written stories. Students will use Schoology, our Learning Management System (LMS). Using the LMS, I can guide my students through the project and publish the information as needed so that they do not jump ahead. Students will be working on one method of storytelling at a time. Third graders have difficulty staying focused when on a computer. Using the LMS, I can embed the sites and videos that I want my students to view. Other ways to keep students focused would be to use Google Docs or slides to hyperlink videos and websites. You can then distribute these documents or presentations through Google Classroom. As my students complete their research on each method of storytelling, they will work with a partner to produce that method of storytelling. The pairs will demonstrate non-verbal storytelling, cave paintings/hieroglyphics and oral storytelling. Once each method is completed it will be videotaped. As a class, we will watch the videos, try to figure out the gist of the story, and talk about what details are missing. As the students go through each reincarnation of the story, they should be able to add more details.

Learning Objectives

The goal of this unit is to have my students create their own written folktale or pourquoi tale. The students will investigate the power of storytelling throughout history. This will

include storytelling methods from body language, to the written word. Using these various methods, students will work in pairs and individually, using a blended learning model, to produce stories that showcase the power of storytelling throughout the ages. Students will use drawings, illustrations, and the elements of a folktale or pourquoi tale that was learned in class to help them write their own folktale or pourquoi tale.

Concepts

Storytelling has been around since man has had language. “Even before then, people told stories using images, signs, and sounds. Storytelling is the oldest form of narrative communication known to humans.”4 It helps us understand our world and share it with others. Storytelling gives us a chance to warn others, or boast of our adventures. Stories were originally told through body movements, cave paintings and eventually evolved into oral storytelling before being written down. As the stories became verbal they became a way to entertain others whether in our home or by a campfire. As stories took on a life of their own and grew larger than life, man started to attribute these adventures to people who were long gone, like tribe chiefs or Kings. Embellished stories were even attributed to gods. Each culture had their own specific ways of telling a narrative. Vikings had very forceful stories that contained swords and battles. The French stories contained chivalry in their legends. Native American oral storytelling traditions allowed tribes to transmit their mythological, spiritual and historical understandings of themselves and the worlds they inhabited to their children and their children’s children.5 Eventually, these stories were written done to be shared. Once these stories began to be written down, creative writing grew.

Cave Paintings

Cro-Magnon man told their stories through cave paintings. “These paintings that they created were a way to tell about their beliefs and ideas.” 6 Writing was not a skill developed by man in the prehistoric period. Cave paintings were a way to communicate. Most of the paintings depicted animals, but some did show human figures. There are three theories as to why prehistoric man painted animals: 1) The animals were important to their survival, 2) They thought that the pictures of the animals contained a kind of magic that could help hunters become successful. 3) Prehistoric man used the cave paintings as a chronicle of their own hunts. Through these paintings, we can glimpse into the past by about 40,000 – 100,000 years.

The first cave paintings found by modern man were in Altimira, Spain in 1860. The paintings made by the Magdalenian people. “Bison, horses, deer, hands, and mysterious signs were painted or engraved over the 9,000 years during which the cave of Altamira was inhabited (22,000 - 13,000 before the present).”7 Many of the bison are drawn and then painted using the boulders for the animal’s shoulders. This made them look three-dimensional. These paintings are sometimes called “The Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic

Art”.8 The caves were secluded and away from climatic influences which preserved the paintings. Scientists and historians have a challenge preserving them. The caves were opened and closed to the public many times throughout the years to preserve the paintings. In 2014 the caves were reopened on a limited basis to the public. When visitors entered the caves, they were required to wear protective gear, such as masks, shoes and suits before entering the cave to protect the caves from CO2 emissions and body heat. The caves are now open to visitors through a weekly lottery.

The Lascaux cave paintings were discovered in 1940 near Montignac, France. They were found by teenagers who stumbled upon the caves. The caves contained ancient artwork. “The 15,000- to 17,000-year-old paintings, consisting mostly of animal representations, are among the finest examples of art from the Upper Paleolithic period.”9 The pictures illustrate many different types of animals; horses, deer, stags, cattle, cats, and mythical creatures. The Caves of Lascaux also contain many different geometric designs. These designs seem to be mathematical in nature and could represent the beginnings of mathematical awareness.

There are many theories behind how and why the cave paintings were made. The caves do not get natural light, so some scientists believe that the paintings were created using torches or oil lamps, while others believe that at one point the caves were lit by natural light during certain times of the year. Scientists also debate the significance of the paintings. There is a wide range of theories about the paintings that range from pictures of real-life moments, like animal hunts, to a belief that sacred rituals were depicted. At the entrance of one of the caves, there is a depiction of the prehistoric night sky. It is believed that the ancient skies shown at the entrance of the cave represent the Pleiades “Inside the bull painting, there are also indications of spots that may be a representation of other stars found in that region of sky. Today, this region forms part of the constellation of Taurus the bull, with the remarkable suggestion of a direct transfer of information for over 17,000 years.”10 . There are also theories that suggest that the cave chambers were used as sacred meeting places.

The newest cave paintings to be discovered were found in Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave in the South of France in 1994. As with many of the caves, the paintings shows animals painted on the cave walls. The interesting thing about the paintings was that they were painted over each other. This suggests that different groups of people occupied the area at different times. The paintings in Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc are estimated to be about 32,000 years old.

It is believed that prehistoric man used rocks and sticks to etch the walls, while using berries, clay, soot, or charcoal mixed with animal fat or spit to paint. Prehistoric man used many methods to apply paint to the cave walls. Paint was applied by brushing, dabbing, and spraying paint on with feathers, hair, twigs, reeds, or fingertips. The pigments used, were those found in the caves. These pigments included “the so-called

earth pigments, (minerals limonite and hematite, red ochre, yellow ochre and umber), charcoal from the fire (carbon black), burnt bones (bone black) and white from grounded calcite (lime white).”11

Once students research the Lascaux cave paintings and the cave paintings of Altimira, students will produce their own cave paintings of the moral or natural event their story is about. These cave paintings will include the elements of those found in the Lascaux and Altimira caves.

History of the Written Word

Writing has been around since about 3,000 BC. At this point in history, people started to move from a hunter – gatherer society towards an agrarian society. With this change, records of property and sales of crops needed to be kept. Writing during this time began with images like the Egyptian hieroglyphs or the signs the Sumerians used in the area that the Greeks called Mesopotamia. These pictures written on wet clay and dried in the sun to become a permanent record. At first these images portrayed just the article in question. Eventually, the writers would combine images or glyphs to form a concept. Since it took time to produce the writing, it was primarily used by royals, religious figures, and business leaders. With the arrival of writing, there was a written record of business dealings and government transactions, like tax collections which allowed them to become more proficient and responsible. With this written record, we can study and understand the past.

During the 8th century BC, the written language began to go through an evolution. In the 8th century, the Greeks began to add vowels to the Phoenician alphabet. They also conformed with the practice of the right to left writing the Phoenicians had, as well as keeping the letters all facing left. This was the beginning of the Greek alphabet. The earliest examples of the Greek alphabet can be found as graffiti in Lefkandi and Eretria. Unlike glyphs, the Greek alphabet could represent speech more precisely. The Latin and Cyrillic alphabets originated from the Greek alphabet. The Greek alphabet contained 24 letters compared to the 700 symbols the Egyptians used. Because there were fewer symbols, more people had access to learn the writing system.

Hieroglyphs

From about 3,000 BC to about the 8th century BC most of the writing was done through glyphs. Hieroglyphs are known as the oldest form of writing. They are believed to be from 3300 or 3200 BC. Hieroglyphs were used for approximately 3500 years. Hieroglyphs were used by people of stature like priests, royalty, and public officials. We find other cultures around the world, for example Asia and the Americas, used writing systems that were like Egyptian hieroglyphics, but were not related.

Ancient Egyptians used pictures to write down their language known as glyphs. These symbols were usually carved into the stone of monuments and sacred sites. Egyptians had 700 different glyphs to represent letters. Unlike written English, which is written from left to right, Hieroglyphs can be written from top to bottom, left to right, and right to left. Punctuation and spaces were not used. The direction the glyphs are read depend on which way the figures are facing. The flexibility of this writing system allowed art and writing to be united. “The inventory of signs is divided into three major categories, namely (1) logograms, signs that write out morphemes, (a word or part of a word that has meaning) (2) phonograms, signs that represent one or more sounds of single consonants or combinations of consonants, and (3) determinatives, signs that denote neither morpheme nor sound but help with the meaning of a group of signs that precede them”.12 It is difficult to know exactly how the Egyptian glyphs were pronounced because they did not use vowels in their writing.

Two other types of writings that were derived from hieroglyphics were hieratic script which was used from 2925 BC until about 200 BC, and demotic script used between 700 BC and 500 BC. Hieratic script was written in ink on papyrus and used mainly for religious writings. Demotic script was mainly used for business and legal documents and written in ink on papyrus like the hieratic script.

Oral Storytelling

As man’s language skills evolved, storytelling moved from cave paintings and hieroglyphs to a verbal existence. Storytellers would tell stories of history and important events of the tribe. As we found out in seminar, these storytellers told a variety of stories; Myths and legends, epics, and novels. These are some of the stories we hear today. They were passed down through the years by way of word of mouth storytelling. With each generation, the stories would change and evolve themselves. These stories survived because adults and children found them interesting and exciting. Storytelling became a way for people to gather in a social setting to be captivated by a narrator relaying information about a recent glorious adventure, a dangerous situation, cultural history, or even how and why something occurred. The storyteller needed to involve their audience to keep them interested and feeling as if they were on the journey with the narrator. At the same time, the audience needed to be cooperative and pay attention to the speaker, but at the same time, they needed to feel included in the story. Since the audience found the stories interesting, they wanted to remember the stories they heard. “These stories were shared with others in faraway lands, when people traveled. The stories traveled with them. And when they returned home, they brought with them exciting new tales of exotic places and people.”13 Due to the nomadic tendencies of some people during the time of the oral storyteller, many different variations of the same fairytale, myth, or pourquoi tale exist. As these stories spread, they were improved upon, embellished, and adapted to fit into the culture and geographic area they were brought to. That is why we see several variations of Little Red Riding Hood, or how an animal lost their tail.

During this oral period of storytelling, fairytales were popular. The fairytale tries to change the world and make it a more welcoming place. Fairytales, like life start out with some kind of struggle. There is a problem that must be solved for everyone to live happily ever after. Fairytales use magical means, whether it is through people, animals, or objects, to change the lives of the characters involved and help them find peaceful and gratifying lives. In Cinderella, we see that Cinderella has a horrible life with her step mother and sisters. Then the Fairy Godmother provides Cinderella with all the necessary items; gown, carriage, footman, and glass slippers, that lead to a chain of events that eventually finds her marrying the prince and living happily ever after. In that story, we can all see ourselves rising above our station in life. How many times have you heard people say that they wish that their fairy godmother would show up. Fairytales give us hope.

The pourquoi tales were oral stories very popular in native cultures. These stories were considered creation myths because they told how and why something came to be. These tales helped people make sense of the world around them.

Pourquoi tales were told using a variety of different methods. The storytellers would be very expressive when telling these tales. Part of being expressive included body language and voice intonation. The body language and expressions of the storyteller brought the listener into the story. If a character was angry or mad, the storyteller needed to show this anger not just in their voice but in their body language. If a character was a snail, the storyteller needed to slow down their voice and body movements to emulate a snail. By doing this, the storyteller could keep the audience interested in the story. Arctic storytellers went even further and along with their body language and voice intonations to add to the experience of listening to a story, they would also use a long sinew cord. With this cord, they would create patterns and other recognizable shapes that had certain meanings. The shapes and patterns would help highlight certain parts of the story and increase the listeners understanding.

Personal oral histories are another aspect of verbal storytelling. Oral histories help to preserve the memories of a community or people. Oral histories have been around before the written word. When an oral history is begun, it consists of an interviewer with questions for the candidate. The interview is recorded and used for historical purposes. Oral histories are a primary source giving a somewhat firsthand account of what the person experienced. These firsthand accounts though are memories which can fade and change over time.

Once students complete their research about oral storytelling, they will be responsible for orally telling their pourquoi or folktale to their group. They will be videotaping the story so that they can critique it to see if they included all of the elements of the oral storytelling traditions.

Written Stories

Writing allowed people to put their beliefs and the events of their life into a literary form. Before that, stories were passed down orally. When passed down orally, stories change and evolve, or are forgotten altogether. Writing a story down, allows it to remain frozen in time. No matter how many times we read the words, the story stays the same.

A priestess by the name of Enheduanna (2285-2250) is believed to be the first writer in history. She wrote hymns, poetry and prayers. “Through the Babylonians, they (Enhehuanna’s writing) influenced and inspired the prayers and psalms of the Hebrew Bible and the Homeric hymns of Greece”. The first epic tale written was “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. It was composed before 2150 BC. It deals with Gilgamesh’s quest for the meaning of life. The questions and grief experienced by Gilgamesh rings true with every human being.

Every culture began to have their stories put down on paper. It is said that European literature begins between 800-700 BC with the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Greeks had their plays which were in written form. During the 6th century BC, the Greeks had contests in honor of Dionysia where theatrical awards would be handed out for a written tragedy and a satyr play. The presentation of the plays took a full day in a festive atmosphere. At the end of the day, a winner was chosen. By the 5th century, the Greeks were involved in writing comedies. As before, contests were held and winners chosen. Some of these plays survive today. A testament to the written works.

As the years went by, each culture had their own written works of art whether it was prose or poetry. These works were created for religious purposes, to teach lessons, and even to entertain. They included Beowulf from the 6th century, stories of King Arthur in the 12th century, and Italian love poems around the 13th century, up to modern day works.

Until the 15th century, writing was hand written and not made available to the middle classes. In the 15th century, things begin to change. Writing was becoming more available as engravers would engrave writings onto copperplate or wooden blocks and use a press to transfer the engraving from plate or block to paper. Writing was quickly becoming a foundation of Western Civilization, but it was still costly to produce and there was no way to distribute the works. In 1450 an invention would revolutionize the distribution of writing, the Gutenberg printing press. Gutenberg developed separate pieces of type from metal, which was moveable and durable. These separate pieces could be put together for form a multitude of words. The words were printed in lines and put together to make up a printed page. The printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe. There was an immediate effect on the output and cost of printed materials. More books were available to a wider range of the population. Multiple copies of books were available to libraries at a lower cost. The printing and availability of materials inspired people to become literate.

The first books printed for mass distribution were religious in nature. Printers, seeing the need to produce more books, started to print books about medicine, travel, and moralizing. People started to purchase books on these various subjects.

In the late 1800s, another invention that would revolutionize writing would be the typewriter. Instead of handwriting a story, writers could now use mechanical means to write their stories. Letters would form words directly on the page quicker than writing them by hand. Unfortunately, if you made a mistake, you would have to retype the whole paper, or find a bottle of white out or correct tape.

The newest invention to revolutionize writing is the computer. The computer made storytelling even easier. Not only can you form words with a keyboard, but also with your voice and video. You can cut out mistakes and fix them easily without having to retype your whole paper. You can cut and paste and move whole sections. You can post videos to YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. You can bring your story to people, instead of having them go out to get it. Using digital media, you can publish your works online through many writer websites and eBook publishers.

Through this unit, my students will have the opportunity to travel through time as storytellers. They will have the opportunity to walk in the shoes of prehistoric, ancient, and modern man. They will be able to publish and distribute their stories through digital media. My students will use their stories to entertain, teach, or warn people of danger like stories have done throughout history.

After completing this research, students will begin their written piece. Students will use the previous renditions of the story to help guide them on the written piece.

Classroom Activities

My unit will include four lessons on the various storytelling methods that have been used throughout history. The lessons will range from 2-5 days, with the unit taking a total of 3 weeks to complete. The lesson will be delivered using the blended learning model. The blended learning model requires the teacher to deliver the introductory content to the students. Once the content is delivered, the online component can be completed in the classroom or in another location such as home. As students as working on their online lessons, they will be checking in with the teacher to update their progress, ask questions, or ask for help. Once the online component is completed, students will be responsible to complete a product to showcase their learning.

Lesson One: Introducing Folktales and Pourquoi Tales

Day 1

On the first day of the lesson, students will be introduced to the folktale, “Stone Soup”. There are many different variations of “Stone Soup” but each variation has the same moral, “Sharing makes everyone richer.”

Before reading the story, introduce the elements of folktales. The elements of folktales include the phrase “Once upon a time” or “A long time ago.” Folktales also use the number three-Characters, events, etc. They also have good and bad characters. Folktales also use repetition, involves people or animals, and have main characters have a problem to solve. Finally, folktales have a happy ending. The characters live happily ever after.

Have a “Somebody, Wanted, But, So” summarizing graphic organizer available (Appendix 2). As you read, have students point out the elements of a folktale, the characters, setting, problem, solution, and lesson learned. Discuss the moral/lesson of the story with students. As a class, write a summary of the folktale using the “Somebody, Wanted, But, So” graphic organizer. Discuss the moral/lesson of the folktale.

Day 2

The second day of the lesson will be focused on pourquoi tales. To introduce pourquoi tales, read the tale, “How the Tiger Got its Stripes” . There are many different pourquoi tales, but each one explains a naturally occurring event.

Before reading the story, introduce students to the elements of a pourquoi tale. These elements include explaining how a natural phenomenon came to be, that a pourquoi tale is a tale that took place a long time ago, and that animals in this type of tale have human-like qualities (personification).

Have an “Elements of a Pourquoi Tale” graphic organizer available, as well as a “Somebody, Wanted, But, So” summarizing graphic organizer. As you read, have students point out the elements of a pourquoi tale and fill in the graphic organizer. Discuss the explanation of how something came to be with students. Working in pairs, have students write a summary of the pourquoi tale using the “Somebody, Wanted, But, So” graphic organizer. Have students share out.

Day 3

Call students together to review the elements of a folktale and a pourquoi tale. Explain to students that they will be working with a partner to come up with a list of morals, or naturally occurring events that they have questions about. Students will be paired up to do this research.

An example of a pairing strategy is as follows. Pair students either by same reading ability or by high level readers with low level readers. Use the following steps to pair high-level readers with low-level readers. First, list the students in order from highest to lowest according to reading ability. Next, divide the list in half. Then place the top student in the first list with the top student in the second list. Continue until all students have been partnered. Remember to be sensitive to pairings of students with special needs, including learning or emotional needs. You can adjust pairings as necessary

The reader from the first list should read first while the reader from the second list listens and follows along. Then the second reader should pick up where the first reader stops. If additional practice is needed, the second reader can reread what the first reader read. Encourage pairs to ask each other about what was read. Some examples are "What was your page about? What was your favorite part?"14

Once students come up with a list, call the class together to produce a class list. Each pair will decide on one moral or an event that they would like to focus on. Without talking to each other, students will begin to think about their stories and how they would like to tell it. Students will use this moral or naturally occurring event from the list to produce a written piece at the end of the unit.

If there is time, students can play a game of charades to act out their moral or event. Call students together and ask about the difficulty of explaining their story using body language.

Lesson 2 – Cave Paintings

Day 1

Students will research the topic of cave paintings and Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Students will be paired up to do this research. Some pairing suggestions are to pair students high/low and medium/high.

Before students start, tell them that they will visit various websites to learn about cave paintings and hieroglyphics. Explain that cave paintings were created by primitive man to communicate specific events in their lives. The events painted portrayed religious events, hunting expeditions, and everyday life.

Students will use the various websites listed below to research information about cave paintings. Although students will be working in pairs for part of this unit, some of the research may be done individually. In order to help below grade level readers understand the text, they will have the Read / Write for Google app available to them. This app will read the articles to them, and to help them with definitions of words they don’t know. The

students will also be able to take notes using Read / Write for Google. These notes will help them produce a cave painting of the story of their moral or natural phenomenon.

Students will visit various websites to gather the information needed for this lesson on cave paintings. Students will learn about cave paintings and rock art found in France and Spain. Students will also take a virtual tour of the Lascaux Cave paintings in France. They will also learn about Egyptian Hieroglyphics. These websites are listed in the appendix under student resources.

Day 2

Students will create their own cave paintings to represent the story of their moral or natural phenomenon. For this activity, you can use brown construction paper or butcher paper. Students can use markers, crayons, or paint.

Call class together to discuss what they learned about cave paintings. Make a list of what they discovered. Tell students that they will be creating a cave painting that depicts the story of their moral or natural phenomenon. They are not allowed to tell their partner or the other students what they are drawing. Make sure that this is reinforced. Explain to the class that after the paintings are completed, the class is going to try to figure out what the cave painting represents. Students will spend the rest of the time creating their cave painting.

Day 3

Students will take a gallery walk of the cave paintings. Explain to students that when archeologists enter a cave to investigate a cave painting, they make theories about the story the cave painting represents. Those theories are based on the evidence they find about the people who lived in the area. They will try to come up with story to go with the cave paintings. As a class, we will discuss if the cave paintings accurately portray the moral or natural phenomenon. What was missing? What more do we need to add? Pictures will be taken of the cave paintings and posted with a caption explaining the moral or event so that students will be able to return to the cave painting story throughout the unit.

Lesson 3 – Oral Storytelling

Day 1

Students will research oral storytelling. Students will continue to work with their partners during this lesson.

Have students review what they learned about storytelling through cave paintings. Once you review cave paintings, have students discuss with their partners what they know about oral storytelling and have students share out. Tell students that today they will begin their research on oral storytelling. Below grade level readers will use the Read / Write for Google app to read any articles to them, and to help them with definitions of words they don’t know. As they research oral storytelling, students will take notes through Read / Write and use these notes to help them deliver an oral rendition of the moral or natural phenomenon story they are working on. Students will be instructed to pay attention to the elements of storytelling. The elements of storytelling consist of the t the tone of the storyteller’s voice, how a storyteller gets their audience involved in the story, facial expressions and body language.

Students will visit various websites to research oral storytelling. Students will research oral stories of Native Americans in the United States and Canada. These websites can be found in the appendix under student resources.

Day 2

Students will become storytellers when they orally tell their story to their partners. Have an Elements of Storytelling checklist available.

Students will share with their partners what they learned about oral storytelling. Call on students to share out in class. They will then use their cave paintings as a starting point to their storytelling. As they tell their stories, students will add to the story of their cave painting. With a partner, they will take turns telling their stories to each other and give feedback; was information left out, does something need to be clarified, did the storyteller have the elements of storytelling in their rendition, etc. Students will perfect the story each time they retell it. Have student videotape themselves on the third telling of the story.

Lesson 4 – Writing

Day 1- Day 3

Students will begin to write pourquoi tales or folktales based on the moral or natural phenomenon that they used for their cave paintings and storytelling. Students will use their cave paintings and oral storytelling to help them write their first draft.

Students will share with their partners what they learned so far about storytelling. Once students have shared what they know with their partner, call on students to share out with the class. Tell students that today they will begin to work individually to put their stories in writing. Review the writing process with students: brain storming, prewriting, revising and editing, and publishing.

Hand out a story map for a folktale or pourquoi tale (appendix 2). Students will fill this out using the information from their cave paintings and oral storytelling videotape. This will be their organization page. Students will begin on a first draft of their story. They will use Google Docs to write their stories. Remind students to share their stories with you and their partner. Explain to the students that once the draft is completed, they will help their partner edit each other’s work. By sharing the document, their partner can make comments to give them feedback on their work.

For the next few days, students will work on the first draft of their folktale and pourquoi tale.

Day 4-5

Students will begin to peer edit their partners written work.

Once the first draft is completed, the students will begin editing and revising. Students will share their work with their partner. As their partner reads their work, they will make comments on the Google Doc. The comments made will focus on organization, and development of the writing. Since the document will also be shared with the teacher, the teacher will also be able to add comments to the Google Doc.

Day 6-7

Students will complete their final product.

Once the students have gotten feedback, they will make revisions and edits to their writing. Once these revisions and edits are completed, students will finalize their product. Students may add illustrations to their work in order to provide visual images to help the reader connect with the story.

Appendix 1

Common Core State Standards

CCSS ELA-Literacy. W.3.3.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. Students will establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. Students will meet this standard by creating their pourquoi or folktale story using effective writing techniques.

CCSS ELA-Literacy. W.3.5.

With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. Students will meet this standard by working in pairs to add details to their narrative throughout the evolution of their story. They will discuss how to improve upon the story that their cave paintings have told. Then students will improve upon their oral storytelling in order to prepare for their written piece.

CCSS ELA-Literacy. W.3.6.

With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others. Students will use Google Read & Write for text-to-speech, note taking and vocabulary help when completing their research. Students will use Chromebooks to create their final writing piece in Google Docs. The teacher will be able to guide and support students in real time through Google Docs

CCSS ELA-Literacy. W.3.7.

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. Students will use Chromebooks to research various forms of storytelling such as cave paintings and oral storytelling. They will use this knowledge to create their own evolution of story.

Teacher Resources

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Classroom Materials For Teachers

Hamilton, Martha, Mitch Weiss, and Carol Lyon. How & why stories: world tales kids can read & tell. Little Rock, AR: August House Pub., 1999.

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Pecsea. "Stone Soup." YouTube. February 03, 2011. Accessed January 07, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_TXIoiuBd4 .

Worksheet for Writers - How to write a Pourquoi tale . PDF. Read Write Think.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson324/write.pdf

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