TRICKSTER TALES

Grade Levels      6-8
Subject          Language Arts

Learner Outcomes
Students will study plot by using prediction and by identifying cause and effect.

Time Frame
2 (50 minute) class periods - Language Arts

Materials
Stories (see teacher notes and resources)
 

Technology Tools/Courseware
Student Computers/Lab
Microsoft Word

Teacher Notes

• We are using books that should be readily available, however other trickster tales may be substituted.  (See bibliography)
• Since these stories are from a storytelling tradition they should be read aloud or performed as skits.

1. Read a Brer Rabbit story such as "Brer Rabbit Teaches Brer Bear to Comb His Hair"
2. Stop reading before the ending and have students make predictions.
3. Discuss cause and effect.
4. Class will be divided in half.  One group of students will write letters of apology from Brer Rabbit to Brer Bear.  The other group will write letters explaining Brer Bear's feelings.
5. Brer Rabbits and Brer Bears will read each other's letters and evaluate them.

Enrichment Activities

• Students may use Microsoft Word to create envelopes.
• Students may do a newspaper article which emphasizes who, what, when, where, and why.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives(IGO's)
Language Arts
    Reading Comprehension 6.22  6.30 7.24  8.24
        Writing  6.54  7.60   8.49

National Standards
Language Arts Standard 6, Grades 6-8, Benchmark 4
Language Arts Standard 1, Grades 6-8, Benchmark 4

Workplace Process Skills
GOAL II:    Skills to interact with others.
Letter writing

References
Lester, Julius.  The Last Tales of Uncle Remus.  New York:  Dial, 1994.
Other sources of Brer Rabbit stories:
Harris, Joel Chandler. Jump on Over! : The Adventures of Brer Rabbit and His Family .
                      Voyager Picture Book, 1998.
Harris, Joel Chandler. The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus.   New York:
                      Houghton Mifflin Co., 1955.

Created By
Mary Hansen
Sally McCumbee
Susan Thomas
Warm Springs Middle School, Berkeley Springs, WV
 
 

Lesson 1 whatsup.doc/	Lesson 2 Fearless and Foolish	Lesson 3 Where in the World	Lesson 4 How in the World	Lesson 5 From Stories to Graphs

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