11 Storytelling as Performance
Time Requirement: 90 minutes.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the definition and elements of folklore.
- Recognize the role of storytelling in preserving culture.
- Analyze the cultural significance of folklore stories.
- Explore how folklore is adapted in contemporary media.
Materials:
- Folklore examples (printed or digital).
- Whiteboard and markers.
- Notebooks and pens.
- Audio/visual equipment for storytelling videos.
Strategies and Activities:
Review the meaning of folklore and why it is culturally important.
Show a video of a traditional storytelling performance, and discuss the performance elements observed (voice modulation, gestures, expressions).
Assignments and Assessments:
Ask students to write a short reflection in their class journals on how the stories they discussed relate (or don’t) to contemporary culture.
Students work in small groups or pairs to plan and perform one of the Arkansas legend stories discussed previously. Student pairs perform their Arkansas legend story for the class and follow their performance with commentary on gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, and other elements of performance.
Students write an essay reflecting on the importance of folklore preservation in modern times – why is storytelling, folklore, and legend important in today’s society? Where is the evidence for their claims?
Vocabulary
Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations. Cultural significance is embodied in the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects. (The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance )
Modernization is the process of adapting something to modern needs, practices, and audiences.
Tradition refers to the beliefs, stories, information, and customs handed down by word of mouth or by example from one generation to the next in a family, group, or community. Tradition can also relate to particular characteristics, styles, and social attitudes. One of the main things folklorists research and study are traditions.
