Introduction
Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts
Presents
Documenting Community Stories: Arkansas Legends and Lore
K-12 Teaching Unit for Educators
Lesson Plans Developed by
Lauren Adams Willette,
Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts
Fieldwork Coordinator
With assistance and editing from: Virginia D. Siegel, Gregory Hansen, Christina Hoisington, and Deena R. Owens
Lesson Plans developed as part of Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts’ Engaging Students with Folklore Documentation: Professional Development for K-12 Educators conference hosted at University of Arkansas, Mullins Library July 17-19, 2024. Supported by funding from Arkansas Humanities Council.
Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts (AFTA) is a statewide public folklore program of the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections Division. AFTA belongs to a network of public folklore programs across the United States, though public folklore programs may be housed in various organizations and agencies, from arts council and humanities councils to nonprofits and universities. While AFTA in its present form was founded in 2019, the mission and initiative itself is not new to Arkansas. AFTA builds on the existing legacy of folk and traditional arts programming built initially by the Arkansas Arts Council. This work was continued through the Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council, and then later, the Arkansas Folklife Program located at Arkansas State University. Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts honors the hard work and fieldwork built by its partners and predecessors.
Founded in 2019, AFTA’s work continues to evolve and mature as programming is developed. AFTA’s guiding mission as it grows is as follows:
