Focus/Context

This Nascapi myth is accompanied by a prepared lesson plan in the Sightlines 9 Teacher's Guide. However, I found that much of what the lesson was asking students to do was not in line with how I wanted to approach the text. The questions included such things as re-telling the story from the viewpoint of the boulder; presenting the story orally; and working in partners to prepare a script version of the story. While all of these activities are good ones, and designed to teach students about the dynamic nature of oral literature, it is my opinion that unless students understand the nature of what they are reading, trying to do anything different with it is pointless. Therefore, this lesson is intended to give students a better idea of why different cultures have different folklore, how myths and urban legends have many of the same functions in society but also how they are very different. By the end of this lesson, students will have a greater appreciation and understanding for the kinds of texts that confront them in their everyday lives. They will be able to define myth and legend, and describe why a particular legend may be termed to be "urban" or "contemporary." In addition, students will have a heightened sense of criticism - they will understand that it is important to constantly question things and to not necessarily accept them at face value.

Specific Curriculum Outcomes

1. Students will be expected to examine others' ideas and synthesize what is helpful to clarify and extend their own understanding.
   
2. Students will be expected to ask questions to probe for accuracy, relevancy, and validity, and respond thoughtfully and appropriately to questions.
   
3. Students will be expected to respond critically to a range of texts, applying their understanding of language, form and genre.
   
4. Students will be expected to consider the relevance and reliability of information in texts they read and view.
   
5. Students will be expected to describe how cultures and reality are portrayed in texts.

Activities

• Students will listen and read along as the myth How Rocks Were Born, translated by Lawerence Millman, is read aloud.
  
• Students will participate in a class discussion about the nature of culture and folklore and why the Nascapi would tell such a tale.
  
• Students will examine urban/contemporary legends (using their own knowledge and the teacher's as a source) and understand how they are similar and different from myths.
  
• Students will interrogate the text's terminology (i.e. the use of Boulder instead of "Bobby Boulder") to understand the importance of using the right words in storytelling.
  
• Students will be given a mini-lesson on homonyms and work together in pairs to locate as many homonyms in How Rocks Were Born as possible.

Terminology
Folklore, Urban Legend, Contemporary, Myth, Homonym, Culture, Trickster, Nascapi

Resources
How Rocks Were Born (located in Sightlines 9, page 168-169)
Prepared lesson plan for How Rocks Were Born (located in Sightlines 9 Teacher Guide)