Author: Aurora
Hansis & Teresa Tattersall
Level:
Intermediate |
 |
 |
In this unit, students read a selection of Spanish-language
folk legends from a variety of countries. Folk legends were and
are used as a method of communicating ideas, beliefs, or unexplained
events that give a community its particular identity. Students see
how folk legends are important in creating and reflecting community
and also look into how contemporary society uses legends to give
meaning to events and community. To achieve that goal, students
read legends in Spanish. Using graphic organizers, mapping activities,
and timelines, they learn how to organize, summarize, and articulate
relationships between the legends. They also learn new vocabulary
through word games and investigate local legends by interviewing
community members and interacting with a guest speaker. At the end
of the unit, students create and present an original legend to the
class.
ACTIVITY SET 1: Looking at English-Language Legends
Before reading Spanish-language legends, students work in pairs
to brainstorm English-language legends with which they are familiar
from their childhood or family (e.g., Paul Bunyan). Once students
come up with several responses, they reflect together on the significance
of legends. They begin by folding a piece of paper in half and then
in half again so that it is divided into four squares. In each square,
they write their answers to the following questions: Why do we
have legends? How do they get started? What legends do we know and
where did we learn them? and Have folk legends influenced
us in any way? If so, how? Afterwards, groups share their observations
with each other. (The first two sites in the Webliography, below,
provide useful insight into the function of legends in culture.)
ACTIVITY SET 2: Introduction to Spanish-Language Legends
Now that learners have begun thinking about the role of legends
in society, they are ready to begin reading some in Spanish. To
begin, students read the Mexican legend Los novios, the story
of the creation of the volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl.
Working together in groups of four, students read the legend, completing
a graphic organizer as they do so. The graphic organizer provided
by the teacher helps students identify main characters and their
characteristics, important events, central themes, plot development
and climax. Next, using their graphic organizer, each group creates
a story map on poster board reflecting their interpretation of the
legend. Posters are displayed in the classroom, and students take
a gallery
walk to compare group versions of the story.
ACTIVITY SET 3: Group Study of Legends
In the preceding activity set, the class had an opportunity to read
and reflect on a single legend. In this activity set, each group
works independently on a different Spanish-language legend choosing
one from among those provided by the teacher. After working together
to read and understand the legend, each group creates two products.
One is a story map or chart used to aid in retelling the story.
The second is a graphic organizer which classmates are to use as
they listen to the story. Completed story maps are displayed in
the classroom, and a representative from each group retells the
story in simple Spanish to small groups of classmates assembled
to listen at various locations around the room. As the tale is retold,
classmates complete the graphic organizer for each story. The sequence
is repeated until each student has heard all the group legends and
completed an organizer for each. In the end, all students have completed
graphic organizers for every story except their own, and all students
have had an opportunity to retell “their” legend.
The second part of this activity set focuses on the ways folktales
both reflect and shape culture. Each of the stories the groups have
read in the preceding activity have an English-language counterpart.
Examples include: Los amantes de Teruel and Romeo and
Juliet; El caballo Aliatar and The Legend of the Bluebonnet
(actually a Native American tale); El león y el grillo
and The Rabbit and the Tortoise; ¿Quién es sabio?
and The Fox, the Cock and the Dog. Groups read the English-language
version and use a T-chart
to compare the two legends as far as characters and plot. Next they
identify any aspects of the tales that they believe reflect the
target cultures (recurring images or exclamation for example). Once
groups have finished, the class works together to list on the board
what they believe are characteristics peculiar to Spanish-language
and English-language folktales. The teacher asks students for any
supporting evidence they can think of from other legends and stories
with which they are familiar. Students may follow-up by asking Spanish-speaking
friends for confirmation of their hypotheses, i.e., if they know
of additional stories that use a particular image and so forth.
To help students think about the ways in which stories help to
create culture, have them brainstorm customs or habits in their
family which may be more reflexive than logical. It may be something
as simple as, "We always open presents on Christmas morning
because Santa doesn't come until after midnight on the 24th"
(even though the "children" no longer believe in Santa).
Or students may have other traditions—"We always..."
or "My family never..."—that relate, perhaps, to
a family "legend."
ACTIVITY SET 4: Exploring Local Legends
Students have had an opportunity to think about how legends both
reflect and create cultural identity. With that idea in mind, students
next investigate local legends in their community. First, they talk
with family members, friends, neighbors and local folklore experts
about stories they learned as a child, especially those with a local
“flavor”—a local “eccentric” for example,
or a haunted house. They ask questions to find out how the stories
were passed on, who told the stories, how people felt about them
(whether they were viewed as “tall tales” or true) and
so forth. Students return to class and share the information through
a variety of means: a written or oral report, a dramatization or
storytelling, or a multimedia presentation.
Because not all students have Spanish-speakers to interview, a
native speaker from the community is invited to the class. One possibility
is to contact the Consulate of a Spanish-speaking country or a Latin
American cultures museum or organization to get contact information
for someone who could share legends with the students. Another option
is to contact a Hispanic church or a nursing home to find local
"storytellers" eager to share tales with the class.
ACTIVITY SET 5: Creating an Original Legend
Working together in groups, students are now ready to create an
original legend or modernize one with which they are familiar, using
the characteristics of Spanish-language legends that they have identified.
They begin by articulating within the group the purpose of the legend.
(Is it to explain a natural phenomenon? To express a cultural belief?
To illustrate social conventions? etc.) Next, students write their
story or script in Spanish and present the legend to the class either
as a skit, puppet show, or video presentation. Props, costumes,
and background music should be an integral part of each presentation.
- Communication:
Interpersonal, Interpretative, & Presentational Modes
- Cultures:
Practices & Perspectives, Products & Perspectives
- Connections:
Access to Information, Other Subject Areas
- Comparisons:
Nature of Language, Concept of Culture
- Communities:
Within & Beyond the School Setting
- Leyendas mexicanas or other books
with Spanish-language legends.
- “Pairs” of Spanish-language
and English folk tales and fables.
- Art supplies such as poster board, paper,
markers, scissors, etc. for making story maps.
- Teacher-made graphic organizer
- Props, costumes, music for presentations
- Videotape, video camera, VCR
Communications:
The interpersonal mode is used when students discuss stories and
work on skits and roleplays in groups. Students use the interpretive
mode to read the legends and listen to the legends of their classmates.
The presentational mode is used as students retell legends, read
in groups, and perform skits, puppet shows or videos.
Cultures: Students demonstrate an understanding of a target
culture product (legends) and practice (telling of folktales) and
the perspectives related to them as they develop their own folk
tale in the style of a Spanish-language one.
Connections: Students use Spanish-language resources to gain
access to legends and information about them. They connect to other
disciplines such as social studies (how a community identifies itself)
and the fine arts (the use of folk art to represent the ideas of
a community).
Comparisons: Students demonstrate an understanding of the
nature of language as they investigate different images and styles
of legends in Spanish and English. They learn how legends represent
the culture of a particular group and compare Spanish-language legends
to those of their own culture.
Communities: Students use the language both within and beyond
the school setting as they
interact with a guest speaker and interview
a Spanish-speaking family member, friends, and local experts to
identify local legends.
- Students may also enjoy discussing/investigating
the topic of “urban legends” and how the use of the
Internet and e-mail has made it possible for rumors to become
“facts” almost overnight.
- Students choose a universal theme and
look for legends on the topic from a variety of Spanish-language
countries.
- Students watch the Disney movie, El
dorado.
Books
Anaya, R. A. (1995). Bless me, Ultima.
NY: Warner Books.
Bacon, S. (2000). Leyendas del mundo
hispano. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Barlow, G. & Stivers,
W. N. (1999). Leyendas de España. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook
Company.
Barlow, G. (1996). Leyendas latinoamericanas.
Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.
Kennedy, J. H. (1991). Relatos latinoamericanos.
Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.
Langer de Ramírez,
L. (1999). Cuéntame:
Folklore y fábulas. New York: Amsco School Publications.
Muckley, R.
L. & Martínez-Santiago,
A. (1999). Leyendas de Puerto Rico. Lincolnwood, IL: National
Textbook Company.
Williams, D. S. (1997). When darkness
falls: Tales of San Antonio ghosts and hauntings. Plano, TX:
Wordware Publishing.
Williams, D.
S., & Byrne, R. (1992). Spirits of San Antonio and South Texas. Plano, TX: Wordware
Publishing.
Webliography
NOTE: These Internet
resources may have changed since publication or no longer be
available. Active links should be
carefully
screened
before
recommending to students. Legends and Myth
Curanderos
Urban Legends
|
