December 17, 2014
Universal themes continued
The Crane Maiden vs. Aunty Misery
Homework:
Get progress report signed
Get a copy of Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear
Objective
I can evaluate universal themes across multi-cultural texts.
Warm Up:
Take out a clean sheet of paper. Put your first and last name in the upper right
hand corner. On the title line, write Yeh-Shen / Sootface Quiz. Skip that first line
and then number 1-10. Yeh-Shen starts on pg. 762.
universal theme
theme = message about life or human nature
universal = throughout time / different cultures
universal themes are lessons about life that are found
throughout the literature of all time periods.
What was the universal theme found in a
of the Cinderella stories that we read?
Today we will be looking at another universal theme:
There are times when we have to let go and say goodbye.
In your groups of 4, make a list of stories or movies in which a
character has to give up something or someone. Then pick one
situation that you agree was most difficult and explain why.
Some of the Cinderella stories that we read
were folk tales. We will be reading two more
examples of folk tales today and tomorrow, one
is Japanese and the other is Puerto Rican.
Let's review the characteristics of folk tales
together.
characters may be human or animal and represent one or more
qualities such as greed, honesty or cleverness
http://www.host4images.com/images/355Folktales.png
characters may be human or animal and represent one or more
qualities such as greed, honesty or cleverness
a wise message or lesson about life is presented at the end
http://www.host4images.com/images/355Folktales.png
characters may be human or animal and represent one or more
qualities such as greed, honesty or cleverness
a wise message or lesson about life is presented at the end
similar stylistic elements or motifs
magic helper
transformations
the rule of three
http://www.host4images.com/images/355Folktales.png
Turn in your Lit book to pg. 748
The Crane Maiden
A Japanese folk tale
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A. Summarize
What have you learned so far about the setting and
characters?
B. Folk tales
What quality or qualities have the old man and his wife
demonstrated?
C. Summarize
What has happened in the story so far?
D. Folk tales
Pay attention to what the girl requests in lines 57-59. A
common stylistic element in traditional tales is "binding
promise," in which a mysterious character requests that others
do (or do not do) something. Based on your experience with
folk tales, what is usually the outcome when a character asks
others to keep a promise like this?
E. Summarize
What has happened in the story since the young girl arrived at
the old couple's home?
F. Folk tales
In traditional tales, events often occur in sets of three. How
many times has the girl gone to the loom?
G. Folk tales
What quality or qualities might the crane represent?
H. Folk tales
What supernatural abilities does the crane demonstrate?
I. Folk tales
What is the old couple meant to learn from this experience?
December 18, 2014
Universal themes continued
The Crane Maiden vs. Aunty Misery
Homework:
Get progress report signed
Get a copy of Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear
Objective
I can evaluate universal themes across multi-cultural texts.
Warm Up:
What are the three main characteristics of a folk tale? Bullet these in your
notes and take out your questions from The Crane Maiden.
Turn in your Lit book to pg. 754
Aunty Misery
A Puerto Rican folk tale
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BjTcb54UyMs/mqdefault.jpg
http://www.elboricua.com/images/PRCaribemap.gif
J. Folk tales
Which characteristics of folk tales are in this story so far?
K. Summarize
How does Aunty Misery solve her problem?
L. Folk tales
Which qualities does Aunty Misery demonstrate through her
actions?
Quiz time!
Take out a clean sheet of paper. Put your first and last name in the upper
right hand corner. On the title line, write Crane Maiden / Aunty Misery
Quiz. Skip that first line and then number 1-10.
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1. What does the old man in "The Crane Maiden" discover in the marsh?
A. silver dishes
B. a young girl
C. a trapped bird
D. beautiful cloth
2. In "The Crane Maiden," the couple makes the terrible mistake of:
A. trapping a crane in the marsh
B. making a lonely girl their daughter
C. selling their daughter's cloth for gold
D. peaking into their daughter's weaving room
3. In "Aunty Misery," the old woman is greatly troubled because of:
A. unwanted visitors seeking a place to stay
B. children stealing her pears
C. her old age and bent body
D. her fear of dying
4. Which sentence best summarizes the events in "Aunty Misery"?
A. A woman's kindness gains her a supernatural tree and her quick thinking allows her to
escape Death.
B. Angered that children are stealing her pears, an old woman complains to a sorcerer.
C. At an old woman's request, Death climbs into a pear tree and becomes stuck.
D. Without death in the world, people stop going to doctors and pharmacists.
5. Both stories share the folk tale characteristics of:
A. beautiful cloth
B. lonely travelers
C. supernatural beings
D. talking birds
6. Before she begins to weave, the girl in "The Crane Maiden" asks the old
couple to promise to:
A. leave her alone while she weaves
B. free more trapped birds
C. give her new kimonos
D. pay her in gold
7. Which sentence best summarizes the events in "The Crane Maiden"?
A. The beauty of a crane deeply moves an old man when he releases it from a trap.
B. When two old people adopt a lonely girl, her weaving talent enriches their lives.
C. An old couple gains a supernatural gift because of their kindness, but loses it through
curiosity.
D. Each year, an old couple leaves a bowl of grain for a beautiful crane.
8. Why does the sorcerer grant the old woman's wish in "Aunty Misery"?
A. He saw children stealing her fruit.
B. He pities her because she lives alone.
C. She gave him food and a place to sleep.
D. She helped him find his way through the woods.
9. The old woman captures Death in "Aunty Misery" because she:
A. makes Death sick from eating pears from her tree
B. informs Death that there are children in the tree
C. persuades Death to leave and never come back
D. tells Death to climb her tree and he gets stuck
10. In the folk tales "The Crane Maiden" and "Aunty Misery", people:
A. supernaturally change into birds
B. receive a supernatural gift for being kind
C. lose a supernatural gift for being too curious
D. behave badly and are supernaturally punished
Aunty Misery used her wish to eventually play a trick on Death. With a partner, you
will come up with a similar trickster tale.
Your story will need to have the following elements:
A colorful illustration on the front cover
Aunty Misery must have a problem.
She helps a stranger and is granted a wish that solves this problem.
She uses this wish to cleverly trick someone else.
BE CLEVER and stick with the characteristics of folk tales!