The Four Natural Elements of
Life
Earth, Air, Fire, Water
By: Amanda Burleson
Understanding the Importance of the
Four Elements of Life
Ancient peoples had a deep connection with fire,
earth, air, and water.
“It is often said that all things including human beings
themselves, were created by combining fire, earth,
air, and water. So, in a very real sense, those
elements are related to us. Just as we all have four
grandparents, and our lives come from their lives, so
we might describe fire and earth, water and air as
our four ancestors.”
-Four Ancestors/Joseph Bruchac
Getting a Deeper Understanding of
the Elements
In order for students to have the most
valuable learning experience possible and
to be able to understand the elements
included in the folk tales and poems, I want
them to find synonyms and the etymologies
for each element.
Folk tales
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Fairy Tales
Cumulative Tales
Myths
Trickster Tales
Fables
Pour quoi Tales
Legends
Hero Tales
Poetry
Go Inside Poem
 2 Haikus
 Poem for Two Voices
 2 Concrete Poems
 Animal Poem
 Favorite Place Poem
(all poems must contain at
least one of the four
elements of life)
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Web-Sites
http://salemos.tripod.com/index-81.html
This web site provides information on all four of the elements of life and the importance of these elements to
ancient people.
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http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/papers/elements.html
A web site that explains the symbolism of the elements in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels.
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http://www.mythinglinks.org/ct~FourElements.html
A resource for teaching folklore, mythology, and the arts. This web site contains a special section for
primary and secondary teachers and includes other links to information like teaching tolerance in
conjunction with studying the beliefs of other cultures.
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http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/AGEDE/Intro.html
Another web site that provides information on the four elements and their importance to ancient people and
their way of life.
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http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/RainbowCrow/games.htm
A web site that includes activities to go along with Rainbow Crow, a folktale about how fire came into
existence.
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http://www.iss.k12.nc.us/schools/sms/pklaene/haiku.html
A haiku web quest which includes all four elements. This web quest is designed for seventh grade but may
be easily adapted to meet the needs of children in grades 3-5.
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http://www.donaldboyes.com/learn-to-read-scripts/battle.htm
This web site contains a short play about the folktale, The Battle of the Wind and the Rain.
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http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/north.html
A great web site for anyone who is teaching storytelling and folktales. This web site contains lesson plans
and great links too!
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