Folklife Resources for Educators

Materials Related to New York (State)--Social life and customs

There are 5 titles in this list.

The Catskills: A Sense of Place
by The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc.
http://www.catskillcenter.org/index.php/-catskill-center-/our-programs/education/sense-of-place

A series of five curriculum guides designed for grades 3-12 about the natural and cultural features of the Catskill Mountain Region. The five guides include: Module 1: Water Resources of the Catskills (208 p. PDF); Module 2: Geography & Geology of the Catskills (191 p. PDF); Module 3: Ecosystems of the Catskills (231 p. PDF); Module 4: Human History of the Catskills (165 p. PDF); and Module 5: Culture & Arts / Building Catskills Communities (192 p. PDF). Each module contains a bibliography of resource persons, publications, Web sites, and New York State standards-based lesson plans. A printed copy of the modules can be ordered at cost from the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development.

Sponsoring Organization:
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc.
PO Box 504, 43355 Route 28
Arkville NY 12406
(845) 586-2611. ex. 108
http://www.catskillcenter.org/

Good Food, Served Right: A Photographic Essay on North Country Food Traditions
by TAUNY-Traditional Arts in Upstate New York
http://www.northcountryfolklore.org/goodfood/index.html

Teacher resource guide with activities (20 p. PDF) that accompanies an online photographic exhibit of foodways and their traditions in the North Country region of New York State. The curriculum materials can be used for a variety of ages and grade levels. Includes photographs, audio recordings of oral interviews, and background on the food cultures of diverse groups of people who live in the North Country.

Sponsoring Organization:
TAUNY-Traditional Arts in Upstate New York
53 Main Street
Canton NY 13617
(315) 386-4289
http://tauny.org/

Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators
by National Museum of the American Indian
http://www.nmai.si.edu/education/files/HaudenosauneeGuide.pdf

Teaching guide that provides background and activities on the Haudenosaunee, a confederation of six Native American nations commonly known as the Iroquois Confederacy. The nations include the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, the Seneca, and the Tuscarora. The Teaching Guide was created by staff from the Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Haudenosaunee scholars and community members. It includes background information about the history, traditions, cultural life, arts, and patterns of social and civic interaction of the Haudenosaunee peoples, with suggestions for classroom discussion questions and activities, such as the making of cornhusk dolls. (24 p. PDF)

Sponsoring Organization:
National Museum of the American Indian
Fourth Street & Independence Avenue, SW
Washington DC 20560
(202) 633-6996
http://www.nmai.si.edu/

To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions
by National Museum of the American Indian
http://www.nmai.si.edu/education/files/quilts.pdf

Study guide developed by the National Museum of the American Indian to accompany a 1997 exhibition of the same name. It can also be used as an independent resource for educators. Includes four lesson plans that correspond to the exhibition sections: Origins, Honoring, Design, and Community. Curriculum focuses on quilters from eight Native American communities and has accompanying study questions, handouts, and activities. (36 p. PDF)

Sponsoring Organization:
National Museum of the American Indian
Fourth Street & Independence Avenue, SW
Washington DC 20560
(202) 633-6996
http://www.nmai.si.edu

W is for Woods: Traditional Adirondack Music & Music Making
by TAUNY-Traditional Arts in Upstate New York
http://woods.tauny.org/index.php

Educational resource for the study and history of traditional Adirondack music in New York State. Includes lesson plans for middle and high school music, history, and language arts curricula. The resource focuses on dance music, ballads, fiddle tunes, folk singers, collectors of folk music, and indigenous and ethnic traditional music found in the Adirondack region. The site has accompanying audio and video recordings, musical transcriptions, and background resources for the study of Adirondack traditional music. The educational content correlates to New York State Learning Standards.

Sponsoring Organization:
TAUNY- Traditional Arts in Upstate New York
53 Main Street
Canton NY 13617
(315) 386-4289
http://tauny.org/