Folklife Resources for Educators
Materials Related to Farm lifeThere are 5 titles in this list.
Barn Again ! Celebrating an American Icon - Teacher's Guide
by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) http://www.sites.si.edu/education/BATeacher_Guide.pdf
Teacher resource guide with four lesson plans for grades 4-12 on the topic of the American barn as symbol, architecture, community gathering place, and window to the past. Created to accompany an exhibition of the same name developed by SITES, the materials can also function in a stand-alone capacity. They include research and activity-oriented lessons through which students gather information about barn raising, barn dances, corn husking, and quilting bees by reading oral history transcripts, examine architectural designs and historical photos of barns, and do interviews to learn more about barns and to hear barn stories. Lessons focus on the subjects of American Culture, American History, Architecture/Design, Folklife, Language and Visual Arts and address National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. (48 p. PDF)
| Grade Level: 3-5; 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Language Arts; History and Social Studies; Art and Culture |
| Resource Type: Primary sources; Lesson plans; Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Barns; Architecture; Agriculture; United States--History; Farm life; Community life; Folklore; Inquiry-based learning; Interviewing; United States--Social life and customs; Needlework
Geographic locations: United States |
Sponsoring Organization: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) 470 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Suite 7103 Washington DC 20024
(202) 633-3168 http://www.sites.si.edu/
Dane County Cultural Tour 2002
by Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures http://csumc.wisc.edu/cmct/DaneCountyTour/
Description of a four-day field trip taken by a classroom of fourth and fifth graders from Randall Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin, to farming communities, small towns, and suburbs in south central Wisconsin. They visited ethnic communities and occupational sites, met and interviewed folk artists, musicians, and community historians, and documented their experiences through writing and photography. Many of the field reports included were written by students. This site gives an idea of the places they visited, and the traditions and folklore they discovered, and includes a "How We Did It" section for ideas on organizing similar cultural tours.
| Grade Level: 3-5 |
Curriculum: Art and Culture; History and Social Studies |
| Resource Type: Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Recreation; Community life; Foodways; Folk art; Inquiry-based learning; Farm life; Photography; Traditional farming; Folklore; Fieldwork (Educational method); Interviewing; Wisconsin--Social life and customs; Occupations--Folklore; Religious life and customs
Geographic locations: Wisconsin; General |
Sponsoring Organization: Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures 901 University Bay Drive Madison WI 53705
(608) 256-4640 http://csumc.wisc.edu/
Other Organizations:
Randall Elementary School 1802 Regent Sreet Madison Wisconsin 53705
(608) 204-3302 http://www.greatschools.net/wisconsin/madison/877-Randall-Elementary-School/
Pass It On: Cultural Traditions of the Lower Eastern Shore
by Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art http://www.wardmuseum.org/Education/TeachersandStudents/TeacherTrainingResources/PassItOnK12CurriculumActivity/tabid/583/Default.aspx
K-12 curriculum and activity guide to the cultural life, history, landscape, and traditions of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. Curriculum units with lesson plans and activities include: I) Following the Water (19 pp. PDF); II) Living Off the Land (36 pp. PDF); III) Sporting and Playing (14 pp. PDF) ; and IV) Folklore and Folklife (32 pp. PDF). There is also a map of the Eastern Shore, a glossary of terms, a bibliography for further research, and links to audio and video clips. The curriculum has been synchronized with Maryland state content standards for Social Studies, and can be used for classes in History, Geography, Science, Economics, and Art.
| Grade Level: K-2; 3-5; 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Sports and Recreation; Music; Language Arts; History and Social Studies; Geography; Art and Culture; Science |
| Resource Type: Video recordings; Primary sources; Lesson plans; Audio recordings; Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Foodways; Oral history; Seasons; Eastern Shore (Md. and Va.)--Social life and customs; Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.)--Social life and customs; Maryland--Social life and customs; Maritime culture; Boats and boating; Fishing; Recreation; Folklore; Agriculture; Farm life; Boatbuilding; History; Environmental protection; Ecology; Watermen; Hunting; Play
Geographic locations: Maryland; Eastern Shore (Md. and Va.); Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.) |
Sponsoring Organization: Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art 909 South Schumaker Drive Salisbury MD 21804
(410) 742-4988 http://www.wardmuseum.org/
The Seasonal Round
by Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education http://locallearningnetwork.org/the-seasonal-round/
Curriculum unit that provides a point of inquiry for K-12 students to explore how seasonal changes reflect and influence daily life and culture, holidays, festivals, and personal, family and community celebrations. Includes ideas and activities for examining and documenting how traditions vary from season to season, affected by weather, agricultural patterns, ecology, religious practice, and the recurrent yearly cycles of human life.
| Grade Level: K-2; 3-5; 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Science; Language Arts; History and Social Studies; Art and Culture |
| Resource Type: Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Rites of passage; Farm life; Weather--Folklore; Foodways; Folklore--Fieldwork; Fieldwork (Educational method); Holidays; Festivals; Birthdays; Ecology; Family--Folklore; Seasons; Weather; Agriculture; Occupations--Folklore; Celebration
Geographic locations: [No specific location] |
Sponsoring Organization: Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education c/o City Lore 72 East First Street
New York NY 10003 http://locallearningnetwork.org/
Sweet is the Day: A Sacred Harp Family Portrait - Teacher's Guide
by Folkstreams http://www.folkstreams.net/context,64
Teacher’s guide for grades 6-8 to accompany the film, “Sweet is the Day: A Sacred Harp Family Portrait,” created by Jim Carnes and Erin Kellen in 2001. The 59-minute film, available as streaming video on folkstreams.net, tells the story of the Woottens, one of the key singing families who helped Sacred Harp music survive and flourish for more than 150 years in the South. The film intertwines scenes of family gatherings, singing conventions, and farm life in the Sand Mountain region of northeast Alabama with family recollections and songs from the shape-note tradition. The teaching guide and film explore shape-note music and Sacred Harp singing, including the importance of the tradition in the lives of families in the Sand Mountain community.
| Grade Level: 6-8 |
Curriculum: Art and Culture; History and Social Studies; Language Arts; Performing Arts; Music |
| Resource Type: Lesson plans; Primary sources; Video recordings |
Language: English |
Subjects: Music; Oral history; Shape-note singing; Farm life; Religious life and customs; Appalachian Region--Social life and customs; Choral societies; Alabama--Social life and customs; Family--Folklore; Community life; Ethnographic films; Family--History; Singing conventions; Singing schools; Educational films
Geographic locations: Alabama |
Sponsoring Organization: Folkstreams
http://www.folkstreams.net/
|