Lesson video

Hi everyone, my name is Ms. Voyle and welcome to this reading lesson where we are going to be understanding the genre of a story called "Anansi and the Antelope Baby." For this lesson, you need this copy of "Mischief Makers," retold by Tony Bradman.

Pause the video and go and get your copy now.

Fantastic.

Now, I know you have the book with you, and "Anansi and the Antelope Baby" is one of the stories inside it.

For this lesson, you need to be listening and looking carefully.

You need your book ready to read and there will be tasks where you need somebody to talk to.

I hope you're feeling excited.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is, I can explain what a folktale is.

Here are the key words.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Folktale.

Folklore.

Moral.

Good job.

Well done.

Let's take a look at their definitions.

A folktale is an oral story passed down over time that teaches a moral.

Folklore is a genre in which oral stories are shared and passed down over time.

And a moral is a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience.

We will be discussing these words lots throughout our lesson.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be understanding the genre of "Anansi and the Antelope Baby." And in the second part, we will be having an introduction to Anansi.

So let's begin with understanding the genre.

"Anansi and the Antelope Baby" is the name of our text.

Let's find out a bit more about it.

"Anansi and the Antelope Baby" is a folktale.

Folktales belong to the genre of folklore.

Folklore is a genre in which oral stories are shared and passed down over time.

A folktale does not have one author.

As they are shared orally over time, variations of the story emerge.

This means that you might see a few different versions of the same story.

Let's check your understanding.

What type of stories come under the genre of folklore? A, a written story by a singular author.

B, an oral story shared and passed down over time, or C, a recorded story on the internet.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is B, oral stories that are shared and passed down over time are the type of stories that come under the genre of folklore.

Many forms of storytelling that you know today fall under the genre of folklore.

Let's take a look at these.

Folktales, like the story we are going to be looking at.

Fairytales, and you will have heard and read lots of these.

Songs.

Myths.

Legends.

Riddles and jokes.

Poems. Fables.

Now, this doesn't mean that every song or joke or poem you hear comes under the genre of folklore.

Some songs or jokes or poems are brand new and written today, but lots of these have been passed down over time and originated as an oral story, so they can fall under the genre of folklore.

What do stories within the genre of folklore have in common with each other? Let's take a look at the features of folklore stories.

They often involve imaginary or magical characters.

There are often animals that can speak in them.

There is nearly always a theme of good v.

evil, and exploring how good can triumph over evil.

They are normally set in undefined period of history.

This means we don't know exactly when the story took place, but we know it was in the past.

A story like this might begin once upon a time or a long, long time ago.

And they nearly always teach an important moral or lesson which the reader can learn something very valuable from.

Let's check your understanding, true or false? Stories within the genre of folklore have many features in common.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is true.

Well done.

Are you ready to justify your answer? A, they contain the same characters and settings, or B, they have elements in common such as themes of good v.

evil, and an important moral or lesson to be learnt.

Pause the video and select your justification now.

The answer is B.

Well done.

Stories within the genre of folklore will have lots of different characters and settings, but they have elements in common such as themes of good v.

evil, and an important moral or lesson to be learnt.

Stories within folklore originate from a range of cultures' oral histories around the world.

Let's take a look at some examples, Anansi stories originated in Africa.

"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" originated in Britain.

"Cinderella" originated in Greece.

The origins of folklore stories influence the characters, setting and plot within the story.

This means that you might notice elements of certain cultures within the story.

Over time, as these stories are shared orally, they are adapted and retold by new people.

This often results in different versions.

This is why you may hear different versions of the same tale.

Have you heard of these folklore stories? "Robin Hood." "The Children of Lir." "Sleeping Beauty." "Mulan." "Greek Myths." "Little Red Riding Hood." I am sure that you have heard of at least some, if not all of these because they are very famous stories that began as oral stories and over time they became written down and they not only exist in books now, but there are different versions of some of them, and some of them have even been turned into movies or TV shows.

Can you think of any other folklore stories that you have read? Pause the video and have a little think and share with your partner.

Well done for sharing.

You had so many interesting examples.

Let's check your understanding.

Select the statements about folklore that are true.

A, folklore stories are influenced by the country they originated in.

B, folklore stories all originate from the same place, and C, folklore stories are adapted over time as they are retold.

Pause the video and select your answers now.

The answers are A, folklore stories are influenced by the country they originated in, and C, folklore stories are adapted over time as they are retold.

Well done for showing such a great understanding of the genre of folklore.

It's now time for a task.

Discuss a story from the genre of folklore you have heard or read before.

You could discuss one of the examples we already looked at or one that you came up with yourself.

Answer the following questions.

Likes: What do you like about this kind of story? Why? Dislikes: Is there anything you don't enjoy about folklore stories? And puzzles: Do you have any questions about the genre? Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back.

You had such interesting answers and opinions on folklore stories.

I'm going to share a couple of the answers I heard now.

For likes, what do you like about this kind of story? Why? One person said, "I love reading Ancient Egyptian myths.

I find the supernatural elements of the Gods and Goddesses fascinating." Now, luckily for this person, there are so many ancient Egyptian myths that they can read.

You should try whatever you haven't.

For dislikes, is there anything you you don't enjoy about folklore stories? A few people said, "I sometimes find it difficult to understand the moral or the lesson behind stories in folklore," and that's understandable.

It can sometimes be tricky to uncover the moral, and sometimes there might be more than one.

Two people might read the same story and identify a different moral from it.

That's what makes it really interesting.

And for puzzles, do you have any questions about the genre? I heard one really interesting question.

It was this.

"Are new folklore stories still being developed orally today?" This is a very interesting question because people are always making up new stories, and I am sure that all around the world new stories are being developed and told orally that will continue to be passed down over time.

Well done for exploring the genre of folklore and identifying so many features within it.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson.

An introduction to Anansi.

Anansi stories are folktales.

How are folktales different from other stories in the folklore genre? Folktales teach a moral or a lesson like most folklore stories.

However, they are less likely to involve magical or enchanting elements that you commonly find in fairytales.

They tend to reflect real-world settings or events.

Anansi is a spider and the main character of all the stories.

They are set in animal habitats where he encounters other animals.

Let's check your understanding.

What type of animal is Anansi? A, an antelope.

B, an ant, or C, a spider.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is C, Anansi is a spider.

Well done.

Anansi folktales are from Africa.

Let's take a look at this map of the world.

Right here, we can see the United Kingdom.

Below it, we can see the continent of Africa, and this is where the Anansi folktales first originated.

Anansi stories are influenced by African culture.

This means that the stories include elements that reflect what life is like in Africa.

Let's check your understanding.

Where do Anansi folktales originate from? A, Africa.

B, the United Kingdom, or C, Greece.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is A, Anansi folktales originate from Africa.

They first originated in a West African country called Ghana.

What type of character is Anansi? Let's find out a little bit more about him.

Anansi is a smart but mischievous spider who encounters a range of tricky circumstances with other animals.

There are many Anansi folktales which all tell a story about Anansi's interaction with another animal.

Some of these stories focus on Anansi's mischievous elements as a trickster.

Others highlight his cleverness and ability to outsmart evil.

So sometimes the Anansi stories might focus on how he tricks other animals and maybe not very kindly.

While others show how he can use his trickery and his cleverness for good.

Let's check your understanding, true or false? All Anansi tales portray Anansi in the same way.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is false.

Well done.

Now can you justify your answer.

A, some highlight his trickery as unkindness while others highlight his cleverness for good, or B, they all portray Anansi as a trickster who is unkind to others.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is A, some Anansi stories highlight his trickery as unkindness while others highlight his cleverness for good.

Well done.

It's now time for you to do some reading and you need to make sure that you have this copy of the book "Mischief Makers" with you.

Pause the video and make sure you've got it.

Brilliant.

You should have it in your hand.

Read the first two pages of "Anansi and the Antelope Baby," which are on pages 26 and 27 of "Mischief Makers." Pause the video to read these pages now and when you have read them, come back and press Play.

Welcome back.

I hope you really enjoyed reading the first two pages of "Anansi and the Antelope Baby." Let's check your understanding of what you know so far.

What was Anansi known for? A, playing tricks.

B, having eight legs, or C, spinning webs.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is A, Anansi was known for playing tricks.

Well done.

True or false? Anansi encountered a problem that put him in danger.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is true.

Well done.

But can you justify your answer? A, he plays a trick that goes wrong, or B, a fire from the forest was heading towards him.

Pause now and select your answer.

The answer is B, the problem that Anansi encountered that put him in danger was that a fire from the nearby forest was heading towards him.

It's now time for your final task.

Reflect on what you have read so far to make a prediction about "Anansi and the Antelope Baby." Do you think the story will highlight Anansi's trickery and unkindness or his cleverness and good side? Your sentence start to its, I think "Anansi and the Antelope Baby" will highlight.

Because.

Make sure you use the conjunction because to support your prediction with evidence from the text.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Well done by having such wonderful discussions.

You came up with wonderful predictions using evidence from the text.

Let's take a look at two of the answers I heard.

"I think 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' will highlight Anansi's good side because he is in danger and will need to be nice to others to get help." So this prediction really considered Anansi's circumstances, Anansi is in danger, so being unkind to others won't help him.

Another answer I heard was, "I think 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' will highlight Anansi's cleverness because he will need to be smart to get out of the danger he is in." This is a great answer too, because it considers how he will have to use one of his positive character traits to help himself.

Well done for making predictions.

We've now come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary to together.

"Anansi and the Antelope Baby" is an African folktale.

Folktales belong to the genre of folklore in which oral stories are shared, adapted, and passed down over time.

Folklore stories originate from a range of cultures but have features in common, for example, learning a moral or lesson.

Anansi stories originated in Ghana and are influenced by African culture.

And Anansi is a smart but mischievous spider who encounters a range of tricky circumstances with other animals.

Well done for your hard work in today's reading lesson.

I have really enjoyed introducing you to the story of "Anansi and the Antelope Baby.".