On the vast continent of Africa, African folklore is a means to pass down traditions and customs from one generation to the next. In retrospect, these stories prepare the youth for the future as there are many lessons learned from these fables. The stories have remained alive because of the nonexistence of printed material long ago and carried to many regions of the world through the force transplanting of people through slavery. They are also forms of entertainment during gatherings.
The Spider Weaver is an African folktale book about the mythical creation of Kente Cloth. The legend dates back to the 17th century in the village of Bonwire in the country of Ghana. The author, Margaret Musgrove has traveled to West Africa many times over the years to conduct research, travel and teach.
In the Ashanti village of Bonwire, lived the two main characters in this book, Nana Korangu and Nana Ameya. They were the best weavers in the land. These experts wove a simple beautiful cloth called nwen-toma for not only the King but everyone else in the village. While hunting for food in the forest one day, they stumbled upon the most beautiful thing that they had ever witnessed; a multi-colored spider web woven with a single thread. They wondered how could this web be woven with thread finer that a strand of human hair and described the sight as a small miracle. These weavers desperately needed to remove this intrinsic web so that they could study it patterns at home. After a failed attempt to successfully detach the web from the banana tree, sadly they return home.
Using the advice of Afiya (Ameyaw wife), these weavers decided to return to the forest to find the creator of the exquisite web. Upon approaching the banana tree where they had originally seen the astonishing web, they were surprised to find the beginnings of a new masterpiece. What these two weavers found mesmerized them for hours. The master web weaver, a yellow and black spider graciously taught these two students the art of weaving such beautiful designs by modeling the weaving dance “Dip, twist, turn and glide”. They compared the way the spider moved to a woman dancing gracefully. The gift that the spider gives of colorful patterns led the weavers to create the unique fabric that we now call kente cloth.
This folktale contains many lessons. One important lesson teaches us that we can learn from Gods smallest creature if we seek to learn with patience. It reflects the culture and respect of animals abroad. Through their behavior, we learn priceless instruction. It is also intriguing to witness these creatures taking on human characteristics. The settings of African folk tales lend ways for us to explore the vast richness of the different climates and seasons.
In this book, the instructor can easily address biology, science, history, language arts and social studies. Many examples of scaffolding can be entwined in the given lessons.
Unit Mini Lessons Summary
Reading fluency is the ability to read a text accurately with speed while understanding what is being read. In order for students to become a successful reader, they must be able to process groups of words with significant phrases. They should also be able to grasp the meanings in sentences by decoding words correctly. This book builds fluency with a balanced approach which includes the components of reading, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, spelling, oral language and writing.
Although I am not a teacher, I had to keep an instructor frame of mind while developing the different techniques and strategies in the lessons. How can I continually build literacy through reading fluency strategies while connecting each lesson so that they build on each other? Also, I placed myself in the same thought process as the students who will be taught the lessons designed for the chosen book. The strategies used are as follows:
Monday- Introduce book and model by reading passages from the book. Read with expression to show parody. Ask students questions to gain knowledge about background. Expound on what the student already know about the text and use it assist in reading and rereading. Explain the cross check technique. List of African words used in the books given to the students and they are instructed to decode the words.
Tuesday- Recap. Ask questions for oral comprehension; Give students first 10 pages of book and list of vocabulary words. Conduct choral reading. Have students read vocabulary words silently and discuss. Reread passage.
Wednesday- Recap. Quiz for comprehension. Remaining pages of the book are given out. Students will listen to book on tape and follow along. They will underline vocabulary words and circle high frequency words.
Thursday- One on one activity where the student reads aloud to the teacher. Time the student for reading fluency and record accuracy and speed. Other students will create kente cloth patterns to be hung outside of classroom.
Friday- Student will write a one page summary about the book. They will also take a final test to indicate level of comprehension.
The highlighted information above is techniques used in my unit lesson plans to ensure that student read the complete book successfully and fluently. Also noted are summative, formal, and informal assessments to determine comprehension and fluency.
I recommend that all reading this blog please take time to read this book and introduce it to your students. It offers a variety of instructional learning by including art, geography, and biology and language arts.
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