Story based on fable/legend/myth
Deadline 7/11/2016
Deadline 7/11/2016
In this phase of the project you are going to read and listen to some of Aesop’s Fables that are related to your group’s theme. You are going to research your own Indian/European culture and folklore to find out which stories, legends or myths have the same or similar theme. You will look for stories which can be used, or which form a good basis for a drama script. At the end of this stage you are going to exchange and compare your findings with the group from the other school.
First of all… who was Aesop?
Aesop was a writer from Ancient Greece, who lived around 600 years BC. According to legend he was actually a slave, who gained his freedom by giving intelligent and philosophical advice to his master. However, there’s no real proof of his existence. Perhaps he was simply a legendary figure to whom folk tales with similar themes were attributed. In fact, some of the tales are known to have been told before his time, whilst others were not recorded in history until much later on. Nevertheless, the fables which became known as Aesop’s all have some kind of moral message. As you will find out for yourselves, these tales are often through the depiction of animals who can speak, or who have taken on human characteristics.
Step One
Each one of you chooses 3 to 4 different fables from BBC Radio 2 collection of Aesop’s Fables below and listens carefully to the stories. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/english/aesops_fables/
Listen to the style of the story (the style of fables) and discuss or write:
Names things these stories had in common?
How would you describe the characters?
What was the theme or moral of each story?
Step Two
You will now be taking a closer look at other Aesop’s fables and research similar fables from your own country. A good online collection of all of Aesop’s fables (655+) can be found by following this link: http://www.aesopfables.com.
Each group member starts to research stories/legends in their own culture that you feel relate to your group’s theme. (internet, library).
A good source for Dutch students is: http://www.verhalenbank.nl
A good source for Indian students is: http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-folktales/index.html
Naturally, there are many other sources available to you.
Also, we have included some more example fables from Aesop’s collection that are related to the 5 different themes of this project. (see button link below).
Step Three
1. Compare your stories and discuss the following in your group:
Which folktale(s) have you found?
Give a short summary of each story.
Is it an important story in your culture, or is more general? Explain.
Which elements of your country’s culture do you recognise?
How is this story related to your chosen theme?
2. Start to write your second group’s article (about 300 words in total), which includes your findings mentioned above and short summaries of some of the stories.
Step Four
Upload/Create your group’s article on your page on this site. Please note, that you have to give this article its own title, otherwise it will not be clear to the reader that this article is separate to the introduction article. Please remember to make attractive with titles, subtitles, paragraphs, colours and photos (just like an article from a fun teenage magazine).
Step five
In this phase you will create a story per group and therefore per theme. This story will be in the style of a fable. For information about the style of fables you can either go back to the BBC Radio stories, or you click on the button below for information AND tips on writing your own fable. Remember fables aren't complicated stories, they do not have a lot of dialogue. So, keep it simple, but do convey a message; what is the moral of your fable?
Upload your group's article and story on your page on this site before November 7, 2016.
First of all… who was Aesop?
Aesop was a writer from Ancient Greece, who lived around 600 years BC. According to legend he was actually a slave, who gained his freedom by giving intelligent and philosophical advice to his master. However, there’s no real proof of his existence. Perhaps he was simply a legendary figure to whom folk tales with similar themes were attributed. In fact, some of the tales are known to have been told before his time, whilst others were not recorded in history until much later on. Nevertheless, the fables which became known as Aesop’s all have some kind of moral message. As you will find out for yourselves, these tales are often through the depiction of animals who can speak, or who have taken on human characteristics.
Step One
Each one of you chooses 3 to 4 different fables from BBC Radio 2 collection of Aesop’s Fables below and listens carefully to the stories. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/english/aesops_fables/
Listen to the style of the story (the style of fables) and discuss or write:
Names things these stories had in common?
How would you describe the characters?
What was the theme or moral of each story?
Step Two
You will now be taking a closer look at other Aesop’s fables and research similar fables from your own country. A good online collection of all of Aesop’s fables (655+) can be found by following this link: http://www.aesopfables.com.
Each group member starts to research stories/legends in their own culture that you feel relate to your group’s theme. (internet, library).
A good source for Dutch students is: http://www.verhalenbank.nl
A good source for Indian students is: http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-folktales/index.html
Naturally, there are many other sources available to you.
Also, we have included some more example fables from Aesop’s collection that are related to the 5 different themes of this project. (see button link below).
Step Three
1. Compare your stories and discuss the following in your group:
Which folktale(s) have you found?
Give a short summary of each story.
Is it an important story in your culture, or is more general? Explain.
Which elements of your country’s culture do you recognise?
How is this story related to your chosen theme?
2. Start to write your second group’s article (about 300 words in total), which includes your findings mentioned above and short summaries of some of the stories.
Step Four
Upload/Create your group’s article on your page on this site. Please note, that you have to give this article its own title, otherwise it will not be clear to the reader that this article is separate to the introduction article. Please remember to make attractive with titles, subtitles, paragraphs, colours and photos (just like an article from a fun teenage magazine).
Step five
In this phase you will create a story per group and therefore per theme. This story will be in the style of a fable. For information about the style of fables you can either go back to the BBC Radio stories, or you click on the button below for information AND tips on writing your own fable. Remember fables aren't complicated stories, they do not have a lot of dialogue. So, keep it simple, but do convey a message; what is the moral of your fable?
Upload your group's article and story on your page on this site before November 7, 2016.
Press button below for themes of fables:
Press button below for tips for writing a fable: