Numerous and diverse ISA (International School Awards) activities conducted over an extended period for the students of classes 1 to 5 on the theme Folktales, culminated in January 2017.
A glimpse into the activities that the students of each class engaged in, is as described here.
CLASS: 1 STORY ENACTMENT: NAME OF THE STORY: THE SKY IS FALLING COUNTRY: INDIA SYNOPSIS OF THE STORY: The classic tale of rumour and panic was enacted by the children of class I. The act began with a loud thud on the ground which makes the rabbit imagine the sky is falling. He panics and runs about the forest screaming, The sky is falling!" All the other animals in the forest panic and blindly rush for safety. When they find the lion, the king of the forest, he asks the rabbit and his friends to show him the piece of fallen sky.
Alas, in their great haste the group had simply missed finding out what had actually transpired! And when they looked now, all they found staring back at them wistfully was a fallen ripe mango resting upon then forest floor! The rabbit and his companions felt very small.
The moral of the story suggests that we should never jump to conclusions without knowing the facts.
The activity also gave students a chance to practice team-building. Fun and excitement was observed and the learning was stretched to beyond the books, it was in fact linked to a real life situation. The activity also helped enhance the development of physical language, both, social and creative.
CLASS: 2 STORY ENACTMENT: NAME OF THE STORY: Masai Mara: Africa (Kenya) SYNOPSIS OF THE STORY: The story depicted, was set 10 years into the future. The curtains opened to a scene of an Indian family going on a safari to the famous Masai Mara National Park in Kenya.
On the safari, the children of the family are bewildered to sight wild animals roam free! They have mostly seen animals only in picture books until now and curiously ask their parents why they need to travel this far for a glimpse of them. To this, their father replied with a sigh that, alas, in India, wildlife was getting extinct.
The story ended with the moral - We must save our wildlife just like the Africans.
The folktale from Africa was very enacted and lapped up by the students of class 2. The process enabled them to listen to and imbibe a message of importance. The role play was a chance to sharpen the communication skills of the children.
[gallery link="file"]CLASS: 3 ACTIVITY: MAKING OF BOOK COVERS AND BOOK JACKETS OF FOLK TALES AND FABLES
The children of class 3 were given the task of conceiving and crafting innovative book jackets. Stories such as The Champa Flower, The Fox and the Crane, The Clever Fox , The Monkey and the Crocodile, Stories from the Panchatantra, Folk Tales from the U K, Aladdin of Africa and Why the Sky is Far Away? were read aloud in class.
The children then happily designed artistic book covers in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes based on the contents of the book. Their illustrations were both eye-catching and innovative. An extremely successful endeavour!
CLASS: 4 ACTIVITY: CREATING CARTOON STRIPS OF VARIOUS FOLK TALES AND FABLES.
The children of class 4 were told a number of stories, based upon which they were assigned to create cartoon strips. The folktales were mainly from India and Africa. Each was an interesting tale, interspersed with curious characters and an insightful moral at the end. After the children listened to the stories, they were asked to select the one they like best and draw a cartoon strip of it.
The stories their comic strips were based on were: Son in law (Indian Folktale), We Should Never Be Greedy (Greece ), Clever Heir (African), The Black Snake and the Hens Eggs (African), Greedy Mouse (Indian), Why Do Anansi Have Eight Legs? (African), The Thirsty Crow (Indian) The Camel and the Sandpit (Indian), The Ant and the Grasshopper (Indian), Hot Hippo (African), Mouse Mid made Mouse (Indian).
The cartoon strips were delightfully creative with very imaginative illustrations. Each sample was distinct and different based on the childs unique perspective.
CLASS: 5 ACTIVITY: STUDENTS GIVE ORAL PRESENTATION OF THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF FOLKTALES OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD ESPECIALLY INDIA, AFRICA, GREECE AND THE UK.
Students of class V made an oral presentation on the origin and history of the Folktale in different countries across the world, including India, Africa, Greece and the UK. They supported their presentation with elaborate props and costumes. Popular stories from the different countries used were : The Tree (Greek folktale), Panchatantra: The Brahmin Who Did Not Work (Indian), How a Turtle Has Cracks on its Shells? (African), The Clever Wife (Indian), The Man Who Never Lied (African), Druva the Shining Star ( Indian mythological), Save the Fishes ( African) and The Clever Girl and the Spider (Indian ). These were discovered, researched and incorporated by the children in their presentations.
The activity was extremely insightful for the students as they discovered how several stories came into being, their journeys through the ages and how they are still entertaining and enriching us today.
The ISA activities turned out to be extremely engaging at all levels and were immensely enjoyed by the children.
Ms. Purnima Dwivedi.
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