BELL WORK1.What was your favorite story

as a child?2.Why was this your favorite

story?3.How was it told to you?

Objective and Standard

• I can analyze various forms of written and oral traditions in African culture and how they affect the culture of Africa and the world today.

7.15 Examine the importance of written and oral traditions in the transmission of African history and culture.

GRIOTS

• The griots were the storytellers in the ancient kingdom of Ghana.

• After dinner, villagers might hear the sound of a drum or a rattle announcing a story was soon to be told.

• They collected around a central fire and settled down to listen.

• The storytellers told many stories - stories about the many gods and goddesses that were worshiped.

• They told tales of war and battle and heroes and leaders and kings.

• Stories were often accompanied with music and dancing and song.

• There was no written language. Stories kept their history alive. Stories were also entirely fictional.

GRIOTS

What kind of stories were told?

• Anyone could tell a story, but there was only one official Griot per village. If a village tried to steal or entice away a griot from another village, war could break out!

• The griots were very important. The griots did not work in the fields. Their job was to tell stories.

• Let’s read one story that is still a popular one in Africa!!

GRIOTS AT SFMS• SFMS has declared there will be no more

yearbooks! OMG!!!• We will assign griots to each grade level to

memorize all of the major events that happen in the school year so we never forgot!

POD TALK:What things will we need to remember?

10 minutes

End

CLOSE READING

• Read the article closely

• Highlight or underline important evidence.

• Answer the questions

Anansi, the little spider

Anansi, the little spider

1. Why did Anansi decide not to wait at Rabbit's house until the greens were done cooking?

2. How did Anansi save himself from being pulled into pieces?

3. What is the moral of this story?

Modern Day Griots!• Many African musicians and poets are still

Griots! They still perform and tell stories and days gone by. Some traditions never die.

African Proverbs

• What is a proverb? (p. 397)• Let’s look at a few proverbs and see if we

can figure out what they mean…– “Talking doesn’t fill the basket in the farm”– “If you don't stand for something, you will fall

for something”– “A man who pays respect to the great paves the

way for his own greatness”– “Do not look where you fell, but where you

slipped”

ASSESSMENT• Think about a memorable moment that

has happened to you at SFMS.• Pretend you are a griot and think about

what it takes to be a great story teller:Humor, dynamics, description, irony

• Take a few moments to come up with your story and then we will share them with the class. • I will model my own story first!