Sunday, October 31, 2010

"Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom"

On Friday I was in Michigan at the Michigan Teachers of English conference where I gave two featured presentations.

In my talk, I referenced an article I wrote about using folktales in the classroom. The article is "Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom." In it, I do a comparison of Penny Pollock's The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella and  "Turkey Girl," a story told at Zuni.  (For those who don't know, Zuni is one of the pueblos in New Mexico.)

In the revised edition From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books, Kathleen T. Horning references "Proceed with Caution." If you don't have a copy of Cover to Cover you should definitely get one.

I've recently learned that "Proceed with Caution" is available online here, so I am providing that link in this blog post. I don't know how long it will be available, so if you click on the link and can't get it, write to me and I'll send it to you via email. It was originally published in Language Arts, an NCTE publication.



3 comments:

Megan said...

I attended that conference and was in your second session. You did a fantastic job in informing me about some of the issues teachers need to be aware of when they cross into multi-cultural literature. Out of all the sessions I attended, your session was by far the most informational (and my favorite).

the finger said...

"eading Children’s Books about nature is the best tools to construct knowledge to our toddlers.

in this generation, in our generation it is our responsibility to encourage our children about nature. One of the most relevant way is to encourage them to read Reading Children’s Books about nature. make them a nature lovers be able them to digest the importance of nature to mankind.. "

Kia Jane Richmond said...

Thanks, Debbie. I also attended your session and found your information to be useful personally and professionally. I'm so glad you were with us in Lansing!