Act It Out:
Dramatizing Stories from
Asian American Cultures

Subjects

• Language Arts
• Fine Arts

Grades

• K-2
• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Brief Description

Students read and act out folktales, fairy tales, or myths from various Asian American cultures.

Objectives

Students

• define the terms folktale, fairy tale, and myth.
• demonstrate creative thinking and dramatic skills to dramatize a folktale.
• work together in cooperative groups.

Keywords

China, Japan, Malaysia, India, Asia, Asian American, folktale, fairy tale, myth, legend, drama, theater, culture

Materials Needed

• teacher-selected library sources of folktales, fairy tales, and myths from Asian American cultures or printouts from the site noted in the lesson plan
• paper
• pens or pencils

Lesson Plan

• Prior to the lesson, select folktales, fairy tales, and myths from Asian American cultures using library or online sources. Below is one suggested site. Print out several stories for students.
  Folk and Fairy Tales from Around the World Scroll down the page to the sections "Tales from Central Asia," "Tales from China," "Tales from India," "Tales from Japan," and "Middle Eastern Tales."
• Discuss the meanings of the words folktale, fairy tale, and myth. Explain the similarities and differences.
• Read and discuss one or two stories with the class.
• Divide the class into small groups. Distribute one story to each group.
• Have each group read the story aloud and then work together to create a short play or skit about the story. Tell students to think about and discuss the answers to these` questions as they plan their skits:

  What is the main idea of the story?
  Who are the main characters in the story?
  What are the important events in the story?
  How does the story end?

• Encourage students to take notes as they plan their presentations.
• Have students present their skits or plays to the class.

Variations:

• For younger students: Help the class work together to create a play or skit about one folktale, fairy tale, or myth.
• For older students: Have students use print or online sources to research and select the folktales, fairytales, or myths for their plays.

Assessment

Evaluate students' presentations.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Lois Lewis

National Standards

Language Arts:
  NL-ENG.K-12.1
  NL-ENG.K-12.2
  NL-ENG.K-12.3
  NL-ENG.K-12.4
  NL-ENG.K-12.5
  NL-ENG.K-12.6
  NL-ENG.K-12.9

Fine Arts:
  NA-T.K-4.1
  NA-T.K-4.2
  NA-T.K-4.4
  NA-T.5-8.1
  NA-T.5-8.2
  NA-T.5-8.4
  NA-T.9-12.1
  NA-T.9-12.2