C.A.R.T.S.

This is a list of folk arts and folklife education resources of special interest to K-12 educators and students. It is a work in progress please send recommendations and corrections to nationalnetwork@carts.org

ARTICLES

NEW!
FOLKLORE OF THE LIFE CYCLE

When we honor our children with ritual, they know where they belong.
--Duane Hollow Horn Bear (Rosebud Sioux, South Dakota)

Rituals provide frameworks to help people mark life’s transitions and make meaning of milestones.
This issue of CARTS plumbs the deep knowledge embedded in rites of passage and life milestones
to build bridges from self to school, student to student, classroom to the world.

The Life Cycle: Folk Customs of Passage by Steve Zeitlin
“In an age when it is easy to live vicariously through t.v. shows and other popular media, attention to the life cycle returns the focus to ourselves and our families, the arenas in which the real work of life takes place,” writes the Director of City Lore.

Welcoming a New Life: Yoruba Naming Traditions by Lisa Falk
By exploring what names mean and how different cultural groups have special naming traditions, students have a lot to learn about themselves, their families, their community, and the world.

Step on the Pedal and Go: Coming of Age in Bermuda by Lisa Falk
A teen and his mother consider the milestone of a first motorbike.

Cajun Weddings by Jane Vidrine
Weddings are very familiar rites of passage, yet each differs. Cajun wedding traditions provide a window for researching this life passage.

Rangoli: Traditions of the Threshold by Amanda Dargan
Threshold traditions offer a concrete form for exploring how rites of passage help practitioners make a transition between two states, such as secular to sacred, outside to inside, child to adult, and so on.

Cemetery Secrets by Paddy Bowman
Cemeteries may seem unlikely fieldtrip destinations, yet they offer rich possibilities for engaging students in primary research.

CLAIMING PLURALISM

"At Home In the World" by Jim Carnes
If membership and identity remain such vexing issues in our country, what can educators do to help students not only cope with the problem but also take action to resolve it? Written by Jim Carnes, editor of Teaching Tolerance, a national education project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama explores the question,

"May I Borrow?" by Elizabeth Johnson
With the help of the Surdna Foundation, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange launched the National Teen Institute and 30 teens from across the country gathered at the University of Maryland for an intensive two weeks of dance and composition classes, rehearsal, and creation. They were African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian. They studied diverse dance techniques, from jazz and modern to salsa and traditional Hmong.

Some were dramatic, some were shy. Some skateboarded, some studied the Bible. Some liked hip-hop, some liked punk. And despite or maybe because of their differences, they really wanted to like each other...

"More Than Feathers and Casinos: Rethinking Native American Education" by Rick Hill
"....The most difficult thing to impress upon your students is that there is not one standard of Native American culture, dress, art, language, or experience. Over 400 native groups in the U.S. have very different realities. Our cultures are as different from one another as Japanese culture is from Polish culture..."

"Walk in Another's Shoes" by Judy Thibault Klevins
"The trim, silver-haired man sits ramrod straight, a legacy of his former military training. Sitting close by, not quite as still or straight, his eight-year-old Swapping Stories partner's smile reflects his own. After the storytelling session, the former Mr. America finalist states, 'Even though there's a 75-year difference in our ages, we've had very similar experiences.' His young African-American female partner describes their exchange as 'talking to him like he was my father.' How did two former strangers build a bridge of understanding that spanned their cultural, racial, age, and gender difference? They participated in Swapping Stories, an intergenerational/intercultural project I created for...."

"Words Are Serious, Words Are Divine" by Kewulay Kamara
Taking students to visit community sites can provide rich, authentic experiences that inspire powerful personal responses. Often young rappers are—as freestyler Toni Blackman put it—"stuck in style" so writing about dramatic new experiences forces them to experiment. African-American high school students who participated in City Lore's Poetry Dialogues project worked with poets Toni Blackman and Kewulay Kamara to write poems based on their experience of visiting St. Augustine's Church, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where slaves and former slaves were separated from White parishioners in a 'slave gallery' above the main sanctuary.

"Poetry Dialogues" by Tahani Salah
"I was in the sixth grade when I started writing poetry. I had never realized how special poetry was to me. I started writing not just as an assignment, but almost as a way to let myself be free from everything around me. As I grow older, my poetry seems to evolved from blue hummingbirds to the dark and sorrowful days of oppressed Palestine....My experience as a poet had been great but got even better when I started workshops with the Def Jam Poet Suheir Hammad and City Lore as part of a program called Poetry Dialogues.

PLACE-BASED EDUCATION

"Sense of Place" by Michael Umphrey
"What is a 'place?' Is that strip of grass between the lanes on the Interstate highway a place? Is a Web site a place?" Michael Umphrey, a poet and former principal, who currently directs the Montana Heritage Project explores the many notions of place. Umphrey also provides examples for how students can learn the skills of documentation, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, and presentation by studying history, nature, and folklife in the towns and neighborhoods that surround them.

"Fieldwork Builds Learning and Community" by Mark Wagler
Elementary school teacher and folklorist Mark Wagler shares fieldwork methods he uses with his classes. The article includes exercises and inspiration for teaching folklore in the K-12 curriculum. "I am convinced", he says, "that the single most important factor for teaching folklore in the K-12 curriculum is for teachers to think of themselves, and act, as fieldworkers."

"La Trace du Boudin" by Paddy Bowman
An engaging profile of Acadiana and Lafayette High School students who prepared the "Guide to Acadian Stores and Meat Markets That Sell Boudin." The guide, a French and English tourism brochure, explores the boudin, a Cajun sausage made and sold in small family-owned markets all over South Louisiana."

"How Deer Came to the Kodiak Archipelago" by Josh Wood
Josh Wood, a student from rural Alaska, writes about an unusual relationship between people, animals, and place.

"Room 202 on the Road: The Dane County Cultural Tour" by Mark Wagler and Ruth Olson
Learn about 4th and 5th graders at the Randall School in Madison, Wisconsin who are developing a virtual cultural tour of Dane County. Wagler and Olson explain how traveling around the county not only helps students see how Madison and larger towns are sprawling into rural areas it also "gives them the opportunity to develop a land ethic that respects cultural as well as natural ecology."

"Family Maps" by Luanne McLaughlin
Luanne McLaughlin, a parent at PS 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, shares a family mapping activity that works in any locale.

POETRY IN EDUCATION

"Writing Exercises" by Dave Johnson
"One of the toughest tasks for educators teaching young writers is to get them to see that poetry is everywhere in our lives....The "site" of the Work Poem is a good place to engage young writers to focus on a specific subject matter and to encourage them to explore the language that surrounds the jobs and work they do daily..."

"Poetry Contests and Improvisations" by Amanda Dargan and Steve Zeitlin
An international and historical overview of poetry contests and improvisation.

"Poetry Slam in the Classroom" by Bob Holman
A detailed description of poetry slams and the pros and cons of hosting them with young people in a classroom.

"The Blues" by Amanda Dargan and Steve Zeitlin
"'What are the blues?' Well, as Louis Armstrong said about jazz, cousin to the blues, 'Man, if you gotta ask, you'll never know.'" That said, folklorists, Amanda Dargan and Steve Zeitin provide a brief history of blues poetry—with examples.

"Fieldtrips to Find Poetry" by Steve Zeitlin
The Handbook of Poetic Forms published by Teachers & Writers Collaborative regards a 'found poem' as a piece of writing that was not intended as a poem, but is desclared to be by its 'finder.' Poetry can be 'found' in everything from newspaper articles, store signs, lists, scraps of conversation, and other everytday uses of language. Steve Zeitlin explains the 'rules' of found poetry and offers images and examples for you to begin your own fieldtrips to find poetry.

"Cowboy Poetry Adventures" by Paddy Bowman
"Imagine herding 21 high school students from the coast of Oregon to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada over nine days in the middle of the school year...." Join Paddy Bowman as she chronicles the literary adventures of two teachers and 21 students (cowboy poetry resources provided).

FOLKLIFE IN THE CLASSROOM

"How to Teach Folk Arts to Young People: The Need for Context" by Graeme Chalmers
In a a speech at New York University, Chalmers challenges the practice of "aesthetic scanning" by providing art teachers with ways to teach students the social context in which art is created.

"An Accessible Aesthetic" by Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
The folk artist is very much like a curator and the community is a living museum. In unpacking this metaphor, Kirshenblatt-Gimblett explores how the folk artist learns various traditions and then teaches adults and children to develop strong ties to their communities and cultural history.

"Negotiating Pitfalls and Possibilities" by Deobra Kodish
Kodish outlines the steps taken toward understanding folk art and locating it within communities. She also explores how students come to understand the history, economics, style, culture and traditions of people through folk arts.

"Passing it On" by Rita Zorn Moonsammy
Excerpts from the now classic folk arts-in-education book, Passing It On which explores collaborative programs between classroom teachers and folk artists/community educators. We have excerpted four sections that map the New Jersey Main Road School's sixth grade residency with auctioneer Andrea Licciardello. Licciardello worked with classroom teacher Glenn Christmann to present a study of auctions within a frame of regional socioeconomics.

Excerpted sections include: "The Context—New Jersey, The Garden State," "The Artist—Andrea (Henry) Licciardello, Auctioneer", "The School—Main Road School's Educational Program," "The Curriculum," and "Collection Projects & Artifact Documenation (Ideas & Tips)"

"Finding Folk Arts in Teachers' and Students' Lives" by Diane E. Sidener
How teachers can identify folk groups and incorporate cultural explorations into the classroom learning experience.

LINKING HOME, COMMUNITY & CLASSROOM

"Using Folklife Studies in Schools, Museums, Libraries and Community Centers" by Susan Eleuterio
Five suggestions for people interested in developing folklore-related educational programs.

"How Community Can be Understood and Studied Through Ethnic Contributions" by Susan Eleuterio, Andrea Graham, Gail Mathews-DeNatale, and Rachelle Saltzman

Four folklorists explain the many different types of community and the ways they are built. They also offer tips for exploring personal heritage and identifying communities inside and outside of the classroom.

"Families and Diversity" by Margot Hammond
How the Bank Street Family Center uses family photographs to foster understanding about diversity.

Imagine: "Folk Arts: Arts in Everyday Life"
Tips for parents on the best ways to interest children in art, including helping them explore connections between their own life experiences and the artistic processes of others.

"Holidays and Schools: Folklore Theory and Educational Practice, or, 'Where Do We Put the Christmas Tree?'" by Lucy Long
How an Ohio parent and folklorist successfully engaged the issue of holiday celebrations in schools by integrating community study, family folklore and social studies curricula.

INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMS

"A Community Celebration Of Place" by Laura Caldwell Anderson
A program brings rural Alabama communities together when students interview community elders and get the stories to music.

"A patchwork of our lives: Oral History Quilts in Intercultural Education" by Cynthia Cohen
How oral history can help young people develop intercultural and intergenerational competencies.

"Among Folk: Using Folklife To Build Partnerships With Students And Their Families" by Sarah Jordahl Reeve
A folklife curriculum bridges the generational gap between students, parents, and grandparents and aids in student’s quest for their own identity.

MIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

"Capitalizing On Diversity And Immigration" by Carol Franz
How a Virginia elementary school uses the diversity of their students to enrich their learning experience and multicultural understanding.

"A Child's Salute: Iowa Project Honors Newcomers" by Gail Mathews-DeNatale and Rachelle Saltzman
At an Iowa Folklife Teacher Institute, artists and teachers grapple with the meaning of divergent classroom and home experiences of immigrant students.

"The Florida Music Train: Moving to the Sunshine State" by Laurie Kay Sommers
Using traditional music as a window into the increasingly diverse migrant population in the United States.

"Sculpting the Face of Immigration" by George Zavala
Using art to tell a story of immigration, George Zavala creates works of art with several different 4^th grade classes in Woodside, Queens.

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

"That Zora Sure Could Write" by Akua Duku Anoyke, PhD
Looking at the work of Zora Neal Hurston, Anokye examines how oral discourse can be transferred into writing. He argues that Hurston’s work provides a model teaching tool for preserving oral traditions through writing. Also includes a short biography of Hurston.

"Folk Culture Inspires Writing Across The Curriculum" by Susan Eleuterio
Two folklife activities that encourage writing across the curriculum: reading cultural objects and fieldwork about Halloween and Day of the Dead.

"Writing the Range" by Trish O'Malley
Reflections on the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada by student participants.

Folklife and Writing Projects: "Stepping In and Stepping Out" by Bonnie Sunstein
Students are used to being told what questions to ask and how to answer them. Sunstein explains how using interviewing can change that.

INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES

"Beyond ‘Yes’ and ‘No’: Teaching Interviewing Skills to Students" by Shari Davis and Benny Ferdman
In looking at how to bring the community into the classroom, this article outlines how to teach students to conduct and evaluate and interview.

ENGAGING DIVERSITY

"A Teacher Talks About Folk Arts-Driven Educational Reform" by Susanne Nixsdorf
How a rural Pennsylvanian school district taught about diversity and respect for other cultures through a folklife/folk arts program.

TEACHER TRAINING

"Teacher’s Self-Discovery" by Susan Eleuterio
Teaching teachers acceptance and respect through training that begins with the teacher examining their own culture and then expanding to the cultures of other people. For a similar approach with students, see Engaging Diversity–"A Teacher Talks about Folk Arts-Driven Educational Reform" by Susanne Nixdorf

"A Child’s Salute: Iowa’s Project Honors Newcomers" by Gail Matthews-DeNatale and Rachelle Saltzman
Information on how teachers can identify folk groups and then incorporate the exploration of these groups into the classroom learning experience.

TEACHER AS TELLER

"Storytelling at the Crossroads" by Nina Jaffe
Teaching storytelling: the power, importance and influence of the storyteller

"Sharing Stories with Children" by Susan Micari
A case study of how particular folktales can be used to help children through troubled times, and the tale that Micari used to reach a lonely eight-year-old.

MODEL PROGRAMS and ACTIVITIES

"Mi Familia—A Celebration: A Puente Program Freshman Unit" by Elizabeth Radin
Illustrates using folklore as an interdisciplinary teaching tool, and as a way of creating an increased sense of respect, understanding and pride in a student’s family though documenting family legends and oral histories.

"Mining Values in the Montana Heritage Project" by Renee Rasmussen
Through asking her junior English class to investigate an old building that was once a gym, Rasmussen "discovered the joy of using cultural heritage in the classroom."