Folklife Resources for Educators
Materials Related to ArtisansThere are 8 titles in this list.
Dave - I Made This Jar
by Digital Traditions http://www.digitaltraditions.net/html/D_Resources.cfm
Educator guide that focuses on the contributions of the enslaved potter and poet, David Drake, who worked in the pottery industry that flourished in the Edgefield District of South Carolina in the 1800s. Curriculum materials were designed to be consulted in conjunction with the McKissick Museum's "I Made This Jar" exhibit, but they may be be used independently of the exhibit. Lesson plans address pottery making, written and oral traditions in poetry, and the economics of slavery in relation to antebellum craft work. The guide also includes student activities, teacher background, and a bibliography. It was created for classroom use in grades 3-12, with guidance on teaching content and skills geared to different grade levels. (45 p. PDF)
Grade Level: 3-5; 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Art and Culture; History and Social Studies; Language Arts; Music |
Resource Type: Lesson plans; Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: African Americans; South Carolina--Social life and customs; Pottery; Slavery; Poetry; Crafts; Potters; Decorative arts; Artisans
Geographic locations: South Carolina |
Sponsoring Organization: Digital Traditions Folklife Resource Center, McKissick Museum Columbia SC 29208
(803) 777-3714 http://www.digitaltraditions.net/Index.cfm
Other Organizations:
McKissick Museum University of South Carolina Columbia SC 29208
(803) 777-7251 http://www.cas.sc.edu/mcks/
Folk Arts in Education - A Resource Handbook II
by Marsha MacDowell, LuAnne Kozma http://www.folkartsineducation.org/
Resource handbook examining folklife, folklore, and folk arts in education throughout the United States with sample curricula from over fifty programs for youth in K-12 educational settings, museums, arts and humanities councils, and other non-profit cultural and arts organizations. The 262-page handbook includes many web-based educational resources, plus a webography and bibliography, for the study of folk arts that encourage students to become involved in hands-on, experiential learning, fieldwork, and place-based research in local community settings. It is available on the site in downloadable form or for sale in hardcopy or on CD through the Michigan State University Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Program Store.
Grade Level: K-2; 3-5; 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Sports and Recreation; Science; Performing Arts; Music; Math; Language Arts; History and Social Studies; Art and Culture |
Resource Type: Video recordings; Primary sources; Lesson plans; Audio recordings; Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Festivals; Fieldwork (Educational method); Folklore; Occupations--Folklore; Oral history; Inquiry-based learning; Music; Oral tradition; Place-based education; Holidays; Vernacular architecture; Urban folklore; United States--Social life and customs; Rites of passage; Storytelling; Artisans; Community life; Children--Folklore; Folk music; Folk songs; Folklore--Fieldwork; Folk art; Foodways; Ethnic arts; Culture; Ethnic folklore; Family--Folklore; History; Needlework
Geographic locations: United States; General |
Sponsoring Organization: Michigan State University Museum Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824
(517) 353-2370 http://museum.msu.edu/
Other Organizations:
Michigan Traditional Arts Program Michigan State University Museum East Lansing Michigan 48824-1045
(517) 353-2370 http://museum.msu.edu/s-program/MTAP/
God Given: Cultural Treasures of Armenia - Teacher's Guide
by Susan Eleutario http://www.ndstudies.org/media/prairie_artists_norik_astvatsaturov_god_given_cultural_treasures_of_armenia
Teacher's guide for "God Given : Cultural Treasures of Armenia," a documentary featuring the metal repoussé artistry and life experiences of Norik Astvatsaturov, formerly of Azerbaijan and currently living in North Dakota. The curriculum materials provide an opportunity for students to examine issues related to the geography, history, and culture of Armenia, as well as ethnic conflict, the plight of refugees, and the experience of being an immigrant in the United States. The video is approximately 10 minutes long and is available on the website. Lesson plans in the teacher's guide (16 p. PDF) have benchmarks and standards for grades 9-12 for the Visual Arts, Language Arts, and Social Studies.
Grade Level: 9-12 |
Curriculum: Language Arts; History and Social Studies; Art and Culture; Geography |
Resource Type: Video recordings; Lesson plans |
Language: English |
Subjects: Immigrants; Ethnic groups; Emigration and immigration; Refugees; Decoration and ornament; North Dakota--Social life and customs; Armenia--Social life and customs; Material culture; Armenian Americans; Art; Artisans; Decorative arts; Metal-work; History; Geography
Geographic locations: North Dakota; Armenia |
Sponsoring Organization: North Dakota Council on the Arts 1600 E. Century Avenue, #6 Bismarck ND 58503-0649
(701) 328-7590 http://www.nd.gov/arts/
Lucreaty Clark, White Oak Basket Maker
by State Library and Archives of Florida http://www.floridamemory.com/OnlineClassroom/lucreaty/
Lesson plans, photographs, and audio interviews with Lucreaty Clark, basket maker, about the history and practice of making white oak baskets. Correlated to Florida State Standards, the lesson plans were created for grades 6-8 in a Social Studies or Language Arts curriculum. The primary source materials in this educational unit belong to the State Library and Archives of Florida's Florida Folklife Collection, available on the Florida Memory Web site.
Grade Level: 6-8 |
Curriculum: Language Arts; Art and Culture |
Resource Type: Primary sources; Lesson plans; Audio recordings |
Language: English |
Subjects: Artisans; Women; Florida--Social life and customs; Material culture; African Americans; Basket making; Crafts
Geographic locations: Florida |
Sponsoring Organization: State Library and Archives of Florida 500 S. Bronough Street Tallahassee FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6700 http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/index.cfm
Other Organizations:
Florida Memory Project State Library and Archives of Florida Tallahassee FL 32399-0250
(850) 245-6700 http://www.floridamemory.com/
Masters of the Building Arts Activity Guide
by Betty Belanus, Marjorie Hunt http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/pdf/BuildingArtsGuide.pdf
Adapted from a family activity guide to accompany the 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program focused on the building arts and the artistry and skill of craftspersons. This guide offers activity suggestions for persons of all ages related to making stone walls, stained glass windows, and architectural terra cotta, and to working with ornamental ironwork, adobe, stone carving and masonry, and timber framing. (41 p. PDF)
Grade Level: All ages |
Curriculum: Art and Culture; History and Social Studies |
Resource Type: Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Artisans; Occupations--Folklore; Building trades; Material culture
Geographic locations: General |
Sponsoring Organization: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Suite 2001 MRC 520 Washington DC 20024
(202) 633-6440 http://www.folklife.si.edu/
Red Alexander: Shipwright and Folk Artist - Study Guide
by Maria Hetherton http://www.folkstreams.net/context,279
Study guide for middle and high school students to accompany the film “Red Alexander: Shipwright and Folk Artist,” created by Archie Green and Chris Simon in 1998. The 25-minute film, available as streaming video on folkstreams.net, focuses on the life and craft of a retired shipwright whose exquisite models of working ships mirror his fifty-year career building ships on the Oakland Estuary in California. The guide can be integrated into social studies and language arts curricula and serves as an introduction for students to labor culture and history in its focus on an occupational community in the Bay Area.
Grade Level: 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Art and Culture; History and Social Studies; Language Arts |
Resource Type: Activities; Primary sources; Lesson plans; Video recordings |
Language: English |
Subjects: Ethnographic films; Ship models; Artisans; Folk artists; Labor history; Educational films; Occupations--Folklore; Older people; Oakland (Calif.)--Social life and customs; Oral history; Maritime culture; Shipwrights; Shipbuilding
Geographic locations: California |
Sponsoring Organization: Folkstreams
http://www.folkstreams.net/
Tradition: Tennessee Lives and Legacies Teacher's Guide
by Dana Everts-Boehm http://www.arts.state.tn.us/resources/tradition_teachers_guide.pdf
Teacher’s guide designed for grades 3-12 which enhances the understanding of Tennessee’s folklife heritage. Originally developed to prepare students for visiting an exhibition of the same name, the guide can stand on its own as an educational resource. The materials include profiles of Tennessee folk artists from a variety of regional and ethnic backgrounds, representing Cumberland Plateau old-time fiddling, Middle Tennessee buck dancing, African American blues, Choctaw beadwork, the making of Mennonite sorghum, and Mexican needlework. The guide also introduces students to the basic concepts of folklife, tradition, folk group, family folklife, tradition bearer, folk artist, and fieldwork. Accompanying forms and guidelines on interviewing family members and presenting findings in the classroom are included. The materials conform to Tennessee State Curriculum Standards for Art, Social Studies, Modern History, and Science. (24 pp. PDF) For a DVD of photographs of Tennessee traditional artists, including those in the teacher's guide, contact: dana.everts-boehm@tn.gov
Grade Level: 3-5; 6-8; 9-12 |
Curriculum: Language Arts; History and Social Studies; Art and Culture; Science |
Resource Type: Primary sources; Lesson plans; Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Family--Folklore; Inquiry-based learning; Mennonites; Beadwork; Needlework; Folk music; Interviewing; Dance; Music; Folklore; Tennessee--Social life and customs; Artisans; Fiddlers; Folk artists; Musicians; Foodways; African Americans; Mexican Americans; Choctaw Indians; Basket making; Fieldwork (Educational method)
Geographic locations: Tennessee |
Sponsoring Organization: Tennessee Arts Commission Folklife Program 401 Charlotte Avenue Nashville TN 37243-0780
(615) 741-1701 http://www.tn.gov/arts/folklife.htm
Other Organizations:
Tennesee Arts Commission
http://www.arts.state.tn.us/
Unbroken Tradition – Teacher’s Guide
by Erin Kellen, Joey Brackner http://www.folkstreams.net/context,10
Teacher’s guide for grades 3-6 to accompany the film “Unbroken Tradition,” created by Joey Brackner, Erin Kellen, and Herb Smith in 1986. The 29-minute film, available as streaming video on folkstreams.net, is a portrait of Jerry Brown, a ninth generation potter from Hamilton, Alabama, whose forebears first set up a potter’s wheel in Georgia around 1800. The film takes the viewer through the steps of making a churn from digging the clay and preparing it for the potter’s wheel, to actual turning and firing of the piece in the kiln. It also includes Jerry’s explanation of how he came to the potter’s trade relatively late in life. The teacher’s guide and film explore issues relating to the continuation of this family tradition over generations, the making of stoneware pottery, and the importance of pottery in daily life in the past in the American South.
Grade Level: 3-5; 6-8 |
Curriculum: Science; History and Social Studies; Art and Culture |
Resource Type: Video recordings; Primary sources; Lesson plans; Activities |
Language: English |
Subjects: Family--Folklore; Potters; Pottery; Alabama--Social life and customs; Oral history; Georgia--Social life and customs; Family-owned business enterprises; History; Educational films; Ethnographic films; Artisans
Geographic locations: Georgia; Alabama |
Sponsoring Organization: Folkstreams
http://www.folkstreams.net/
Other Organizations:
Alabama State Council on the Arts 201 Monroe Street Montgomery AL 36130-1800
(334) 242-4076 http://www.arts.state.al.us/
Other Organizations:
Appalshop Whitesburg KY 41858 http://appalshop.org/
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