The literary works of Volney Elementary School students were featured at a recent author’s tea in the school’s library.
Student authors from Erin Brewster’s fourth grade class presented Native American folktales during the event that they wrote and illustrated.
Volney Elementary fourth grade student Jocelyn Polly shared her folktale How Beaver Lost His Stripes during an author’s tea at her school. Inspired by folktale stories she read about Native American history, Jocelyn wrote a heartwarming tale about courage, friendship, and a beaver that was born with the burden of a striped coat.
Work on the folktale projects started over a month ago when, as part of the fourth grade core curriculum, the students began exploring Iroquois history.
The class read many folktales, including the works of Native American storyteller and writer Joseph Bruchac.
Through their exploration the students gained an understanding of Native American culture, traditions, and beliefs and also an understanding of the style and feeling that goes into creating a folktale of their own.
Students in the class drafted a folktale story about a subject of their choice.
The students developed the story’s characters, creating a problem for them to overcome, and conveying a moral message to the reader.
The students put their stories into a book format and then added their own personal illustrations.
Each student read their folktale story aloud at the author’s tea and shared their illustrations to an audience of family, friends and Volney faculty members.
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