Traditional Literature: Learning Around "A Fire"

Learning about traditional literature...myths, legends, tall tales, and fables...is part of the fifth grade unit on genre. Traditional literature always seems to be the hardest for students to comprehend.  Being able to physically hangout around one for the school day helps drive the idea home. Here is an explanation of this experience in their own words:

In 5th Grade "we were studying traditional literature so we had a camp fire.  A long time ago, people learned through stories and they would do it around a fire because there was no written language yet. That’s why we had a campfire,” explained Alex. 

“I liked that it was homemade because it was made out of a bucket, easter basket stuff, and paper logs. The lights that made the fire made it more realistic. They even flickered on and off,” shared Chloe. 

Olivia added, “We read books around the campfire, too.”

It’s true! After the story telling, students reviewed what they learned about traditional literature, and then they got comfy in their bean bags to read their independent reading books. 

Leah summed up the whole experience. ” It was cool because we got to connect to the past!”