Oral Tradition of Storytelling

Steps:

1. What do you think of Rabbit? Tiger? What is the lesson in this story?
   
   
2. On a separate piece of paper, draw a picture of the story. On the back, write words of your choosing or the sentence below:

   It was not fair for Tiger to keep the pears. They were for all to share.

3. Retell the story a few times to family members and friends. Did the story change each time you told it? What changed? Did details change? Did the lesson or meaning change?
   
   
4. Experiential activity: The oral tradition of storytelling has its challenges. When stories are passed down from one generation to another, things can get mixed up! Here is a game to experience the fun and challenge of passing stories down:

   Whisper Down the Lane:

   Gather a group of friends or family; the more the merrier. Age is of no concern! Sit in a circle together. Have one person whisper a word or sentence to the person on their right. That person whispers what he or she heard to the next person on his or her right, being careful not to let anyone else hear. That person whispers to the next, and so on. When it gets back to the original person, say it out loud. Did it match the original? Now try it with a longer sentence or even with a very short, ideally silly story. The story is passed from person to person until it reaches the original author. They then tell what has been passed to them out loud to the group. Was it anything like the original?