Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Preschool Story Time
Shelley D. Carney
Emporia State University
LI 755
July 31, 2008
shelleycarney@gmail.com
Who is Anansi?
Anansi is a man and also a spider – when things are going well he is a man, but when he is in danger
he becomes a spider, hiding safely in his web. He is a trickster, who may be small, but by being
cunning and clever, Anansi can often get the better of those much bigger than himself.
Anansi trickster tales were created by the Ashanti people of Ghana and were eventually brought by
slaves to the Caribbean and the United Sates. These tales later developed into
Brer Rabbit stories and were written down in the 19th century in the American South.
Sherlock, P. (1954). Anansi the spider man: Jamaican folk tales. NY, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell.
Oral Tradition:
In African societies, oral tradition is the method in which history, stories, folktales and
religious beliefs are passed on from generation to generation – oral tradition is linked to the African
way of life. For centuries, African people depended upon oral tradition to teach important
traditional values and morals. Oral tradition delivers explanations to the
mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life on earth and aims to explain human
nature and behavior. In African religion, oral stories and narratives were passed down to help make
sense of the world.
Wilson, S. (2003). “African Oral Tradition”. Black and Christian [Online].
Available: http://www.blackandchristian.com/articles/academy/swilson‐09‐03.shtml
Program Plan:
Goals:
· To learn about Anansi, a West African trickster character, and the oral storytelling tradition.
· To have at least 15 children and 15 parents participate in the story time.
· To instill an early global awareness in preschoolers.
· To develop an appreciation of the oral tradition of storytelling.
· To become excited about reading and interactive story times.
· To foster an early respect for other cultures.
Objectives:
Children will hear stories and interact to learn about the origins of Anansi and his
importance in West African and Caribbean folk lore.
Target Audience:
Pre‐school age children, ages 3 1/2 ‐ 5.
Rationale:
There are many children’s books available about the African trickster Anansi — with this program
young children will learn about Anansi and the origins of the trickster tale. The program also
includes a brief introduction into the tradition of oral story telling and its importance in West
African and Caribbean culture.
Budget:
Ten dollars for craft supplies and plastic spiders
Personnel:
Children’s librarian and a volunteer to help aid with craft time
Marketing Plan:
Create a flyer for “Anansi Tales” story time for children and parents to take home. Pass out flyer
during story hour two weeks before program. Also include details of program in story time
calendar and post information on web site. This would be a great program to have during Black
History Month.
Program Outline:
Preschool age children enjoy books with simple plots, silly stories, and folk tales. They are also
responsive to stories reflecting culture and ethnicity. They enjoy short programs with a variety of
stories, poems, and songs. This program was designed to help children learn about Anansi stories
while developing cognitively and socially in a format compatible to their interests and learning
style.
In preparation, pull books of Anansi tales to display during program. See resource guide for a list of
suggested books.
As children arrive, play CD of West African music or the introduction to “Anansi” as told by Denzel
Washington on the Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales audio collection. Encourage children to sit
in a circle to create a “web.”
Begin the story hour with an Anansi story told in the oral tradition by reading out loud with only
note cards or a printout. Anansi the Spider Man, by Philip Sherlock, has great short stories that can
be read out loud with actions and motions. Start with the introduction “Who was Anansi” and
follow up with a story such as “From Tiger to Anansi.”
Follow up the oral story by talking about the character Anansi and how he fits into the oral
storytelling tradition and folk lore of West African and Caribbean culture. Please refer to the
introduction information on Anansi and oral tradition for ideas. It would be a good idea to have a
world map or globe to point to the countries of Ghana and Jamaica.
Before beginning the next story, sing a spider song:
“The Spider in the Web”
(tune: Farmer in the Dell)
The spider in the web,
The spider in the web
Spin, spin, oh watch him spin,
The spider in the web.
The spider Anansi,
The spider Anansi,
Spin, spin, oh watch him spin,
The spider Anansi.
He is so tricky,
He is so tricky,
Anansi the spider man,
Tries to trick you and me.
Pass out toy plastic spiders for children to take home. End story time with a poem and walk around
and interact with a few children.
"Anansi the Spider"
Anansi the spider
Crawled up on _____'s head!
He crawled all around
Then made a nice soft bed.
He wiggled down his/her shoulder
And jumped down to the floor
Then Anansi the spider
Crawled to someone else for more!
Escort children to craft area where the following craft projects will be set up. Younger children may
want to work on paper plate spiders and older children may want to make handprint spiders.
Paper Plate Anansi:
Materials:
· Paper plates
· Black card stock cut into strips
· Googly eyes
· Glue
· Black marker
Instructions:
Children take eight card stock strips to glue on spider’s legs. They then glue two googly eyes onto
paper plate to create a spider. Children may want to draw a mouth with a marker.
Handprint Anansi:
Materials:
· White card stock
· Black tempera paint
· Googly eyes
· Glue
· Hair dryer
Instructions:
Children can either paint tempera paint on one hand at a time or can dip their
hand into a shallow bowl of black tempera paint (have child avoid getting paint
on his or her thumbs). Doing on hand at a time, the child stamps his hand onto a
piece of cardstock. The child then stamps the other handprint the opposite
direction to create the illusion of a spider body with four legs on each side. Speed dry with hair
dryer and then have children glue on two googly eyes to finish.
Encourage children to tell parents about Anansi the spider man, where he comes from, and the
activities and stories they read in story time.
Evaluation Method:
Take statistics of number of children attending, number of displayed books checked out, and
number of crafts created. Also, ask children what they learned today and questions about Anansi.
Observe the children interacting with each other and parents to evaluate if the children gained an
interest in Anansi tales and West African stories.
Measures of Success:
· At least 15 children participate.
· Positive parent/child feedback.
· Pride and enthusiasm by the participants.
· Increase in books on the subject checked out by young people.
Suggested Books:
Aardema, V. (1997). Anansi does the impossible: An Ashanti tale. NY,
NY: Aladdin.
Aardema, V. (1992). Anansi finds a fool. NY, NY: Dial Books for
Young Readers.
Badoe, A. (2001). The pot of wisdom: Ananse stories. Toronto, ON:
Groundwood Books.
Cummings, P. (2002). Ananse and the lizard: A West African tale. NY,
NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Gleeson, B. (1991). Anansi. Rowayton, CT: Rabbit Ears Production,
Inc.
Kimmel, E. (2001). Anansi and the magic stick. NY, NY: Holiday
House.
Kimmel, E. (1988). Anansi and the mosscovered rock. NY, NY:
Holiday House.
Kimmel, E. (1991). Anansi and the talking melon. NY, NY: Holiday House.
Kimmel, E. (1991). Anansi goes fishing. NY, NY: Holiday House.
McDermott, G. (1972). Anansi the spider. NY, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Mollel, T. (1997). Ananse's feast: An Ashanti tale. NY, NY: Clarion
Books.
Norfolk, B. (1999). Anansi time. [Audio cassette]. NY, NY: August
House Audio.
Paye, W. (2006). The talking vegetables. NY, NY: Henry Holt and
Company.
Rabbit Ears. (2006). A treasury of world tales: Volume one. [Audio
CD].
Rowayton, CT:Rabbit Ears Production, Inc.
Sherlock, P. (1954). Anansi the spider man: Jamaican folk tales. NY,
NY: Thomas Y. Crowell.
Temple, F. (1994). Tiger soup: An Anansi story from Jamaica. NY, NY:
Orchard Books.
Suggested Websites:
Kids Africa – Explore Africa with Anansi
Children can take an incredible journey through Africa and solve a fun mystery with the famous
Anansi the Spider.
http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Kids/kids.html
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – African Voices
http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices
The Kennedy Center ‐ African Odyssey Interactive
http://artsedge.kennedy‐center.org/aoi
African Storytelling
Cultures & Literatures of Africa‐ Central Oregon Community College
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/afrstory.htm