Mrs. Sowers' 5th Grade Authors: Anansi the Spider Video Conference

Students enjoyed the opportunity to have a video conference with the Center for the Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia this week. The video conference topic was Anansi the Spider, so we have been learning about African folktales in our Art, Computer, Music, and Library special classes for two weeks. Students have also been reading stories about Anansi during our Literacy block. Ask your child about Anansi and the stories that he is in. We learned that Anansi is a trickster and many of the stories he is in are called "trickster tales". Students have enjoyed learning about African culture, art, and music through our study the past few weeks. We will continue talking about Anansi and listening to similar stories through next week. This has been a great learning experience for them and they have enjoyed the stories.

Students listened to a the story, Anansi and
Sister Turtle during our video conference.

Students followed directions given by the instructor from
the Center for the Puppetry Arts to make a shadow puppet.

During our video conference, students acted out a story of Anansi the Spider, watched and performed a shadow puppet performance, and listened to another story of Anansi. Students also learned about African culture, too. The instructor discussed foods that we eat and foods that are eaten in West Africa. The instructor also showed students how to make a shadow puppet with the materials Mrs. Sowers prepared for them.

We did a little shadow puppet performance
after our puppets were complete.

Students showing off their shadow puppets.

What a great experience! Talk to your child about the video conference and what it was like to talk with the instructor. Students did a tremendous job answering questions based on the stories and the experiences they already had with African culture and folktales. We look forward to more discussion about folktales as we continue our unit on Anansi the Spider.