LEGENDS IN CLASSROOM

Legends are stories that have been made up and they are different from myths. Myths answer questions about how the natural world works, and are set in a time long-ago, before history was written. Meanwhile, legends are about people and their actions or deeds. The people lived in more recent times and are mentioned in history. The stories are told for a purpose and are based on facts, but they are not completely true. Either the person never really did what the story says, or the historical events were changed. The purpose was to make the story more interesting or convincing, or to teach a lesson, like knowing right from wrong. Examples of people in English legends are King Arthur, Robin Hood and Queen Boadicea. A man who may have been King Arthur is known to have lived in the 5th or 6th century. But the stories about the Knights of the Round Table and Merlin the Magician may not be true. The point of the story was that the knights and their king defended their people and helped them.      

Therefore, legends should be introduced in classroom with efficient and suitable strategies. Using legends to teach students is a way to get children interested and learning through fun stories. There are many legends that can be brought into class such as Robin Hood, Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. We must engage our class with a good legend and use it as a platform to teach similes, metaphors, personification and more. For example:-

1st STEP

Firstly, students must be introduced to the definition of a legend. Explain that a legend is a story handed down from generation to generation and includes information about the past. They usually take place during a specific time in history and in a specific place; for example, Robin Hood is set in 12th-century England.

2^nd STEP

Next, read aloud a legend, such as Johnny Appleseed, to get children familiar with what a legend is. Teachers can discuss questions with the class such as what the legend tells you about the time period, what characters of the story were important, what parts of the legend makes it interesting to people.

3^rd STEP

Then, teachers should introduce vocabulary words that students are not familiar with, such as dwell, rogue, wrath and warily. Provide students with a student-friendly definition that they will understand. Have them record it in a vocabulary notebook.

            4^th STEP

After that, teachers should focus on figurative language that takes place in the story and point it out to the students as we go through the text, such as similes, metaphors, hyperbole and personification. Have the class record them in a notebook.

            5^th STEP

Finally, students can be taught to map the story using a graphic organizer. Have students to list the characters, setting the problem and the events that take place in chronological order.