Exam Day!

Welcome to the last day of class.

First, let's finish the wedding presentations. If you have not presented, please volunteer. I do not want to take the time to search for you! Thanks.

Look at Canvas. I sent notes to some of you because your papers or PowerPoint presentations would not open in the format you used. Try saving the PowerPoints in an older version and resubmitting or sending them via attachment to me in Canvas.

Now, on with the exam!

The Exam Activity

Folklore is defined as the traditional beliefs, practices, customs, stories, jokes, and songs (etc.) of a people, handed down orally or behaviorally from individual to individuals. Keep this definition in mind as you work on the exam activity.

Hop into a time machine and travel 1,000 years to the future. The location is up to you. As a visitor to this time and place, you have been asked to tell a story of the 20^th or 21^st century. Today’s facts will become tomorrow’s folklore.  

What story will you select?  Take a look at the types of folktales from the list at the link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarne%E2%80%93Thompson_classification_system#Formula_Tales  

Look through the titles in your Folklore text to gather ideas from the past for your story set in the future.

Think about it. Will you talk about technology and how “magical” it was? Perhaps you will discuss animals and the pets we kept. A villain from the current news might become the ogre of our time and make the perfect demon in your tale. Are there any lessons that were or should have been learned by the young in our society? What about transportation? Cinderella traveled in a coach made out of a pumpkin. Are our cars, trains, or planes any less amazing? Do we practice any traditions that might serve as the basis of your tale? Current media presents many “Prince Charmings and Princesses.”

The content is up to you. However, you must tell a story. That means you have a 20^th or 21^st century setting as well as characters, plot, conflict, resolution, and message.

Take about five minutes to jot down some possible ideas and discuss your thoughts with others at your table or in the room. Really talk! Share suggestions. Take notes.

You now have the next 60 minutes to write the folktale/story you would share with the people in the 31^st century.

I suggest that you compose in WORD and then copy/paste into CANVAS. E-mail the document to yourself or save it on a jump-drive just in case CANVAS gets crazy!

Check with me after you submit your story to make sure that Canvas gave it to me!

Grades should post tomorrow afternoon. If not, look for them Monday morning.

Have a wonderful holiday. I wish you well in the future. It has been a pleasure to work with you this semester.

Class Work

1. Singing time!
2. Wedding Day!
3. Exam considerations.

Our exam is next Thursday 2:00-3:50 in our regular classroom. You must be physically present on the day of the exam! Bring your Folklore book! No out-of-class study is required.

Class Work

More ballads...

John HenryListen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vcvYJCkic
Read: http://www.elyrics.net/read/p/pete-seeger-lyrics/john-henry-lyrics.ht

Devil Went Down to Georgia
Words: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/daniels-charlie/devil-went-down-to-georgia-10926.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgvfRSzmMoU Watch

Traditional Ballad Schemes
A
A
B
B

OR
A
B
C
B

OR
A
B
B
A


Add a chorus . . . this may be short. . . nonsense words are fine!

You need to write with a predictable rhythm. It is OK to borrow a tune from a familiar tune such as Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, or Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Other borrowed tunes are OK. See if you can find the origin of the tune and possibly the author.


Write a ballad of at least five stanzas and a chorus.  You may work with a group. Follow a prescribed rhythm and rhyme scheme.

Ballads could:

• Tell of a real event or not . . .
• Contain mystical or magical elements
• Focus on a larger-than-life character
• Focus on someone or some event from history
• Can be work songs
• Might be love songs . . . often tragic or sad
• Tell a story

Be ready to sing or chant Today! Post in CANVAS . You may use the music from an existing ballad or song to help you along. (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star comes to mind.)

Homework

We have not yet discussed marriage customs.
1. Select a country, religious, or ethnic group to use as the focus of the study. Tell me your choice before leaving class today. There are plenty of countries to go around. I do not want more than two people reporting on the same topic.
2. Describe the dating customs first. In some cultures the bride and groom do not meet prior to the wedding.
3. What are the engagement practices?
4. How are people invited to the wedding? Who must come? What are the preparations? Are there invitations?
5. Where do typical weddings take place? How does the place look? Are there special preparations for the wedding. For example, in some Christian American weddings that take place at a church, there are often flowers in the chapel.
6. What happens at the official wedding ceremony? Who officiates?
7. What does the bride wear? What does the groom wear? Describe. In some cultures, the bride wears red! As recently as the turn of the last century, blue was a color of choice in weddings in America.
8. Are others in the wedding party? Identify those people.
9. How is the hopefully happy couple presented to those present?
10 What are some after-wedding celebrations? Is there a reception? If so, what happens? What does the place look like?
11. How is the happy couple sent off to their "happily ever after?"

You may decide to do this report as a PowerPoint, essay, news story, or pamphlet. Be sure to include all 11 items. We will share on Thursday. A Canvas space will be available. Post there.


FYI: Our exam in one week from Thursday. You must come to class on the day of the exam- no exceptions!  I will tell you what to expect on the exam this Thursday. Bring your Folklore book to the exam. Our exam begins at 2:00 pm and runs to 3:50. This is a change from our regular 2:30 start time. Plan accordingly.