A Teacher's Guide to Folklife Resources

Materials Related to Community Life

There are 23 titles in this list.

[ 179 ]
Arts Work: A Job-Training Program for Youth Through the Arts
by Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Resources

Subjects: Community Life; Documentation and Field Research; African American Culture;
Locations: Virginia;

http://www.arlingtonarts.org

Five teenage apprentices worked with Arlington county folklorists to document the history of Nauck, historically an African American neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, represented in this publication. Their work includes both written and photographic documentation of interactions with the residents of Nauck.

Published by:
Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Resources
3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive
Arlington, VA 22206-2304
703/228-1844

[ 184 ]
Boyle Heights : The Power of Place, Teacher Guide
by Japanese American National Museum

Subjects: Community Life; Social Justice; Documentation and Field Research; Asian American Culture;
Locations: California;

http://www.janm.org/exhibits/bh/

Resource guide to investigate community history of this Los Angeles, California neighborhood, focusing on the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans living in Boyle Heights, and produced in conjunction with the museum exhibition of the same name, Sept. 8, 2002-Feb. 23 2003. With activities and worksheets for grades 4-12, including instructions for oral history interviewing.

Published by:
Japanese American National Museum
Education Unit, 369 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213/625 0414

[ 192 ]
Catskills: A Sense of Place
by Nathan Chronister, Aaron Bennett, Tobias Anderson, Marie Ellenbogen
$12.00 each, plus shipping
Subjects: Ecology and Environment; Community Life;
Locations: New York (State); Catskill Region;

http://www.catskillcenter.org/

This is a series of five K-12 curriculum guides, each about two hundred pages long about the natural and cultural features of the Catskill Mountains. Topics covered are water resources, geography and geology, ecosystems, human history, and culture and arts. Each guide contains a bibliography of resource people, publications, Web sites, and lesson plans for about twenty activities.

Published by:
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
PO Box 504
Arkville, NY 12406
845/586-2611

[ 165 ]
Explore Your Community educational poster
by Catherine Hiebert Kerst, Peter Bartis
free
Subjects: Documentation and Field Research; History; Family Celebrations and Traditions; Folk Arts and Material Culture; Holidays; Occupational Culture; Community Life;
Locations: United States;

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/poster/

Full color poster, 22 x 34 inches, designed for middle and high school students, with suggestions for incorporating folklife research into the curriculum on the back. The poster encourages students to learn more about their own communities by engaging in documentation projects, such as interviewing friends and classmates about school-related traditions and developing a walking tour of a historic neighborhood. Produced in cooperation and with support from the Rural School and Community Trust.

Published by:
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540-4610
202/707-5510

[ 254 ]
Family Maps
by Luanne McLaughlin
free
Subjects: Community Life;
Locations:

http://www.carts.org/pdfs/family_maps.pdf

Article detailing a family or classroom activity, involving mapping important personal spaces within communities. Meant for younger children.

Published by:
C.A.R.T.S. Citylore
72 East First Street
New York, NY 10003
212/529-1955

[ 198 ]
Florida Memory Project
by Florida Memory Project
free
Subjects: History; Documentation and Field Research; Community Life;
Locations: Florida;

http://www.floridamemory.com

Online access to many of the items in the Florida Folklife Collection and the Florida State Archives. There is an online classroom section of the website with lesson plans for grades 4-12 using materials available online, as well as access to film, video, and audio clips.

Published by:
Florida Memory Project
500 S Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
850/245-6700

[ 34 ]
Foxfire
by Eliot Wigginton, Margie Bennett, eds.

Subjects: Folk Arts and Material Culture; Community Life; Storytelling; Documentation and Field Research; Foodways; Ritual and Ceremony;
Locations: Georgia;

http://www.foxfire.org/news.html

The Georgia-based institute Foxfire has been producing publications by students and teachers for over thirty-five years. Foxfire News contains teacher stories, informational pieces and news. The eleven volume Foxfire Book series on Appalachian folklife resulted from student documentation and field research projects. The Foxfire Web site lists educational tools, materials for teachers, and publications, including Foxfire Magazine. Foxfire utilizes a learner-centered, community-based educational approach, with an emphasis on teacher training which supports Appalachian culture.

Published by:
Doubleday
Garden City, NY

[ 21 ]
Goldenseal
by West Virginia Division of Culture and History
$17/ year or $4.95/ individual issue
Subjects: Folk Arts and Material Culture; History; Geography; Occupational Culture; Ritual and Ceremony; Music; Storytelling; Community Life;
Locations: Appalachia; West Virginia;

http://www.wvculture.org/goldenseal/

A magazine of West Virginia traditional life, including such topics as music, farming, religion, traditional crafts, labor history and politics. Stories are taken from the recollections of West Virginia residents.

Published by:
Cultural Center
1900 Kanawa Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
304/558-0220 x153

[ 24 ]
Guide to Folklife and Folk Arts Programs for Schools and Cultural Institutions, revised ed.
by Winifred Lambrecht

Subjects: Folk Arts and Material Culture; Community Life;
Locations: Rhode Island;

http://www.arts.ri.gov

Acquaints reader with Rhode Island folklife and folk artists and programs for the K-12 curriculum. Bibliography, resources, guidelines, and lists of artists who are available for teaching programs.

Published by:
Rhode Island State Council
83 Park Street, 6th Floor
Providence, RI 2903
401/222-6996

[ 211 ]
Hosting Artists, Planning Artist Visits
by Maine Arts Commission
free
Subjects: Community Life;
Locations:

http://www.mainearts.com/organizations/education/publications.shtml

Guides and checklists for schools or other organizations hosting or planning to host artists as guests in their schools.

Published by:
Maine Arts Commission
25 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
207-287-2724

[ 213 ]
Humanities Council of Washington D.C.
by $materials available for loan
Subjects: African American Culture; History; Jewish American Culture; Immigration and Migration; Community Life;
Locations: Washington (DC);

http://www.wdchumanities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=48

Resource center has a long list of videos and printed resources available for loan to local school or community groups. Many materials relating to local culture, particularly to the African American and Hispanic communities in the D.C. area.

Published by:
Humanities Council of Washington, D.C.
925 U St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
202/387-8391

[ 17 ]
In the Mountain State: A West Virginia Folklore and Cultural Studies Curriculum
by Judy P. Byers, John H. Randolph, Noel W. Tenney

Subjects: Community Life; Folk Arts and Material Culture; Ecology and Environment; Music; History; Geography;
Locations: West Virginia;

http://www.wvhumanities.org/folklore.htm

An excellent tool for teachers that, although written for West Virginia, is adaptable for other areas. The guide is divided into ten chapters on such topics as customs, material culture, language, sense of place, local history, nature lore, written and oral literature, folk arts, and folk music, with a full index.

Published by:
West Virginia Humanities Council
1310 Kanawa Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25301
304/346-8500

[ 174 ]
Incorporating Local Culture Into the Classroom
by Patti McAlbee, Kate Townsend, eds.
$Available on loan
Subjects: Community Life; Folk Arts and Material Culture; History;
Locations: South Carolina;

http://the-mack.org/

Published in connection with the Savannah Valley Cultural Conservation Consortium. Kit of in-service training materials includes interviews with Foxfire's Eliot Wigginton, oral historian Mark Wetherington, folklorist/historian Charles Joyner, and folklorist Gail Matthews-DeNatale.

Published by:
McCormick Arts Council
P.O. 488
McCormick, SC 29835
864/465-3216

[ 190 ]
Investigating Where We Live
by National Buidling Museum

Subjects: Vernacular Architecture; Community Life;
Locations: Washington (DC); New York (City); Maryland;

http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/iwwl-2008.html
http://www.peerlessrockville.org/programs/

Folder contains printouts from the documentation work done during summers in the cities listed below. This wonderful program takes teenagers into different areas of their cities to learn who lives there, what is happening there currently, as well as some history of the given neighborhood. Photography is used as a tool to understand and describe the community. The program is active in Washington, DC; Rockville, MD; and New York, NY. For current and past projects in Rockville, see http://www.peerlessrockville.org/programs/

Published by:
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
202/272-2448

[ 52 ]
It's How You Pick the Crab: An Oral Portrait of Eastern Shore Crab Picking
by Kelly Feltault
$9.95
Subjects: Occupational Culture; Maritime Culture; Fishing; History; Geography; Community Life;
Locations: Maryland; Virginia;

http://www.cbmm.org/ed_pubs.html

The history of crab picking on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is documented in collaboration with watermen, crabbers, and other workers who have spent their lives in the crabbing industry.

Published by:
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
PO Box 636
St. Michaels, MD 21663-0636
410/745-2916

[ 193 ]
Nourishing the Heart: A Guide to Intergenerational Arts Projects in the Schools
by Shari Davis and Benny Ferdman
$10
Subjects: Documentation and Field Research; Folk Arts and Material Culture; Community Life;
Locations: New York (City);

http://www.carts.org/

Outlines programs which bring senior citizens into classrooms to engage young and old in joint ventures in recreating their own and their communities' cultural heritage in the visual arts, theater, and writing projects.

Published by:
C.A.R.T.S. Citylore
72 East First Street
New York, NY 10003
212/529-1955

[ 11 ]
Putting Documentary Work to Work: A Guide for Communities, Artists, and Activists
by Center for Documentary Studies
$5.00
Subjects: Documentation and Field Research; Community Life; Social Justice; Spanish Language Materials;
Locations:

http://www.indivisible.org/resources.htm

This is a step-by-step guide, which will help community groups conduct their own documentary projects using a camera and tape recorder. Suggestions and forms are given for conducting interviews, planning budgets, and making project plans work. CDS also publishes "Document," a periodical that reviews and features documentary projects and exhibits. Guide also available in Spanish as "Documentar la acción communitaria."

Published by:
Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University
1317 West Pettigrew Street
Durham, NC 27705
919/660-3663

[ 226 ]
Sound Portraits Education Program
by Sound Portraits Productions and Facing History And Ourselves
$most materials avl for free download
Subjects: African American Culture; Community Life; Social Justice; Documentation and Field Research;
Locations: Illinois;

http://soundportraits.org/education/

Program that encourages young people to document their lives through the use of audio equipment. This organization produced Youth Portraits, audio documentaries of young people who served time in Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Also produced the Peabody award-winning Ghetto Life 101, audio diaries of two teenagers on Chicago's South Side; this project also spawned a book and second audio documentary. Study guide on Ghetto 101 available for use by teachers and older students. Website also contains tips for those who wish to make their own audio documentaries. Excellent resource.

Published by:
Sound Portraits Productions
176 Grand Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013
212/941-8517

[ 227 ]
StoryCorps
by $unknown
Subjects: Documentation and Field Research; Community Life;
Locations: New York (City);

http://storycorps.net/participate/

Program which helps to instruct and inspire people to record each other's stories in sound. Program currently has booths available in New York City for $10/session, the interviews from which go to the American Folklife Center. Will have StoryKits available soon, consisting of recording equipment and a user's guide, which will allow individuals to record broadcast-quality interviews themselves. Website also has a question generator, which helps would-be interviewers develop a list of questions to ask during their interview.

Published by:
StoryCorps
176 Grand St, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013
212/941-8516

[ 221 ]
Streetplay.com
by free
Subjects: Community Life;
Locations: United States;

http://www.streetplay.com/thegames/

Contains description and rulesheets for many new and traditional urban games. Great resource for physical education teachers, although some games are also suitable for the regular classroom.

Published by:
Streetplay.com
,

[ 168 ]
Tell Us How It Was: Stories of Rural Elders Preserved by Rural Youth
by Rural School and Community Trust

Subjects: Documentation and Field Research; Community Life; History; Storytelling;
Locations: United States;

http://www.ruraledu.org

This compilation of interviews conduected by rural students interviewing the elders of their communities details the strengthening of natural ties and trust between both groups. Students turned their histories into essays, poetry, and plays. The project encourages and challenges students to try to conduct an oral history project. A manual is included to guide the novice interviewer.

Published by:
Rural School and Community Trust
1825 K Street, Suite 703
Washington, DC 20006
202/955-7177

[ 200 ]
Vermont Folklife Center Children's Book Series
by Vermont Folklife Center and others
$14.95, !5.95
Subjects: Storytelling; Community Life; Immigration and Migration; African American Culture; History;
Locations: Vermont;

http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/

A series of 32-page full color children's picture books based on tales preserved in the Center's extensive sound archives and adapted by award-winning, contemporary authors into exciting narratives. Titles include "The Two Brothers" by William Jaspersohn about brothers who immigrated from Prussia in the 19th century; "John and Tom" by Willen Lange, a tale of a young logger who is saved by his remarkable Morgan horse after an accident in the woods; "Daisy and the Doll" by Michael Medearis and Angela Shelf Medearis about an African-American girl who demonstrates pluck and resourcefulness in dealing with discrimination in a small Vermont town, and more.

Published by:
Vermont Folklife Center
PO Box 442
Middlebury, VT 05753
802/388-4964

[ 210 ]
What Did You Do In the War, Grandma?
by South Kingstown High School
free
Subjects: History; Community Life;
Locations: Rhode Island;

http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/tocCS.html

Oral history of Rhode Island women in World War II, written by South Kingstown High School students. Excellent for use by high school students, or as a model for an oral history project. Also contains a second on teaching English using oral history.

Published by:
RIHS
110 Benevolent St.
Providence, RI 02906
401-331-8575