Lessons from Anansi the Spider
Students read, discuss, and write about spider — or Anansi — folktales from West Africa, which have been used for generations to teach lessons about human nature and the consequences of good and bad behavior.
Unit Summary
As part of the upgrade to Fishtank Plus, this unit was revised in October 2020. See which texts and materials have changed as part of the revision in this guide to our 2nd Grade text adjustments.
In this unit, second graders explore Spider, or Anansi, folktales from West Africa. Folktales have been used for generations to teach important lessons about human nature and the consequences of good and bad behavior in a way that is clear, convincing, and easily relatable. Through reading and learning about Spider, students will be able to debate and analyze what it means to be a good person and the importance of hard work and cooperation. Studying the actions of Spider, a character with whom it is easy to connect and empathize, allows students to begin to develop a sense of moral behavior and understanding of the world around them by learning from the actions of others. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others in the sequence, will help students begin to develop a strong moral compass and a nuanced understanding of what constitutes right and wrong.
Texts and Materials
Some of the links below are Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click and make a purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which supports our non-profit mission.
Core Materials
-
Book: The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1992) — 710L
Supporting Materials
Assessment
This assessment accompanies this unit and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
Unit Prep
Essential Questions
?
- What can folktales teach us about being a good person?
Potential lessons students can learn from the Spider stories:- One who plays tricks himself may be tricked if he is too greedy.
- You cannot take shortcuts to get what you want.
- You get what you deserve.
- It’s better to be smart than to be big.
- Temporary happiness is not worth long-term pain and embarrassment.
- Think about others before yourself.
Writing Focus Areas
?
Sentence-Level Focus Areas
- Expand simple sentences using question words.
Over the course of the unit, students focus on the power of a single sentence. While students continue to get feedback on using complete sentences, they also use the prompts of when, where, and why to add more details to simple sentences. For students who are still struggling to write complete sentences, we recommend using our guide Sentence-Level Feedback and Support to provide individual and small-group feedback throughout the unit.
Narrative Writing Focus Areas
- Brainstorm and develop focused narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.
- Zoom in on one moment by adding details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings.
- Use adjectives and adverbs to describe characters in more detail.
In Unit 1, students began writing narrative stories with a strong beginning, middle, and end. In this unit, students continue to work on brainstorming and writing stories, specifically trickster tales, that have a strong beginning, middle, and end. Students also are challenged to think about the different ways they can describe a character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings.
Foundational Skills
Fluency Focus Areas
- Readers read with expression and volume to match interpretation of the passage.
- Readers use proper intonation to show interpretation of the passage.
A priority of this unit is modeling how to read a text with the right expression, volume, and intonation to match the interpretation of the passage. All of the stories should be read aloud with an emphasis on using strategies of fluent reading to bring the characters and events to life. When reenacting and retelling a story, students should also use the same expression and intonation to bring the story to life.
Vocabulary
?
Text-based
appetite ashamed brilliant clever commotion deserve disgrace foolish fool greedy gullible mischievous mourn puny satisfied stalk wise wisdom
Root/Affix
dis-
To see all the vocabulary for this course, view our 2nd Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Content Knowledge and Connections
?
- Folktales are stories that are passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Folktales typically teach a lesson about right and wrong.
- Trickster tales are a type of folktale. Trickster tales have one character who is clever and devious and who often creates problems for the other characters. The trickster character often goes unpunished.
- Anansi, or Spider, stories originated in West Africa, where they were told by a storyteller. Enslaved people brought Anansi stories to the Caribbean and the U.S., where they evolved and became a symbol of resistance.
- Anansi, or Spider, is a complicated character: He can be greedy, selfish, naughty, and gullible, but also clever, helpful, and humble.
Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
Lesson Map
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
?
