Thirty sayings used to predict the weather are accompanied by a factual explanation, the origin of the saying, and its general reliability.

Thirty sayings used to predict the weather are accompanied by a factual explanation, the origin of the saying, and its general reliability.

Folklore has been described as the unwritten literature of a culture: its songs, stories, sayings, games, rituals, beliefs, and ways of life. Encyclopedia of American Folklore helps readers explore topics, terms, themes, figures, and issues related to this popular subject. This comprehensive reference guide addresses the needs of multiple audiences, including high school, college, and public libraries, archive and museum collections, storytellers, and independent researchers. Its content and organization correspond to the ways educators integrate folklore within literacy and wider learning objectives for language arts and cultural studies at the secondary level. This well-rounded resource connects United States folk forms with their cultural origin, historical context, and social function. Appendixes include a bibliography, a category index, and a discussion of starting points for researching American folklore. References and bibliographic material throughout the text highlight recently published and commonly available materials for further study. Coverage includes: Folk heroes and legendary figures, including Paul Bunyan and Yankee Doodle Fables, fairy tales, and myths often featured in American folklore, including "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Princess and the Pea" American authors who have added to or modified folklore traditions, including Washington Irving Historical events that gave rise to folklore, including the civil rights movement and the Revolutionary War Terms in folklore studies, such as fieldwork and the folklife movement Holidays and observances, such as Christmas and Kwanzaa Topics related to folklore in everyday life, such as sports folklore and courtship/dating folklore Folklore related to cultural groups, such as Appalachian folklore and African-American folklore and more.

Lesson ideas in this thematic unit are based on the whole language approach which encourages cooperative learning.

Use this activity-centered, literature-based approach to get students excited about social studies. These 32 units have summaries of books, social studies topic areas, lists of content-related words, curricular perspectives, and critical-thinking questions, as well as myriad activities. Fredericks also gives you an excellent annotated bibliography of children's literature and a list of social studies resources.