This document outlines a project between schools in 5 countries to share and compare myths, legends, and folktales. Students will collect stories from their home countries and exchange them virtually. They will explore the cultural and historical context of the stories. The students will choose a story from another country, dramatize it or set it to music. They will then illustrate the stories and compile them into books. The project aims to foster collaboration and cultural understanding between the students from different countries.

1. Georgia Vyrla
Kindergarten Teacher
3rd Kindergarten of Karystos, South Evia, Greece
MSc in Natural Sciences Didactics: Curriculum, Evaluation & ICT in Education
gvirla@yahoo.gr
1st Creative Classroom Group Unconference
February 22nd, 2014

2. Myths, Legends and Folktales
 Storytelling is common to every
culture
 Most people enjoy listening to
stories
 Storytellers have catered for the
need for a “good story” since the
beginning of civilization
 Most people have their own
favorite story from childhood
and, often, these tales are both
fascinating and frightening
 These stories include legends,
myths and folktales

3. Main Differences
 Legend: a semi-true story
 passed on from person-to-person
 has important meaning or symbolism for the culture in which it originates
 Myth: a story based on tradition or legend
 has a deep symbolic meaning
 “conveys a truth” to those who tell it and hear it, rather than necessarily
recording a true event
 Folktale: a popular story
 passed on in spoken form, from one generation to the next
 many versions of the tale

4. Educational Value
 Provide a safe place for young children to experience fear,
hope and magic
 Provide a rich source of material for lessons
 Students engage in a variety of ways: from drama and creative
writing to historical research
 Resource for a large number of language activities
 Pupils practice a range of communication skills
 They can be used in all kinds of contexts, at all levels of
language competence and with groups of different ages

5. “Tell me a story”
Information about the project
 Students
 collect and exchange myths and traditional tales from
their home countries
 connect them to each country’s culture and civilization
 connect them to historical buildings or monuments and
religion
 find similarities between them

6. • 4-6 Kindergarten
• 6-11 Primary School Pupil’s Age
Language • English
• Art – Drama – Music
• Geography
• History – Religion
• Language and Literature
Subjects
• Chat , E-mail, Forum
• Other software (Powerpoint, Video, Pictures/Drawings)
• TwinSpace
• Web 2.0
Tools to be used
Duration • 5 month project

7. Objectives
Learn how to learn
about other
countries’ cultures
Share, write,
compare and present
information on
myths and legends
from their home
countries
Cultivate a spirit of
team cooperation
with foreign
students

8. Methodology
Create
Songs
Stories
Create
Poems
Dramatize
them
Write a
book
Illustrate
them

9. Work Process
1st – 2nd
Month
• Present our school and country
• Introduce students the collaborating schools/countries
• Exchange myths and tales from their countries
• Connect them to culture, history , religion
• Finding similarities with stories from our country
3rd Month
• Choose a myth or a tale of another country
• Dramatize the story
• Exchange videos and see the result
• Alternatively, a song can be created about the story
4th – 5th
Month
• Create an illustrated book of the story
• Write 1 or 2 stories both in mother
language and English
• Draw pictures of the stories
• Share texts/pictures of the illustrated
stories students have created

10. Expected Results
Cultivate a
spirit of
collaboration
Students
and
Teachers
have fun
Reflect on
what they
have learnt

11. Where do eTwinners come from?
 Czech Republic
 Greece
 Romania
 Turkey
 United Kingdom

12. 5 Countries
8 Schools Participating
1 School
 Czech Republic
 ZŠ a MŠ Lípa nad Orlicí
 United Kingdom
 Queen Eleanor Primary School
2 Schools
 Greece
 3rd Kindergarten of Karystos
 Primary School of Kallianoi
 Romania
 Gradinita Raza de Soare
 Scoala Generala cu claseleI -VIII
Nr.3 Petrila
 Turkey
 Çamyuva İlkokulu
 Mehmet Emin Yurdakul
İlkokulu

13. Introducing ourselves

14. Video Presentation

15. Christmas Wishes

16. Collaboration Map

17. Collaboration Map

18. Sharing our Stories
 Legends
 Romania: As it was in the beginning
 United Kingdom: St George and the Dragon
 Myths
 Greece: The secret meeting of Zeus and Hera
 Folktales
 Czech Republic: The Twelve Months
 Greece: Cinderfellow
 Romania: The legends of “Mărţişor”
 Turkey: Bald Boy and the magic seal
 Turkey: Nasreddin Hodja Borrows a Cauldron

19. Exchanging our Stories
Turkish tale: Bald Boy and the magic seal
English legend: St George and the Dragon
Romanian legend: The legends of “Mărţişor”
Turkish tale: Nasreddin Hodja Borrows a Cauldron
Czech tale: The 12 Months

20. Greek Mythology