The curriculum was in the works for some time and the benefits of careful development and easy to see

The curriculum was in the works for some time and the benefits of careful development and easy to see, both in content and design.

Inside the curriculum you will find a wealth of exciting information and classroom (or discussion group) exercises. This is work that is "teacher friendly," adaptable, and easily incorporated into materials and lesson plans already developed and at your disposal. The instructional units can stand alone or be combined in creative ways that best supplement your instructional materials. Perhaps most importantly, this curriculum presents an opportunity to enhance the educational experience of West Virginians with content too often absent in the formal education of mountaineers: a deep and informed appreciation for the cultural heritage uniquely ours in the Mountain State.

Additional materials in the form of a Resource Kit are available. This Kit contains resources that have been selected to parallel and enhance the content and context of the Curriculum with hands-on examples. Obviously, teachers will draw upon the ideas in the Curriculum along with the tangible examples in the Kit, but it is hoped that teachers will also develop resources of their own. These can be of many forms, such as photograph and postcard collections (often color copier-duplicated) to illustrate their own regional ideas or artifact collections (antiques, folk toys, folk art, musical instruments, old newspapers, and documents). Teachers are encouraged to work with their students to collect, compile, examine, and illustrate the students' regional ideas from their own resources.

Contents in this Resource Kit:

1. Seven audiocassette tapes produced by The Hill Lorists (Judy P Byers, John H. Randolph, and Noel W. Tenney): The first six storytelling tapes are in one container called Lore of the Hills: A West Virginia Collection of Oral Literature Presented Through Language Song and Story (1989). The seventh tape, which is separate, is entitled Selected Stories from Green Hills of Magic: West Virginia Folktales from Europe (1990).

Central to this Resource Kit are these seven storytelling tapes that contain both oral and musical examples of the cultural heritage of West Virginia, arranged and presented by The Hill Lorists (7.23) to illustrate the different types of language patterns and expression, folktales, folksongs and instrumentation, plus experts from written regional literature in prose and verse. Even though references are made to all seven tapes in all ten units of the Curriculum, examples from the tapes are primary in four of the units: Unit 3, "Language: Its History and Patterns; " Unit 7, "Oral Literature: Verbal Lore and Folktales; " Unit 9, "Folk Music: Vocal and Instrumental, Dance and Games; " and Unit 10, "Written Literature: Folk Influenced. "

2. Three folktale collections: Greenbrier Ghost and Other Tales. Dennis Deitz, ed. South Charleston,

WV: Mountain Memories Books, 1990; Green Hills of Magic: West Virginia Folktales from Europe. Ruth Ann Musick, ed. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1970 and McClain Printing (paperback); The Telltale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales. Ruth Ann Musick, ed. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1965.

All three of these folktale collections are illustrated in Unit 7, "Oral Literature: Verbal Lore and Folktales" and can be cross-referenced to The Hill Lorists' storytelling tapes, especially TAPE 4, The Ghostly: Supernatural Lore: TAPE 5, The Ghastly. Preternatural Lore Tape 6, As We've Heard It: Origins of the Folktale: and TAPE 7, Selected Stories from Green Hills of Magic: West Virginia Folktales from Europe.

3. Mountain Heritage. B.B. Maurer, ed. Parson, WV: McClain Printing. 1980.

This educational resource text on cultural topics written by specialists in the field enhances a variety of units:

Part I:

(a) Chapter 1, "Man and the Appalachian Wilderness" (Unit 1, "Traditions and Customs; " Unit 5, "Local History; " and Unit 6, "Nature Lore ")

(b) Chapter 2, "Culture" (Unit 2, "Material Culture; " Unit 4, "Sense of Place; " and Unit 5, "Local History")

(e) Chapter 5, "Folk Literature" (Unit 7, "Oral- Literature" (Ruth Ann Musick biog. 7.10] and Unit 10, "Written Literature").

(f) Chapter 6, "Music" (Unit 9, "Folk Music."- (Patrick Gainer biog. is 7.?01) _

(g) Chapter 7, "Family and Home" (Unit], -."Traditions and Customs;" Unit 2, "Material Culture;" and Unit 4, "Sense of Place")

(i) Chapter 9, ""Black Heritage" (Unit 2, "Material Culture; " Unit 4, "Sense of Place; '.' and Unit 5, "Local History).

(j) Chapter 10, "The Mountain State [sociological approach] (Unit 1, Traditions and Customs; " Unit 2, "Material Culture; " Unit 4, "Sense of Place; " and Unit 5, Local History")

4. Hill Daughter: New and Selected Poems. Louise McNeill. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991. This anthology containing a wide representation of verse by Louise McNeill who was West Virginia's poet laureate from 1979 to 1993 can directly enhance two units: Unit 5, "Local History" and Unit 10, "Written Literature. "

5. American Folk Toys. Dick Schnacke. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1973 plus three of his folk toys: (a) Jacob's Ladder, (b) Buzz Saw, and (c.) Two-Piece Puzzle.

6. One Room School Games. Maxine Scarbro, ed. Charleston, WV: Cannon Graphics, Inc., 1992. Unit 1, "Traditions and Customs, " (1.14) and Unit 9, "Folk Music, " (9.18)

7. Traditions: A Journal of West Virginia Folk Culture and Educational Awareness. 6 Vols. Judy P Byers and Noel W. Tenney, eds. West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State College. 1993 to present, annually, and is a continuation of West Virginia Folklore Journal, published by WV Folklore Society from 1950 to 1983. Ruth Ann Musick was the original ed. [Four volumes are included in this Kit.]

Each volume can cross-reference all ten units through four sections: (a) Educational Application, (b) Folklore Content, (c) Articles and Notes, and (d) Reviews and Resources.

Contact the Council for more information regarding this additional resource.