This unit, Fables and Folklore, was created as an eighth grade reading unit in which students will learn the characteristics of various types of folklore, specifically through the reading of African examples. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of folklore through written products and oral presentations. This unit relates to TN Curriculum Framework Content Standards for Language Arts Grades 6-8 Reading: The student will develop the reading skills necessary for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and appreciation of the written text; and Writing: The student will develop the structural and creative skills necessary to produce written language that can be read and interpreted by various audiences. Learning expectations for Reading: The student will use comprehension strategies to enhance understanding, to make predictions, and to respond to literature; improve comprehension by interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating written texts; improve fluency through opportunities for oral presentation; and identify literary genres. Learning expectations for Writing: The student will write frequently for a variety of purposes such as narration, description, exposition, and personal creative expression; practice a variety of prewriting activities to generate, focus, and organize ideas; develop organized writing containing focused, well-developed ideas; continue to respond actively and imaginatively to literature. Higher level thinking skills: the student will decide which tasks are most important to solve a problem and put them in the right order and will choose which parts of a topic are most important to explain to others; the student will relate what he learns in school to life outside of school.