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Unit III
Discovering
the Obvious: Our Lives as "The Folk"
Lesson 3 The Family:
Louisiana Family Folklore
Activity 1 Naming
Traditions
Several men in the community felt the
need for a barge to carry people across the high water to Berry Hill,
which was a part of the Maçon Ridge and consequently not under water
[during the 1927 flood]. Therefore, a group of them met at one of the only
dry places in town . . . to build a barge. Propelled by a five horsepower
motor (big for that day!), the barge was large enough to carry two cars
across at one time. Mr. Adams's brother-in-law from Baton Rouge flew over
Winnsboro at this time to view the water. After returning home, he called
to remark, "Yeah, I saw old Noah out there building his ark!" Hence from
then on, Mr. Adams's family nickname was Noah.
--C.R. Adams, Franklin
Parish
Grade
Levels
4-8
Curriculum Areas
English Language Arts, Math, Social
Studies
Purpose of
Lesson
Naming is one of many family traditions to
study. Students get to know each other better and learn more about their
family and community history. After the students have researched their own
and their parents' names, they notice names in literature, history, and
other studies and know more about these names. By starting with
themselves, students see that all families have naming traditions but
these traditions differ and change over time.
Lesson
Objectives/Louisiana Content Standards, Benchmarks, and Foundation
Skills
1. Students learn that all families create and pass on
folklore.
SSH-1C-E4 Recognizing how folklore and other cultural elements have
contributed to our local, state, and national heritage. (1, 3, 4)
CL-1-D7 Identifying social customs related to religion, family
life, folklore, and holidays. (3, 4, 5)
CP-2-B3 Comparing intangible products of the native and target
cultures, using authentic materials (e.g., rhymes, songs, folktales). (1,
3, 4)
2. Students research stories of their own names.
ELA-5-E3 Locating, gathering, and selecting information using
graphic organizers, simple outlining, note taking, and summarizing to
produce texts and graphics. (1, 3, 4)
SS H-1A-E3 Identifying and using primary and secondary historical
sources to learn about the past. (1, 3, 4)
CL-1-D5 Demonstrating an understanding of the cultural
connotations of common words, phrases, and idioms. (1)
3. Students draw parallels between their own and others'
naming traditions.
ELA-7-M1 Using comprehension strategies (e.g., sequencing,
predicting, drawing conclusions, comparing and contrasting, making
inferences, determining main ideas, summarizing, recognizing literary
devices, paraphrasing) in contexts. (1, 2, 4)
ELA-7-M2 Problem solving by using reasoning skills, life
experiences, accumulated knowledge, and relevant available information.
(1, 2, 4)
4. Students infer characteristics of their communities'
history and naming customs.
D-2-E Constructing, reading, and interpreting data in charts,
graphs, and tables. (1, 2, 3, 4)
SS H-1B-E1 Describing and comparing family life in the present and
the past. (1, 2, 3, 4)
5. Students use written, oral, and online resources to
research naming traditions.
ELA-5-E3 Locating, gathering, and selecting information using
graphic organizers, simple outlining, note taking, and summarizing to
produce texts and graphics. (1, 3, 4)
VA-CE-E1 Explore and identify imagery from a variety of sources and
create visual representations
VA-CE-E3 Use art vocabulary and the elements and principles of
design to convey the language of art (create and discuss own
artwork).
VA-HP-E2 Recognize universal symbols and how works of art
communicate a universal language
Time
Required
2-5 class periods
Materials
Look for popular baby name books that give meaning of names in the library. See Unit III Resources.
Technology
Connections
Internet Resources
La
Quinceañara: Towards an
Ethnographic Analysis of a Life-Cycle Ritual
Louisiana Folk Artist Biographies
Borders and Identity online lesson plan on
nicknames, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural
Heritage
Yoruba
Nigerian Naming Ceremony, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and
Cultural Heritage
Student Worksheets
Matching Name Game
Worksheet
Name
Game Worksheet
Naming
Traditions
Assessment Tools
Anticipation Guide -- Naming
Traditions
Rubric for Firsthand
Biography
Evaluation
Tools/Opportunities
Process
1. Anticipation Guide -- Naming
Traditions
2.
Portfolios
Summative
1. Rubrics for Firsthand
Biography
2. Q is for
Quality
Products
1. Completed worksheets
2. Completed Anticipation Guides from
students and adults
3.
Nameplates
4.
Portfolios
Background Information
for the Teacher
Names tell us a lot about people, places,
and even things. By looking under the surface of their own names and
family names, students learn more about their family history and folklore
as well as cultural differences and similarities and symbolic meanings.
Names come with stories attached, and every cultural group has its naming
traditions. Some cultures name babies after recently deceased relatives;
other families find that practice taboo. Many Western European names that
traveled to the United States came from occupations (Baker, Miller,
Mason), physical characteristics (Strong, Moody), places (Wells, Woods),
or time of birth (Noel, Valentine). Some names are by patronym -- child of
(Robertson, O'Connell, bin Sulman).
As with other traditional cultural
expressions, Louisiana names are highly diverse and have been creolized
over the generations. Some French-speaking people have Anglo or even
German last names. As in other parts of the country, African American
families sometimes improvise and create new, unique names for
children--the "jazz" of naming (Sheneka Washington, Jarmel Johnson)--and
since the Civil Rights Movement some parents have chosen more African
names for their children or taken African names themselves. Latino
families frequently give children both their father's and mother's last
names (Maria Valez de Gutierrez). Louisiana's widely diverse family names
reflect the state's uniquely complex cultural mix.
To Prepare
Read the family folklore lesson
introduction. Be willing to tell stories about your name, accumulate some
books on baby names, bookmark Internet sites (see Unit III Resources). For 8th grade interview
assignment, read Unit II
and Letter to Parents and
Caregivers. Duplicate copies of the letter and have each student
take a letter home about family folklore activities.
4th Grade
Procedure
1. Print out and distribute copies of the
Anticipation Guide -- Naming
Traditions, which is a series of statements related to this
lesson, with which students must agree or disagree. This activity will
help students activate background knowledge about family traditions and
naming rituals. If students need prompting, use Naming
Traditions.
Tell students to show whether they agree
or disagree by responding in the appropriate columns.
Have students
write a brief response to each statement.
Engage
students in an active discussion, asking for their reactions and reasons
for them. Note: This is the most important step in the process, don't skip
it!.
Encourage
students to record other questions and thoughts that occur to them as they
work through the activities.
2. Read or share information from the
Background Information for the Teacher above and the introduction to Unit III Lesson 3 The
Family.
3. Write part or all of your name on the
board and tell students the stories behind your names. Ask them to print
their full names clearly at the top of a piece of paper, then pair off
with another student and switch papers. Students should interview one
another and make notes about each part of their partners' names. Give them
time to share; make sure they switch partners.
4. Ask students to design a nameplate for
their partners to symbolize something about their name stories. They may
use crayons and construction paper folded lengthwise or turn to more
complex artwork or computer software. This may be done in class or at
home.
5. Ask students to tell their partners'
naming stories in groups or as a class using the nameplates to illustrate
how they visually expressed these stories. The partners should then
critique the presentations for accuracy and tell something that they liked
about it.
6. Duplicate new copies of the Anticipation Guide -- Naming
Traditions and ask students to take them home for an adult
complete it. Tell students to discuss the answers with the adult, as well
as the statements. They should bring the completed sheets back to class
for discussion and comparison.
7. Print and distribute the Name Game Worksheet
and divide the class into groups. Have students guess or infer answers to
the questions then visit the websites to verify their opinions. To save
time, bookmark the sites beforehand. Or, students can use the worksheet
online, by clicking on hotlinks and visiting the sites, then writing on
the printed sheet.
8. As a follow-up in another period, ask
students to categorize names and naming traditions and show results in
various graphs based on characteristics such as how many names students
have (first, middle, last, for example); students named for relatives;
students named from naming books; students named for saints, popular
figures, or heroes; names that both genders share; etc. Let students
brainstorm categories.
Technology Option: Categorize the types
of names using Graph Club for Grades 4-5 or a spreadsheet for
Grades 6-8.
Technology Option: Develop a database or spreadsheet
using the categories above or those developed by students after
discussion. Enter the names in appropriate
categories.
9. Students may research names to learn
more about their own and others' names. They may also research naming
traditions in other regions of Louisiana or the history of naming
traditions. They may use books, the library, local genealogical or
historical society, or the Internet (see Unit III Resources). They may also work
online by following the links on the Name Game Worksheet and Matching Name Game
Worksheet.
10. As homework, ask students to interview
their parents or another adult about why they chose their children's
names, stories about their parents' or grandparents' names, or their own
names and nicknames. Are there stories about a person they were named for?
Share results in small groups or as a class. Students might add findings
to their graphs. They should give the adults artwork or a story they've
created from this interview.
11. As a final activity, assign students
an essay on at least three things they learned about names and naming
traditions during this lesson. You might ask them if any of these things
fit the definition of folklore (traditions passed on by word of mouth over
time and through space, from place to place, etc.).
Technology Option: Students can develop
a multimedia slide show.
8th Grade Background Information for the Teacher
Older students might prefer to study
nicknames. Nicknames come to us through family and friends, sometimes
sticking, sometimes fading. Family members often nickname young children
for characteristics that may even shape our character: Chubby, Streak,
Angel, T-Man, Bubba. In French-speaking families of Louisiana, the
diminutive "petite" is a common nickname, often shortened to "Tee." So a
baby who looks like his Uncle Jacques may become Tee Jacques.
Teenagers' wordplay spills over into
nicknaming their peers. Current slang, media personalities, abilities, or
embarrassing moments are some sources for nicknames.
8th Grade
Activities
1. Use all or selected activities from the
4th grade activities above.
2. Ask students to interview at least
three adults about their nicknames and how they got them. Have their
nicknames changed over the years? Do they like or dislike them? Do they
know anyone else with this nickname? Do their nicknames say anything about
them when they were younger or about them today? If cameras are available,
students might photograph their interviewees. They may record their
interviews or take notes (see Unit II
).
3. Students should report back to the
class about their findings, then choose one of their interviewees' stories
to write about or as inspiration for artwork.
4. Access the Rubric for Firsthand
Biography and use it to evaluate the interview process and
results.
8th Grade Explorations
and Extensions
1. Choose a naming tradition to research
independently, your own or a custom of another cultural group or a region
of Louisiana. Include personal interviews as well as books and online
resources. Graveyards are a good place to examine how names have changed
over time. (See Unit IX
Part 2 Lesson 3 for more activities using graveyards.) Also delve
into primary resources such as parish birth records or historical society
records.
2. Choose some folk artists from different
cultural groups found online in Louisiana Folk Artist Biographies, and study their
names. What can you tell about their names? Are there clues to age,
gender, region, ethnicity, or religion? Use the Matching Name Game Worksheet to find
regional Louisiana names online. Remember to be cautious about making
cultural assumptions about a person, however. The story behind a name
reveals more than the name itself.
3. Research a way that we change our
names--marriage, baptism, coming of age customs, nicknaming, or by choice.
For example, some women choose to hyphenate their last name and their
husbands' last name or to keep their maiden name after marriage. Interview
a number of people and research in the library and online about
name-changing customs. Find a Yoruba
Nigerian Naming Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on the Smithsonian
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage webpage. Study the Latina custom
of fifteenth birthday celebrations called La Quinceañara on the
webpage, La Quinceañara: Towards an Ethnographic Analysis of a
Life -- Cycle Ritual.
Unit III Resources
Unit III Outline
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