A Writing Root for Anansi the Spider

Outcomes:

Length:

Two+ weeks, 10+ sessions

Recommended term:

Overview and Outcomes:

In this ten-session Writing Root, which we suggest will take 3 weeks to cover, the children begin by locating Ghana on a world map then sing a traditional West-African call and response song. Then, a sack inside which is a spider, appears. Labels are written and then the text of ‘Anansi the Spider’ is discovered and shared. Children write statements about events in the story, re-tell as a class and match the sons’ reasons for wanting the prize in ‘Who Said What?’ They arrive to class to find the spiders have disappeared and create ‘Lost Posters’ before being asked by Nyame – Ashanti God of all Things - to write a booklet about spiders describing some real attributes (e.g. 8 legs) alongside some imagined ones (making people laugh, being kind) all illustrated in the style of Gerald McDermott. 

Updated for the September 2021 Statutory EYFS Framework

Synopsis of Text:

In trying to determine which of his six sons to reward for saving his life, Anansi the Spider is responsible for placing the moon in the sky.

Text Rationale:

Anansi the Spider, a tale from the Ashanti, is a traditional folktale from Ghana. Anansi is one of the most iconic folktale characters in African culture and was the god that came to symbolise cunning, mischief and knowledge. Gerald McDermott was an expert in mythology and specialised in retelling African folktales from around the world, illustrating these in bold, geometric ways. The text was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1973 and remains an important text, expanding children’s knowledge of folk tales from around the world. 

Links and Themes:

Traditional tales, oral storytelling, unusual friendships, geography, history, diversity, traditional tales

Date written: March 2018