Genre
| Fairy Tales |
Concentration
| The character’s actions and feelings in the story |
Social Focus
| Bad deeds do not go unpunished |
A. Introduction
|
Background & Historical Context of the story
|
There are indications that the tale may have originated in ancient Greece (the story of
Meleager
and the
Calydonian boar
). There are many versions of the “Singing Bone”. The most well-known version is the German one collected by the Grimm Brothers (1819). In their version the bones of a murdered brother is carved into a horn which gives the murderer away when played. There are also versions involving other instruments or animals, such as a set of musical pipes, a harp, a fiddle, a piano, and a bird
For a history of the story or other fairy tales also see this brilliant series of fairy tale podcasts by Clare Testoni. Here is a link to the one about the Singing Bones
https://history-podcasts.com/singing-bones/107495
What most of the tales, oral and literary, have in common is the conflict between family members, a murder, and the murderer been given away by singing bones/animals. This tale is also found in a Northumbrian ballad,
The Taw Sisters
(three sisters) wherein the siblings are sisters instead of brothers and her bones are made into a harp/fiddle. In each version the murder is caught and punished. Bringing murderers to justice is one of the key motifs of this fairy tale
Some related stories, all readily available online are:
The Singing Bones
(Louisiana);
Under the Green Old Oak-Tree
(Antigua);
The Griffin
(Italy);
The Dead Girl’s Bone
(Switzerland),
The Little Bone
(Switzerland),
Binnorie
(England),
Murder Will Out
(Iceland),
The Silver Plate and the Transparent Apple
(Russia),
Little Anklebone
(Pakistan) and
The Magic Fiddle
(India)
I will leave you to decide which tale to pick. It is not necessary to remember every detail or event in each story but it is possible to adapt stories to how much time you have. So feel free to cut out parts that don’t resonate to make the story your own. Some pointers:
Little Anklebone
is amusing with some lovely details,
Binnorie
features a harp which is an opportunity to bring one into the classroom, and
The Dead Girl’s Bone
works nicely as a comparison tale as it is short and to the point, yet it can also be elaborated on if desired
|
B. First Writing Exercise
|
Fantastic Binominal or First Writing Game
| Step 1. To play this game have the class call out family members and musical instruments (ideally 3–4 of each). Write them down in two lists where everyone can see them and leave a gap in-between these lists to later add a list of pre-positions between them Step 2. Before moving on to that part ask the class if they know what a pre-position or linking word is
Words which show a relationship in space or time or a logical relationship between two or more people, places or things, such as up, across, between and near
It’s fun to demonstrate by moving around the space, i.e. crawling under a desk or standing behind or in front of it. Ask for some pre-positions and write them down (4–5 examples) between the previous two lists of family members and instruments Step 3. Ask the class to stick up their hands and vote for a word from each list. This will give you a title. Ask the class to determine the order e.g. Sister between the piano or the piano between sister Step 4. In a Bridges classroom we demonstrate that it is possible to make up a story with these words on the spot. This is easier than it sounds as whenever the teller gets stuck they ask the room, what do you think happens next? Or what did that look like? The answers are then incorporated into the story. The room can even help you with the ending Step 5. Ask the class to pick their own words from the list on the board and write for a set amount of time. Be there to answer spelling questions. The game can be adapted to drawing depending on a person’s ability. At the end ask for volunteers to read their stories out loud |
C. The Stories
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Storytelling
|
Note:
Before telling the story, have students share the version they know if they have heard of it
Optional social focus:
Bad deeds do not go unpunished. A discussion about limited choices can be encouraged (e.g. who has choices in life and who doesn’t?)
|
First Story
|
The Singing Bone
,
collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
(from Germany)
Questions to ask after the story:
• What do you think of that? • Was that a good ending? Why? • What’s the importance of the bone flute? • What do you think of the king’s/brother’s/shepherd’s actions? • Why did the brothers plot to kill their brother? • Why are there problems between siblings? • What emotions are in the story? |
Second Story
|
The Dead Girl’s Bone
,
told by Otto Sutermeister
(from Switzerland)
Questions:
• What is different about this Swiss version? • Why did the brother murder his sister? • What could the brother/sister/father have done instead? • What would have happened if the bones had not been make into a flute? |
D. Creative Games
|
The chair game
| Ask for four volunteers to sit or stand in a row facing the rest of the class Explain that the game is a bit like Chinese whispers. You will provide the start of a story to the first person. The first person repeats what you have told them to the room and adds some details, then it is the next person’s turn, who repeats what has been said, adds something and passes it on. The person at the end of the row finishes the story. Anyone can help if someone gets stick at any point Story prompt: There was once a boy who herded sheep. One day a great big wolf approached him with a rumbling stomach, ‘I am hungry,’ said the wolf, ‘Should I eat you or your sheep?’ |
Acting
| Split the class up into groups (five or six students in each group). Tell them that they now have a chance to re-enact the stories and you will assign each group an idea, then they have 15 minutes to create something with their group. Ask them to find a non-violent solution to the conflicts in their tales Possible versions for different groups: act out story one act out story two act out story one but the bones are never found Act out story two but instead of a flute the bones are buried and reborn into any kind of animal or object they decide on |
E. Final Writing Game
|
| | Choose one of the three options below: |
1. Salad game
| Ask the class to call out characters from the stories and write them on a board. Then ask for a few nouns (animals, places, things). The writing exercise involves mixing up these characters and nouns to create a new story in ten to fifteen minutes of writing time |
2. What if?
| Ask the class to consider what if questions, what if the brothers were pigs instead of people, what if a fairy godmother appeared to help, what if… ten to fifteen minutes of writing time |
3. Acrostic poetry
| Explain to the students that acrostic poetry uses a word down the side to create a poem e.g. they can write singing bones down the page and brainstorm ideas for each line individually or in groups |