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Anansi the Spider
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti | Gerald McDermott
59 posts | 35 read | 2 to read
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.
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bkloppman

“The god of all things, he took the beautiful white light up into the sky. He keeps it there for all to see. It is still there, it will always be there, it is there tonight.”

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bkloppman

This story explains the origin of the sun, according to this tale. This book would be a good jumping off point for 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students to create their own stories of how the sun came to be in the sky.

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bkloppman
Pickpick

Anansi the Spider had six sons, all with special gifts. When Anansi is swallowed by fish and taken by a falcon, the sons use their special gifts to rescue their father. When the father doesn‘t know which son to award with the mysterious orb of light, the god of all things takes matters into his own hands.

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miles.bryant

“Then Game Skinner helped father Anansi. He split open Fish”

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miles.bryant

The moral lesson of this story is that it is better to be smart than strong and to not make bad choices. Throughout the stories he shows us how using his cunningness to make bad choices does not always work out well and how we can use our smarts to make good choices instead.

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miles.bryant
Pickpick

The story of Ashanti is inspired by and African fable from the Ashanti people of Ghana. This story follows Ashanti the spider, who is sly and cunning, going on adventures. As he gets in trouble his sons come and save him. He has the problem of not knowing which son saves him and who to reward. Through his stories he becomes the lord of all stories as well.

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mcappel

Road Builder son said, 'Follow me!' i liked this quote because it shows the separations of sons.

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mcappel

This book would be good to use in social studies when explaining different world cultures or different myths or folktales. It could be fun to die into different folktales from different cultures about the same topic. For example, looking at the different tales of how the moon came to be.

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mcappel
Mehso-so

Anansi the Spider is a folktale from Ghana. This folktale is about how the moon came to be on the earth. Anansi is part of African mythology that is passed down from generation to generation. Anansi is a spider with many human characteristics. The number 7 is important with Anansi's seven sons.

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AshleyHoss820
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Pickpick

Bold, colorful illustrations. A fun story about the importance of community/family and about appreciating our individual gifts. Really cool little book. #MensaKidsExcellenceInReading K-3

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terracollichio

“He keeps it there for all to see. It is still there. It will always be there. It is there tonight.“

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terracollichio

This would be great to read for building classroom community. The spiders and the adventure can represent each child and their individual differences and how they add to the classroom. Getting Anansi home safe can represent the common goal of creating a comfortable, fun, safe, loving, and successful classroom.

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terracollichio
Pickpick

Anansi gets into trouble and all his sons with their amazing powers come to help him home safely.

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Lilyj9
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The prize was the moon! And it is there for everyone now!

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Lilyj9
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I love how they all need each other to work together to help their dad!

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Lilyj9
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Pickpick

This was tale about one of the great folk hereps Anansi the spider who is saved by his 6 sons but does not know which to reward. So he asks the god of everything and he leaves it in the sky for everyone to see, which I think is the moon or the sun!

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Emitalski
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Emitalski

The colors jump off the page.

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Emitalski
Pickpick

This story highlights the culture of the Ashanti people. The story was published in 1972. The illustrations are incredibly bright and the characters are very one dimensional but it shows how family can work together to help each other. It is also a creation story and it shares how the moon was created.

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Gracehake

The bright colors and beautiful illustrations stood out to me. The prints and patterns incorporated in each illustration represents traditional Ashanti art

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Gracehake

“He took the beautiful white light up into the sky”

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Gracehake
Pickpick

This book is about a spider father and his six sons that each have different gifts. The father falls into trouble and at different points in the story each son helps their father and saves him using their gifts. The father wants to thank his sons by giving them an big ball of light that he found but cannot decide who to give it to. He turns to Nyame, The God of All Things, who places it in the sky for every brother to see

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rileydenney

“for Ashanti people, Nyame is the God of All Things”

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rileydenney

this book would be great to compare and contrast stories from different cultures

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rileydenney
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Pickpick

This book won the Caldecott Honor Award in 1973. It is a great representation of fairytales in other cultures. It tells the story of the culture of the Ashanti of West Africa, in Ghana. It is super unique and I love how it looks different from modern American fairytales and myths.

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Apolandvery

“ for Ashanti people, nyame is the god of all things.”

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Apolandvery
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Apolandvery
Pickpick

Ana so the spider by Gerald McDermott is. Caldecott honor book (1972). This book tells a story about a spider taking a long and difficult journey. The illustrations are very colorful and fun. The books illustration captures the attention of the reader.

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Kenyazero
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Prompt 3 of the #Haunted photo challenge was spiderweb. I haven‘t pulled out my webs yet, and I don‘t think I have a book in my collection that has a web on the cover. Improvising with limited time at the library, I snapped a photo of a childhood favorite with a spider on it instead of a web! #PhotoChallenge @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Cool cover!! 🕷🖤🕸 2y
Eggs Love Anansi 🕷🕸🖤 2y
19 likes2 comments
review
hadassajl
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Pickpick

This colorful TL book is the tale from the Ashanti about Anansi the Spider who goes on a journey and proves how resourceful he is. This book would great for a RT. A great resource can be found here on a character web for this story . EL 4 which links topic to students‘ prior knowledge works well with this book.

hadassajl UDL 1.3 which is offer alternatives for visual information applies because there is an Anansi animation that can be found on YouTube. #UCFLAE3414SP20 4y
RaivionneC I remember this book on Reading Rainbow! I loved the audio and visuals of this book on the show! 4y
DrSpalding PBS is a fabulous resource and you are one of the first to use it. Well done! This was a reading rainbow book as noted by one of your peers. Your universal design principle is thoughtful and relates to your resource. 4y
4 likes3 comments
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victoriamaria
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Pickpick

This TL opens the door for children to explore different cultures and connect them with their own culture. This lesson plan focuses on investigating the main idea and using evidence from the book to support their thinking. rif.org/sites/default/files/Support_Materials/RIF_ExploringDifferentCultures_ActivityGuide_3-5.pdf Children should be pre- taught a little bit about this culture and introduced to the new words in the text (UDL 3.1, 3.2, ESOL 5)

DrSpalding Reading is fundamental is an excellent website resource you should continue using. 4y
1 like2 comments
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mack2799

“The God of All Things, He took the beautiful white light up into the sky. He keeps it there for all to see. It is still there. It will always be there. It is there tonight.“

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mack2799
Pickpick

Winner of the Caldecott Medal, Anansi the spider is an intriguing story that gives a repetitive story structure of adventures that lead up to the moon being where it is today. Although not very plausible, its good for kids to understand the imagination and creativity. Lets them always explore and to question why things are they way they are. Not to mention interesting illustrations with odd shapes and lines to create better meaning of the text.

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mack2799

This book is such a cute story about how the moon got up to the sky through his glorious adventures! Anansi was shown to be very curious and held no fear but always catching himself in a difficult pickle!

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k.gauze
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“The God of All Things, he took the beautiful white light up into the sky”

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k.gauze

This is a great culturally diverse story. This has great illustrations and a good moral.

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k.gauze
Pickpick

This story is a African story written by Gerald McDermott. This book is about a spider family that works together to save one another and ends up placing the moon in the sky. This is a great story because it is a different culture then what we are used to and it is colorful and fun.

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claireherman
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Pickpick

Look no further for a story that is rich in culture and in art! Anansi the Spider is an African TL that is retold and illustrated by Caldecott honor winning author Gerald McDermott. This is a really fun book to use for Storytelling! I cannot wait to share my own telling of this classic African tale of the great spider Anansi! #LAE3414sp19

claireherman UDL Principal for Expression and Communication (5.1) Use multi media for communication (Here is a great RA film by the author https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1CIBaRpSOg )
ESOL Strategy 24: Incorporate the culture & the language of second language learners in your curriculum
Lesson Plan: https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/vtl07.la.rv.genre.lppourquois/iden...
5y
DrSpalding PBS is a high-quality resource that few students use. Excellent choice and excellent universal design and English learner alignment. 5y
1 like2 comments
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KAdudu
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Pickpick

The book “Anansi The Spider” (TL) written and illustrated by Gerald McDermott is a folk tale. This traditional tale is about a spider name Anansi who sets out on a long challenging journey. When he finds himself in danger a few surprising characters help save him. Anansi is so happy to be saved but doesn‘t know who to reward. Read this exciting book to find out who will be rewarded. #lae3414sp19

KAdudu The UDL principle is 8.1; heighten salience of goals and objectives. Use EL strategy 36; ask numerous questions which require higher level thinking responses.
Look at this great resource: https://www.woojr.com/anansi-spider-lesson-plan-activities/
5y
Olsonashley19 Totally forgot about this one! I actually did a play for this when I was in first grade and it was sooo fun! I think primary elementary students will love this book! 5y
DrSpalding We witnessed a wonderful storytelling of this book. Try this strategy too. 5y
4 likes3 comments
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jjbowenkunkler

Please hold the beautiful glide of light until I know which son should have it for his own

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jjbowenkunkler
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This page shows that the light is for all and not just one of his sons who saved him.

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jjbowenkunkler
Mehso-so

Caldecott and was written in 1972. This book begins with a father spider having sons, which all had special abilities. One time the father left and got into trouble so one by one his sons helped him out of trouble.the father spider wanted to give a glide of light to the son that saved him, but he couldn't decide. The God left the glide if light in the sky for all to see. The illustrations of this book were very colorful and abstract.

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Miadolce
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“He keeps it there for all to see. It is there. It will always be there. It is there tonight.”

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Miadolce
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Miadolce
Pickpick

This was such a cute book. It tells the story of how the moon got into the sky and how Anansi‘s sons help him when he gets into trouble. The illustrations were very graphic and loud and very colorful.

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Ariel8Smith
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“They were very happy that spider family”

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Ariel8Smith
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Culturally diverse book, with beautiful, abstracted pictures that will appeal to children‘s eyes and imaginations.