GRADE 7 - ACT 4
Dear students,
It’s time to focus on the Nigerian tale: The story of the lightning and the thunder.
Do you know what a tale is?
Talk to your colleagues and your teacher about it.
Now, you will read the story while listening to an audio recording narrated by a native African speaker. Follow along with the text as you listen to the pronunciation, rhythm, and expression used in the narration.
The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder
Nigerian Folktale
In the olden days the thunder and lightning lived on the earth amongst all the other people, but the king made them live at the far end of the town, as far as possible from other people's houses.
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The thunder was an old mother sheep, and the lightning was her son, a ram. Whenever the ram got angry he used to go about and burn houses and knock down trees; he even did damage on the farms, and sometimes killed people. Whenever the lightning did these things, his mother used to call out to him in a very loud voice to stop and not to do any more damage; but the lightning did not care in the least for what his mother said, and when he was in a bad temper used to do a very large amount of damage. At last the people could not stand it any longer, and complained to the king.
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So the king made a special order that the sheep (Thunder) and her son, the ram (Lightning), should leave the town and live in the far bush. This did not do much good, as when the ram got angry he still burnt the forest, and the flames sometimes spread to the farms and consumed them.
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So the people complained again, and the king banished both the lightning and the thunder from the earth and made them live in the sky, where they could not cause so much destruction. Ever since, when the lightning is angry, he commits damage as before, but you can hear his mother, the thunder, rebuking him and telling him to stop. Sometimes, however, when the mother has gone away some distance from her naughty son, you can still see that he is angry and is doing damage, but his mother's voice cannot be heard.
After reading and listening to the tale, you'll create illustrations based on key scenes or elements using the Boxy SVG platform. This activity allows you to translate the text into images, helping you practice interpreting the story and expressing ideas visually. As you work, think about how images influence the understanding of identities and stories, and consider themes of equity, diversity, and inclusion in your illustrations.
Now that you created your illustrations, you will compare them with your classmates' work. Each one, or each group will present their illustration, explaining the choices made, such as which scenes or elements were highlighted and why. This activity encourages reflection on different interpretations of the story, helping you develop the ability to express and justify your visual choices. While comparing, discuss the similarities and differences in how each person interpreted the story. This is an opportunity to reflect on how visual representations can address cultural and social issues, promoting critical racial literacy and diverse interpretations of the text.