New Anansi Tale Supports Common Core Standards

Story Cove LLC is pleased to announce a new addition to its award winning online library of 22 interactive stories from the world’s great oral traditions: Anansi and the Tug o’ War, as told by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk. Teachers and librarians can now use Story Cove’s lesson plans, correlated to the Common Core Standards for Reading, as well as the animated, the read-to-me, and the read-a-long versions of Anansi and the Tug o’ War.

Anansi and the Tug o’ War is the fourth Anansi tale to join the Story Cove online collection. The series retells classic African folktales about Anansi, the trickster spider who continually outsmarts his animal peers in various battles. This particular story follows Anansi as he cleverly outwits the seemingly more powerful Elephant and Killer Whale to win a tug o’ war match, teaching these larger animals to respect smaller creatures. Anansi and the Tug o’ War illustrates the core character values of courage, resourcefulness, and respect.

Through the new interactive website version of Anansi and the Tug o’ War, teachers now have access to a variety of multimedia supplemental reading materials that can help students fully engage with this story and better appreciate African culture. This whimsical African folktale features animation, read-along and read-to-me versions of the story along with differentiated lesson plans correlated to the Common Core Standards for Reading. In addition, Anansi and the Tug o’ War, like all stories on the Story Cove website, has been leveled using the Fountas & Pinnell and Lexile systems so that teachers can be more prescriptive when they assign stories to an individual child or to reading groups in their classrooms. Anansi and the Tug o’ War has a Lexile Level of 580L, is written at a Guided Reading Level for Kindergarten, and is written at an Interest Level for 4-8 year-olds.

Steve Floyd, President of Story Cove LLC, explained that “with Story Cove teachers and librarians can incorporate these classic, timeless stories into their lessons and supplemental reading activities while meeting the new requirements defined by the Common Core Standards. These carefully selected folktales not only entertain young children, they also provide valuable life lessons and reinforce cultural traditions.” Floyd noted that, “Story Cove has been particularly effective in Title I programs where teachers are challenged to help students, who are reading behind grade level, meet the rigorous requirements specified by the Common Core Standards.”

Story Cove’s Common Core Standards-focused program has repeatedly been praised for its success in helping students engage and connect with their reading. Story Cove has been recognized by the BESSIE Awards from ComputerEd Gazette, the Mom’s Choice Awards and a Storytelling World Honor Award. Children's Bookwatch of the Midwest Book Review wrote that, “Story Cove is a series of very highly recommended stories and folk tales from around the world for beginning readers that combines charming and colorful artwork with simple, easy-reader texts ideal for children…”