Essay for Week 12: Robin Hood

Often times, I find myself getting bored with some of the stories I have to read, especially the lengthy ones. I am to blame for most my boredom, because I usually wait to the last minute to read the stories and I’m tired and grumpy. The unit of Robin Hood seemed even more troublesome as I began it, since the stories were written as ballads. Poetry and song-type literature can become very dull when simply read in your head. They require tune and rhythm to be fully enjoyed, otherwise they are dry and lifeless.

One thing that I really enjoyed when I read the Robin Hood unit in the Un-textbook was the video added to the ballad of Robin Hood and Little John. This was a particularly long ballad, but, instead of reading the ballad, the unit provided the option of listening to a man sing it accompanied by his acoustic guitar. This helped the story flow much more smoothly and held my interest much longer. I ended up retelling this story in my Storytelling blog post. Not only did the song help me enjoy this particular ballad, but others as well. I then had a tune in my head to which I could read the other ballads, which helped keep me moving along and stay interested in the story.

Bottom line, I think this was a great tool to add to the Robin Hood unit. I know that there are also some units that provide audio recording so that one can listen to the story instead of reading it. This can be especially useful for someone who is tired from a long day and does not want to read several stories. Instead, they can relax and listen and think about what they find interesting in the story. This helps motivate creativity when it is their turn to write the story.

Robin Hood and Little John by L. Rhead