In this unit children continue to develop their literacy skills.  They read and listen to various kinds of legends and pourquoi folktales (why stories) including stories about heroic deeds and explanations of how things came to be. They make connections between the stories as they discuss and compare their characteristics.  Through guided reading, children employ multiple comprehension strategies independently while constructing meaning and use phrasing and expression to bring stories to life.  With the teacher’s help, children select a favorite legend or pourquoi folktale, place it in modern times, and present it to the class during a storytelling festival.  The activities in this unit provide the teacher with opportunities to conduct formal and informal performance-based assessments of children’s emergent literacy in order to design further instruction for a balanced literacy program.