Hi.
Someone from FolkDJ suggested I use this resource. I've searched under the following topics and didn't get anywhere.
folk songs, (any cultural origin) related to themes of:
flying to freedom;
taking flight to escape;
imagination as an escape from troubles....
This is for a friend who's working on her masters degree in education. She sent the following:

I'm working on developing a lesson plan for children ages 8-11 (3-5th grades) related to the African folk tale "THE PEOPLE COULD FLY". (The lesson plan is for a course teaching movement and music to pre-school and grade school kids.)

The folk tale is an American Black folktale telling the story of slaves who were "seen" to fly away to freedom - away from the overseers, and from slaves who had lost their ability to fly.   

    "The People Could Fly" is one of the most extraordinary, moving tales in Black folklore.... There are numerous separate accounts of flying Africans and slaves in the Black folktale literature. Such accounts are often combined with tale of slaves disappearing....a detailed fantasy tale of suffering, of magic power exerted against...Master...told and retold by those who had only their imaginations to set them free."**
**From THE PEOPLE COULD FLY - American Black Folktales, told by Virginia Hamilton, Alfred Knopf: NY 1985; p. 172-173

Here's what I'm looking to stress in the lesson: folk songs (any cultural origin) related to themes of flying to freedom; taking flight to escape; imagination as an escape from troubles....
Thank you for your help.
Ginger Osborne