2. WHAT IS A FOLKTALE?
A story that is told orally and
is passed down from
generation to generation
before it is ever written
down. Some storytellers were
entertainers, teachers or
parents. Folktales are part of
FOLKLORE, which also
includes myths, legends, tall
tales and fairytales.
3. THINGS TO CONSIDER:
• Why might people enjoy a good
story?
• Why would people share their
stories?
• What elements make a short
story a folktale?
• Cultural allusions
• Dialect
• Character types
• Life lessons
• Magical or Far-fetched
element
• Setting in a far
away/fictional place
4. Folktales were passed down from
generation to generation by word of mouth,
which is called oral tradition.
Folktales were made up to explain the
wonders of the world or to teach morals
and lessons.
6. TRICKSTER TALES
One character, usually the protagonist, is a clever trickster
that causes problems for the other characters
They usually goes unpunished
Example “Trickster” Characters:
Anansi the Spider (Africa), Hare (North America), Wolf(
Europe)
7. FABLES
These are stories that teach a lesson or have a moral
The main characters of Fables are usually animals
with human characteristics
The moral is never stated, but needs to be inferred
by the reader
Examples of Fables: Tortoise and the Hare, The
Ant and the Grasshopper
8. Fables and trickster tales are short narratives
that use animal characters with human features to
convey folk wisdom and to help us understand
human nature and human behavior. These
stories were originally passed down through oral
tradition and were eventually written down. The
legendary figure Aesop was reported to have
orally passed on his animal fables, which have
been linked to earlier beast tales from India
and were later written down by the Greeks and
Romans. Ananse trickster tales derive from the
Asante people of Ghana and were brought by
African slaves to the Caribbean and parts of
the U.S. These tales developed into Brer Rabbit
stories and were written down in the 19th
century in the American South.
9. FAIRYTALES
Include good and evil characters
Usually has a hero or heroine
Has Magic
Often begins with “Once upon a time”
Conflicts are resolved through kindness, courage or intelligence
Examples: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin
10. POURQUOI STORIES
Explain WHY something is as it is
Explains HOW something came to be and it usually explains something
in Nature
Examples of Pourquoi stories:
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
How the Elephant Got Its Trunk or How the Tiger Got Its
Stripes
*** Most myths and tall tales are considered Pourquois
11. Rule of Three: Items happen in sets of 3 or
7s (things happen in 3s, lots of repetition or
repeated phrases)
- 3 characters
- 3 events
- 3 tests the character must overcome
COMMOM ELEMENTS OF FAIRY TALES
12. Ex: “Jack and the Beanstalk” showed Jack climbing the
beanstalk three times. The wicked stepmother visited
Snow White in the forest three times before she
finally got her to eat the apple.
Magic is commonly used, to explain the unexplainable.
You will see similar characteristics from stories across
the world
13. THEMES
Characters go through tests to prove something (the good character must
solve a problem)
Good v. Evil (has characters that good, others are bad)
Good is rewarded and evil is punished in the end (tales have a happy
ending)
14. CHARACTERIZATION
Characters change only after they have gone though the lesson
learned during the course of the story
The hero is usually young and fair, kind, brave, unselfish, and
may possess some sort of special power.
Magic helpers, such as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella,
allow for things to occur within a story that would otherwise be
impossible
15. SETTING
Place is usually described easily and briefly, leaving the
imagination to fill in the gaps. For example, folktales
take place in a cottage in the woods or in a magical
kingdom
Time is fantasy time, such as Once upon a time, or A long
time ago
16. Write your own fable.
Include a moral or
lesson at the end.
17. As a culminating activity,
students create their own fable with
a moral/lesson which will be
graded based on the 6 Traits of
Writing.