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Story tellers and poets

Students will examine the style, purpose, and organization of folktales and poetry in order to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of both genres. With this knowledge, students will use the word choice and repetition of traditional folktales to transform them into modern poetry.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Heather Bower and Michele Hicks.

Learning literary elements through African and African American folktales

In this eighth grade lesson, students will apply their knowledge of literary elements (plot structure and archetypal characters) to the analysis and creation of African and African American folktales. Students will work in groups to read several picture book versions of African and African American folktales. Each group then creates a plot map for a story and highlights other literary elements identified within the text. Students then compare the folktales with fairy tales from other cultures and explain what they learned about African and African American culture from reading the folktales. Finally, students work independently to write their own modern-day folktale.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Hardin Engelhardt.

Modern folk tales: Playwriting

Working in teams, students will rewrite short folk tale or fable plays, modernizing them. Then, they will present the old and new versions of the play.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts)

By Dayle Payne.

Connecting folktales and culture in North Carolina and beyond

Students will explore connections to North Carolina culture as they engage in reading and analyzing three folktales of North Carolina Literary Festival author, William Hooks. After comparing these stories to other versions of the traditional tales, students will become authors and storytellers themselves as they rewrite a tale from a new cultural point of view. Opportunities are also included to extend this study to world cultures and folktales.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Jeanne Munoz.

Storytelling with Cherokee folktales

This is a two day lesson pertaining to telling Cherokee folktales. This lesson can be modified and used with any folktale.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts)

By Ricky Hamilton.

Storytellers in the Mountains of North Carolina

Students will study five famous North Carolina storytellers: Jackie Torrence, Ray Hicks, Donald Davis, David Holt, and Sheila Kay Adams. They will research how their stories were collected and how they developed their storytelling styles that distinguish them from other tellers.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Martha Hayes.

North Carolina American Indian stories

In this lesson students will select and read stories from some of the North Carolina American Indian tribes. They will compare and contrast two stories of their choice and complete a Venn diagram. Students will use the information on the Venn diagram to write three paragraphs. After reading several American Indian tales or legends, students will then create their own legend using the narrative writing process.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Janice Gardner.

The Frog Prince: Compare and contrast

This lesson can be used with numerous pieces of literature, videos or cassette material to develop viewing and listening skills and the students ability to compare and contrast. One of the richest sources is in the area of fairy tales and folktales. This an especially good source if you can find a modernized version in video or cassette form to contrast with the more traditional written form. I have used the "Frog Prince" because of this factor and because it was part of the 4th grade language arts reading unit.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Barbara Waters.

Legends: Dramatic story telling

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 5.1

Introduction The act of storytelling makes learning exciting. Participating in a dramatic presentation of American Indian Legends allows class members to create, learn, and teach. Learning Outcomes Students will select an American...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4, 6, and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Linda Tabor.

Yarns, whoppers, and tall tales

The following lessons will introduce students to characteristics of tall tales and help them develop an appreciation of this genre of American fiction. They will practice writing summaries from information they have gathered and organized. They will plan and write their own tall tales.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts)

By Deborah Mitchell.

Cherokee lore and traditions

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 4.3

Length 9 Weeks Class Length: 45 minutes - Meets daily Learning outcomes Promotes life-long learning: appreciation of different cultures. Provides hands-on activities: making masks. Integrates with EOG testing: reading....

Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Patricia Lancaster.

Fairy tales

This lesson will begin a unit on fairy tales for young learners. It will begin with assessing what first graders know about fairy tales. Children will learn about the original version of The Three Little Pigs.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts and English Language Development)

By Audra Penrod and Vivian Lages.

Fairy tales: Another point of view

This lesson is on comparing and contrasting (alike and different) two different versions of The Three Little Pigs. Students will use the original fairy tale The Three Little Pigs previously learned in the lesson Fairy Tales and compare it to the story The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. This story gives the wolf's point of view.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts, English Language Development, and Theater Arts Education)

By Audra Penrod and Vivian Lages.

Resources on the web

Elements of folktales

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales while learning how these tales built the spirit of American people. Students read traditional folktales and view filmed versions of those stories. They discuss the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 English Language Arts and Theater Arts Education)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Folktales and ecology: Animals and humans in cooperation and conflict

Students study relationships between humans and animals in folktales in order to highlight issues concerning ecology and the environment. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Science)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Aesop and Anase: Animal fables and trickster tales

In this lesson from EDSITEment, students will become familiar with fables and trickster tales from different cultural traditions. They will explore how folktales employ animals in different ways to portray human strengths and weaknesses and how this wisdom... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Pourquoi stories: Creating tales to tell why

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students are introduced to pourquoi stories (stories and folktales that explain how or why something exists) and work in cooperative groups to write their own stories. In this lesson, through varied readings of pourquoi... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Making a rainstick

In this lesson from ARTSEDGE, students learn about the history of the musical instrument called a rainstick. They experience rain and create a poem about their feelings and thoughts in the rain. Next, they read a story involving rainsticks, derived from... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 2 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Starfall

An interactive, research-based learning environment for beginning readers. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Starfall

Fables and trickster tales around the world

This lesson plan from EDSITEment introduces students to folktales, such as fables and trickster tales, from around the world. Students become familiar with different folklore traditions and genres, as well as the process of the oral transmission of culture... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment