Lesson Plan
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What is a Folktale?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are read an apache folktale and discuss the characters in the story. Using the text, they identify the factors that make it a folktale and not a fairy tale. On a map, they locate where the Apache people live. As a class, they...
Lesson Plan
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Folklore; The Story Of The Milky Way

For Teachers K - 5th
The students choose and read a Native American Folktale, analyze and sequence the story-line using a graphic organizer, then make a "woven" story blanket (from construction paper) depicting character, plot (including problem) and outcome.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Planet, Earth-Internet Research

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Learners review the procedure for conducting Internet research and then research the earth--its physical characteristics, components, and cultural folklore regarding the planet. They compile the information they find into a report in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seven Chinese Brothers

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify the characteristics of a tall tale. They read "The Seven Chinese Brothers" and analyze it for these characteristics. Students complete a comprehension worksheet and discuss why "The Seven Chinese Brothers" can be...
Lesson Plan
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Legends and Myths: Trickster Tales

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in groups to research the characteristics of various myths and legends. They read tales, illustrate them, record oral storytelling efforts and write an original folktale. Students then invite parents to a dramatic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folktale Unit: The Princess and the Golden Shoes

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students study variations of classic folktales while deciding why the tales were so popular many years ago. They write a letter to an author.
Lesson Plan
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Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students appreciate African folktales, make "connections" between geography and literature, and research facts about Africa's animals and present findings through art and writing.
Lesson Plan
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African Art and Personal Adornment: African Folktales

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students write a folktale based on an African adinkra symbol. They research its meaning and relate it as the theme.
Lesson Plan
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Wycinanki and Polish Folktales

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students explore Polish folklore through reading and practicing Wycinanki, the art of paper cutting. They re-tell stories and include visual images demonstrating Wycinanki design.
Lesson Plan
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Can You Stretch the Truth?

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students study folk tales. They write a class folk tale and then one of their own using a famous character or known celebrity as their main character. They put on a class play of one of the student's folk tales.
Lesson Plan
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A Fish Story

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students closely examine and analyze an American tall tale. They find the key features of a tall tale and compose a tall tale of their own. Student groups write, edit and present their tales to the class.
Lesson Plan
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Little Red Hen

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore the story of the Little Red Hen. They listen to and discuss the story, create puppets and retell the story, and make bread using a bread in a bag recipe.
Lesson Plan
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Folktales: Fables

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students access a variety of resources on the Internet regarding folktales, fables, tall tales, and fairy tales. They read and compare/contrast the elements of fables, and complete various handouts.
Unit Plan
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Folklore Festivities: Exploring Short Stories

For Teachers 3rd
Students explore the stories of "William Tell, The Husband Who Was to Mind the House, The Little Match Girl, and Three Words of Wisdomare" in the five lessons of this unit. The understanding of folktales is highlighted in this unit.
Unit Plan
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Westward Expansion

For Teachers 2nd
Students examine how the events that took place during the time of the Westward Expansion affected the pioneers and Native Americans through the seven lessons of this unit. Enhancements in transportation over time are also a part of the...
Unit Plan
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Land of the Rising Sun

For Teachers 2nd
Students survey aspects of traditional and modern Japanese customs and beliefs in the seven lessons of this unit. Both the culture and the geography of the country are studied in this unit.
Lesson Plan
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Geography

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study and review geographical terms for features. They classify those features and locate them on a map. They review geographical features of Tall Tales.
Lesson Plan
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Literature Overview of African Folktales

For Teachers K
Students play a game of tug-of-war, participate in a discussion about the story, discuss the phrase "bigger doesn't mean better." , and illustrate a scene from the story.
Lesson Plan
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Electronic Journals about Latin American Folktales

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars exchange folktales with a key-pal using dialog journal writing. They write out a folktale from their own cultural background and exchange it with students of another. They record their impressions of each other's folktales.
Lesson Plan
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Most Wonderful Gift

For Teachers K - 5th
Students discover that folktales reveal a great deal about the place in which they originate. They identify physical and human characteristics of a place and explain how culture influences the way people think. They illustrate cultural...
Lesson Plan
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Have I Got A Story For You - Folklore of Utah

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify the clues that folklore provides about Utah's past. They create a piece of folklore for a place or event in or near the community. They see that the legends and traditions we pass to one another are also sources...
Lesson Plan
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Comparing African, American, and European Folktales

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Pupils listen to John Steptoe's story, "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," and then identify similarities and differences between an African, a Native American, and a European folktale.
Lesson Plan
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Animal Act

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students create original tales that use animals to portray human behavior.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Animal Fables and Trickster Tales

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Animals and tricksters appear in folk tales from a wide variety of cultures, especially those with strong oral storytelling traditions. Use this lesson plan to introduce students to these characters and the lessons they were used to...