Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...

How did the tiger get its stripes? Kindergartners read a Vietnamese folk tale, "How the Tiger Got His Stripes," retold by Rob Cleveland, and work through several reading comprehension and literary analysis activities.

Students examine plot and setting of Cinderella, and how it changes as it is translated into different cultures, discuss universal literary elements of the Cinderella story, and write narratives with original settings and plots...

Students investigate Chinese culture by reading their folk tales.  In this creative writing instructional activity, students practice identifying the different elements in a folk tale and examine the related vocabulary....

Students identify polygons and develop spatial and fractional relationships and geometric concepts by using ancient Chinese puzzle of tangrams. They develop an appreciation of the folktale by identifying its elements and then writing...

Students explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. In this fiction writing instructional activity, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with...

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.

Eighth graders read and discuss the Haitian folktale, "Owl." They compare it to the story, "Brer Possum's Dilemma," using a Venn diagram to show how they are different and alike. In groups, they retell the story in a skit format.

Every family has a different story to share. Your learning community examines the checklist that applies to the lesson, share some of the teacher's family photos, and look for clues in their own family photos in order to complete a...

Students explore elements of American folktales and tall tales. For this literature lesson, students read examples of American folktales and tall tales and prepare a monologue or news report to present to the class based on their readings.

Students read American folktales. They explore and discuss the characteristics of a folktale. Students construct a Venn Diagram to compare/contrast Lupine Lady and Johnny Appleseed. Class diagrams will be displayed.

Sixth graders present reader's theatre by improvising folktales from different countries. In groups, they produce an improvisation of a folktale story from an assigned reading of a folktale.

Students explore the structure of folktales. In this coyote and Anansi instructional activity, students discuss the attributes of folktales as they read versions of tales featuring coyote and Anansi. Students collaborate to write and...

Seventh graders listen to, recite, and research African folktales. They research African artwork to add to their original folk tales which they write.

Students analyze folk and fairy tales. In this language arts instructional activity, students discuss the elements of a tale determining what the differences are between folk and fairy tales. Students then write their own tales...

Students read a variety of literature from India, including folktales and fables. They then select a scene or story to script, work together to design and craft shadow puppets of characters and scenery, narrate a story, manipulate the...

Fourth graders identify story grammar elements of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." The elements are recorded on a chart and students use the story grammar elements from the chart to retell the story.

Third graders complete activities for the book The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, by Tomie dePaola. In this literature lesson, the students read the story and summarize the main events. They look for story elements focusing on the...

Review the elements of tall tales with your class. Take a look at their genesis and purpose. Different types of figurative language found in tall tales are included such as hyperbole, simile, and metaphor. Before reading an American tall...

Seventh graders identify parts of Haitian culture through folktales. They compare and contrast a Haitian folktale with an African American folktale. They read "Bye-Bye" a Haitian folktale. They create and write their own folktale. They...

Students study Japanese folk tales focusing on the traditional values and key elements. They compare the Japanese values with their own. They discuss Japanese art before designing a set of kamishibai on which they write a summary of a...

Ninth graders examine the importance of family history.  In this Language Arts lesson, 9th graders read and discuss African oral literature with a focus on the roles of griots.  Students compare /contrast the elements of...

To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...

Drama and story elements go hand-in-hand. Have the class dive into a dramatic play to show character intention, conflict resolution, main events, and the dialogue in a Hawaiian folk tale. They read the story, then group-up to...