Folktales around the World (Middle, Reading/Writing)

Fourth graders explore folk tales from Africa and China. They list characteristics of the main characters, sequence events, compare/contrast elements of the stories, analyze key vocabulary, and create a mobile.

Anansi the spider teaches young readers the importance of sharing with others in this fun African folktale. Offering clear illustrations and repetitive structure, this printable book is ideal for developing children's reading fluency.

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell's classic tale of Karana, a young girl stranded on an island off the California coast, is the focus of a 16-slide presentation that includes a list of vocabulary words, guided reading questions,...

Students compare and contrast the details from the life of the real David Crockett and the legendary folk hero he later became. They identify the characteristics of a tall tale and follow a rubric to create a tall tale of their own.

Have your class explore Buddhist Jataka Tales to compare and contrast them to European fables. After defining fables, Jataka tales, and the elements of each, learners identify themes and patterns for both types of narratives and the...

Young scholars read several fairy tales of Russian origin. They brainstorm common elements of a fairy tale and identify those elements in several examples. They retell a favorite fairy tale through a skit, oral storytelling, a sketch, or...

Learners 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...

Similar to a textbook, this resource includes multiple texts, plenty of explanation, lots of practice, and several graphic organizers. Use all of the materials, or pick and choose from such texts as "The Circuit," "Shoes for Hector,"...

Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates. 

Students engage their families to write down a folk story from their primary language. In this family literacy lesson, students rewrite the story or fairy tales in English. Parents and students are invited to present the stories in both...