Native American Folk Tales

Learning about Native American life ways is almost always a favorite topic for our students. This well organized PowerPoint presents basic information about the Ute Indians, native to the Spanish Fork area of Utah. Each slide contains...

Students examine how aspects of Native American and American folk music are alike and different. They contrast both forms of music and engage in many activities to identify or explain how music fulfills a variety of purposes.

Young scholars engage in a lesson that is concerned with the legends of Native Americans that are found in the Northwest Region. They conduct research using a variety of resources and create puppets and a stage for the acting of one of...

Youngsters practice retelling a part of their favorite Native American tale to a small group of their peers. Peer partners assess each others performances. To keep comments positive and constructive, consider giving your class sentence...

Seven quick slides give your class the "facts" on Paul Bunyan. This tall tale was made up to entertain lumberjacks and many interesting points are detailed here. As you study various folk tales, show this presentation to portray one of...

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...

Young scholars 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...

Your class hears a Native American Indian point of view of Europeans' arrival in Louisiana. They assess how cultural perspectives (especially an insider's view) and native language can shape a story. Each pupil identifies the...

Pupils examine similarities and differences between cultures. They'll see that literature, reading, and story telling is something all cultures have in common. They should construct Venn diagrams to help them compare and contrast the...