Learn About Folktales Zkvep0

Compiled by
Deb Thonus
Where do folktales come

from?
Most traditional folktales are very old. They are
stories which were passed down to new

generations by storytellers. Later they were
written down. Each tale may have many
versions.
Folktales are told all over the world.
Often folktales teach lessons.
Fables and fairy tales are types of folktales.
Elements found in
Folktales
May use the phrase Once upon a time"
May use the number three in the story ...
number of characters, events, wishes, etc.

Has good and bad characters
Uses repetition of phrases or responses,
ex: Little pig, little pig, let me in, from
The Three Little Pigs.
Involves common people and/or animals
Main characters have a problem to solve
Has a happy ending. Problem is solved.
Types of Folktales
Trickster tales
Fables
Why Porquoi
stories
Fairytales
Trickster Tales
One character is clever and very tricky
Trickster causes problems for another
character
He/she usually gets away with the trick
Different cultures have specific
tricksters- Example: Anansi the Spider in

Ashanti tales.
Tricksters from Different

Cultures
Fables
Short stories
Teach a lesson
Animal characters with human characteristics
Stress themes such as: the value of
cooperation, looking at problems from

different viewpoints, rewards if lesson is
learned
Lessons may not be stated directly
Listener must find their own lesson in the tale
Why Porquoi Stories

Explain why something is as it is
Explain how things came to be
Example: Australian Aboriginal dreamtime

stories
Fairytales
Include good and bad characters
A hero or heroine
Magic or fantasy
Includes predictable beginnings and
endings Once upon a time Happily

ever after
Problem which is usually overcome
through kindness, courage, intelligence
Could you retell some of these stories?

How do you know they are folktales?
Stone Soup
The Three Little Pigs
Cinderella
Tortoise and the Hare
Jack and the Beanstalk
Little Red Riding Hood
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Rumplestiltskin
Background
This tale comes from the Mbaka tribe part of the
Ambundu people of northwest Angola.
In most of Africa it is the custom for a groom to
send a wedding gift to the brides family.
Names for this include wooing present,
bride-price, and bride-wealth.
About:
A man named Kimana (kee-mah-nah)
wants a bride who lives in heaven and
asks a frog to help him.
Other titles:
A Frog He Would a-Wooing Go
Frog Went a-Courting
Theme: Life lesson, meaning, moral, or

message about life or human nature that is
communicated by a literary work.
In other words
Theme is what the story teaches readers.
A theme is not a word, it is a sentence.

You dont have to agree with the theme to
identify it.
Examples
Money cant buy happiness.
Dont judge people based on the surface.
It is better to die free than live under tyranny.
Jenny Puchovier was so excited. She had a pack

of Starburst in her lunch and she had been
looking forward to eating them all morning.
Lunch finally came and Jenny sat down to eat her
Starbursts when her friend Yudy sat next to her.
Let me get the pink ones, asked Yudy. Jenny
liked the pink ones best, but she thought Yudy
was funny and Jenny wanted Yudy to like her, so
Jenny gave Yudy all of her pink Starbursts. Before
Jenny was done giving Yudy the pink ones, Carrie
sat on the other side of Jenny. Let me get the
red and the orange ones, Jenny. Remember when
I gave you that Snickers? Jenny didnt
remember that, though she did remember when
Carrie ate a whole Snickers in front of her, but
Jenny thought Carrie was cool, so she gave her
the red and the orange Starbursts. Now that she
You cant buy friends.

You have to take care of yourself.
Not everybody is your friend.
Themes are not explicit (clearly stated).

Themes are implied.
Themes are bigger than the story.
Small
World
of the
Story
Big World of the Theme.

Applies to the Real World.
Themes are all about the bigger picture

Not Yellow Starbursts taste bad
Not Yudy and Carrie are bad friends.
Think BIGGER and find Real World
advice.
Small
World
of the
Story
Big World of the Theme.

Applies to the Real World.
Practice
1. Well read each story.
2. Write what you think the theme is.
3. Write another sentence explaining what
happens in the story that leads you to

believe this.
How does the small world of the story
connect to the big world theme?
Once there was a mean little boy who lived in a

small village. This mean little boy loved to mess
with people, so one day he ran up to a sheep
herder and shouted, WOLF! WOLF! A wolf is
attacking the town! The sheep herder grabbed
his staff and ran to defend the town, but realized
he had been fooled when the boy started
pointing and laughing at him. Ha ha! I made
you jump, said the boy. Then the boy ran up to
a farmer and shouted, WOLF! WOLF! A wolf is
attacking the town! The farmer grabbed his
pitchfork and ran to defend the town, but when
the boy started pointing and laughing at him, he
realized he had been tricked. As the boy went
back to his familys farm laughing about the
funny trick he played, he saw a real wolf in his
fathers chicken coop. As the wolf ate all of his
fathers chickens, the boy screamed over and
over again, WOLF! WOLF! Please help us!
Example Answers
Dont ask for help unless you really need it.
Dont play tricks on the people around you.
Angie loved to draw. She made colorful designs

of peoples names with bright hearts & flowers,
but she lost own markers, so she borrowed her
teachers. The school day was ending, but Angie
wanted to keep coloring, so she took the
teachers markers home and lost them in her
messy room. She came back to school the next
day and wanted to color again, so she asked the
teacher for more markers. The teacher replied,
Sure, Angie, but this is my last pack. Angie
said she would be careful, but by the end of the
day the markers were scattered all over the floor
and the custodian swept them up and disposed
of them. When Angie came in the next day, she
asked the teacher for more markers, but she was
disappointed to find that there werent any more.
I dont know where all of my markers went,
said the teacher, but I dont have them. Angie
had to draw her pictures with drab pencils.
Example Answers
Take care of shared resources.
Some things will not replenish after they are
exhausted.
Jenny hated reading class. She didnt understand

point of view or figurative language, and not
knowing how to do the work frustrated her. She
asked the teacher for help, but he spoke so fast
and used such big words that she still couldnt
understand. The teacher asked if she
understood, and she nodded her head, but she
didnt. Jennys friend Katie knew that Jenny was
having trouble, and, rather than just giving Jenny
all of the answers, Katie explained to Jenny how
to solve the problems. Katie spoke clearly and at
Jennys level, and Jenny was happy that she
finally learned how to do the work. Later in the
week, Katie was having trouble in math class.
She didnt understand coordinates and was really
frustrated. Seeing that Katie was having
problems, Jenny, who understood math very well,
taught Katie coordinates. Both girls made honor
Example Answers
Cooperation is the key to success.
We can all do better when we work together.

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Compiled by

Where do folktales come

stories which were passed down to new

number of characters, events, wishes, etc.

tricksters- Example: Anansi the Spider in

Tricksters from Different

cooperation, looking at problems from

Why Porquoi Stories

Example: Australian Aboriginal dreamtime

endings Once upon a time Happily

Could you retell some of these stories?

Theme: Life lesson, meaning, moral, or

A theme is not a word, it is a sentence.

Jenny Puchovier was so excited. She had a pack

You cant buy friends.

Themes are not explicit (clearly stated).

Big World of the Theme.

Themes are all about the bigger picture

Big World of the Theme.

happens in the story that leads you to

Once there was a mean little boy who lived in a

Angie loved to draw. She made colorful designs

Jenny hated reading class. She didnt understand

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