Mommy, Read me a bedtime story.
A look at folktales

Introduction:
Every night around the world mommies and daddies are reading stories and telling folktales to their children to get then ready to go to sleep . Folktales first began as stories that were told before people learned to read and write. This project will provide opportunities for the students:
work independently and in groups to explore folktales in depth, learn about and utilize literary elements, such as plot, characters, settings, analyze the selections and practice the art of storytelling. The key concepts to explored in this unit are related to the Open Court Theme: Folktales and our District G.T. unit: Folktales. 
 

TASK 1
Activating Prior Knowledge
List the titles of at least three or four common folktales on chart paper and have the students share the titles of several others that are familiar to them. Record the titles and have the children summarize each story to the class. 
Tell the students that folktales often teach a lesson or have a moral. . Folktales first began as stories that were told before people learned to read and write. Ask the students if they can explain the moral of each of the folktales they came up with. Focus the students attention on the characters in the folktales. Have them notice that some of the characters are good but some of the characters are not. Ask the students to think of titles for them like hero, villain, etc. and record them on the chartpaper next to the character.

TASK 2
Materials needed: Computer with speakers, Internet connectivity
Work together in your group and complete the following tasks.

Initial task:
Define a folktale using the following sources:
Look in your Open Court anthology glossary.
Classroom dictionary
Online resources:
YOUR DICTIONARY    http://www.yourdictionary.com/
Merriam-Webster Dictionary     http://www.m-w.com/
 

TASK 3
After defining a folktale, listen to the following folktales online.
Listen to the story of Momotaro (Peach Boy) 
http://www.jwindow.net/KIDS/LIBRARY/MOMO/kids_momotaro_1.html

Listen to the story of Tumbling Rice Balls
http://www.jwindow.net/OLD/KIDS/LIBRARY/KORORI/

Classroom discussion:
Discuss the differences between the two Japanese folktales. 
How does it compare to the folktales we have been reading in our anthologies?
Assessment: Student anecdotal notes on students

TASK 4
Remind the students that a folktale 
*is an oral or written story handed down through the ages
*is about characters who have problems and solve them
*has characters who are often animals but can speak like humans and have human characteristics
*may also teach a lesson

Create a folktale of your own. 
Include three of the following story elements: 
Characters
Setting
Problem
Beginning 
Middle
End 
 
 

Resources:
Teacher Rubric
Folktale worksheet for students
 

Conclusion
If you enjoyed this project you may want to see some other versions of folktales. 
Click on the picture and enjoy.

Create a creature:
http://www.gustown.com//CBC/Creature/Creature.html
 

Folktale sites:
Open Court website
http://www.sra4kids.com/student/ocr/index.html

Afro-Americ@Myths and Fables
http://www.afroam.org/children/myths/myths.html
 

Animals, Myths, and Legends tales from Oban the Knowledge Keeper
http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/legends.htm

Folktales
http://www.yahooligans.com/Downloader/Pictures/School_Bell/Language_Arts/Folk_and_Fairy_Tales/

Some of the graphics used on this page are provided by Fantasy.sewell http://fantasy.sewdoll.com/