Fairy Tales & Folktales

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Aesop
Links to online texts and lesson plans.

American Folklore
Folksy retellings of a variety of tales: Native American myths and legends, weather folklore, ghost stories, and tall tales of Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and others.

"Anansi"
Denzel Washington narrates this African / Jamaican tale. Downloadable YouTube video runs 14:50.

Hans Christian Andersen
Links to the stories.

Born on a Mountaintop?: Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Students explore the conventions of tall tales and write one. This lesson is designed for grades 3-5.

Cinderella
Links to lesson plans for comparing many versions of the Cinderella story from around the world.

Digital Story Writing: Cultural Myths
You are a folklorist observing the lives and cultures of different people. You want to tell the world about their culture, beliefs, and values. You and a group of other folklorists will research the lives of a an ethnic group, create a digital story about their lives, and present it to all the folklorists at the "Who are They?" convention. This activity is designed for high school.

Dramatizing Folktales, Legends, and Myths
Elementary students work together to research, select, and dramatize a Native American myth or legend.

East by Edith Pattou
This version of the "Sleeping Beauty" story is set in Scandinavia. Summary, book talk, and 7 discussion questions.

Elements of a Fable
Students will use their understanding of fable elements to create an original fable and present it in dramatic form.

"The Elephant and the Blind Men"
Lesson plans for this story, including versions in both poem and narrative formats.

Exploring American Tall Tales
Students will explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales while learning how these tales built the spirit of American people. Students will identify the tall tale elements. Students will also write responses to these tales, including a composition in the form of a monologue or a news report. They will perform these compositions for the class. Designed for grades 5-8.

Fairy Tales
Puzzles, pages to color, cross-curricular skill builders, and other resources to support young readers' study of fairy tales.

Fairy Tales
Students will recognize how the mentalities and values conveyed in fairy tales have impacted many aspects of our culture and personal belief patterns. Students will be able to apply critical lenses (feminist, marxist, etc) to fairy tales and other story mediums. Students will explore their own attitudes toward movies, television and advertising and relate these attitudes to the influences of fairy tales. Access to this 9-page unit plan requires Adobe Reader or compatible application.

Fairy Tales Around the World
Students explore the commonalities of fairy tales around the world. Several links support this series of lessons.

Fairy Tale Resources for Every Toddler, Kid, and Adult
A collection of lesson plans, links to collections of fairy tales, and fractured fairy tales. Special thanks to Ms. Phillips and her class for telling me about this site!

"Ferradidledumday" and other Rumpelstiltskin Stories
Questions to help students compare and contrast the two stories.

Folklore and Mythology
A remarkable collection of links to stories from around the world.

Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales
Lesson plans and teaching resources.

Goldilocks & the Three Bears Sentence Combining Practice
Students combine sentences to create a cohesive narrative.

More lesson plans for fairy tales and folktales >> | 1 | 2 |