Transcript Myths, Legends, Folk Tales and Fables

Myths, Legends,
Folk Tales and Fables
Westfield State College
Computers in Education
Fall 2008
Megan M Banks
Introduction
There are four types of literature in the Oral
tradition – Myths, Legends, Folk Tales and
Fables. Every culture, in every corner of
the world has stories. Whether they are
creation myths formed to understand the
world around us, fables designed to
instruct, or legends and folktales to
entertain and awe, we have all heard them,
we all know them and we will all tell them.
Storytelling is everywhere you go.
Listening to stories from different cultures
can help us understand them better.
Listening to some can help us understand
our own history better.
Task
But do you know the differences
between these types of stories? Do
you know their fundamentals? Could
you write one if you had the chance?
Yes you can! Over the course of this
project, you will discover what makes
each of these types of story unique,
what elements they share and you will
be challenged to create your own oral
tradition!
Process
Look up and record the definitions of Oral
Tradition: Myth, Folk Tale, Fable, and
Legend. Be sure to put these definitions in
your own words.
Make a chart showing the elements of
each type and the elements they have in
common.
Choose one of the four types of oral
tradition (myth, legend, folk tale or fable).
Read several (at least 5) of this type of
story as a group to familiarize yourself with
its structure and format.
Once you have chosen your type of story,
complete the corresponding task:
Myth: Write your own creation myth. Then,
present your myth to the class.
Folk Tale: Choose a folk tale and work with your
group to present it to the class.
Legend: Write a legend based on a real person
either in history in current day. You may choose
someone famous, an ancestor or someone that
has had an impact on your life.
Fable: Create a modern fable that conveys a
message about life that you think is important for
children to learn. Then present your fable to the
class.
Conclusion
**When writing your stories, make sure that you
are staying within the format of your chosen genre
of story.**
When you present your story, you may choose to
tell the story as a group, act it out, do a puppet
show or present it in a form of your choosing.
Make sure that you tell the story and that whole
group is involved.
Pay close attention to the presentations of your
classmates. Hopefully you’ve had fun learning
about oral tradition and creating your own stories.
Your stories will be printed and posted in the
media center for others to enjoy. As a class, we
will also be presenting our new myths, legends,
folk tales and fables to the first grade!
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on your group
presentation as well as the written tasks
you will hand in to the teacher. Your
presentation will be evaluated for full
group inclusion, clarity and your
inclusion of the components of your
chosen story form. Your definitions,
chart and stories must all be typed. All
activities will be evaluated for
completeness, neatness, and literary
content and accuracy.
Internet Resources
Grimm's Fairy Tales - This book contains 209 tales collected
by the brothers Grimm.
Hans Christian Anderson - Fairy Tales and Stories - English
Translation: H. P. Paull (1872)
Aesop's Fables - List of famous fables plus colorful
illustrations
Stories, Folklore, and Fairy Tales Theme Page - A collection
of links related to story telling.
Creation Myths From Around the World – A collection of links
to creation myths from several different cultures.
What is a Myth?
Myths, Legends, Fables & Folklore
Fact Monster Dictionary – An online children’s dictionary to
help you with your first task.
Department of Education
Frameworks
Topic : Myth, Traditional Narrative, and Classical Literature
Grade 5:
16s.3. Compare different versions of the same story from traditional
literature (for example, American folktales).
16s.4. Identify common structures of traditional literature (for example,
that characters or story elements often come in threes, such as three
bears, three sisters, three wishes, or three tasks; or that there are
magic helpers, such as talking animals, fairies, or elves).
16s.5. Identify common stylistic elements in traditional literature (such
as repeated refrains, similes, hyperbole).
Grades 5-6:
19.14. For imaginative/literary writing:
Write stories or scripts containing the basic elements of fiction
(characters, dialogue, setting, plot with a clear resolution).
Credits
This WebQuest was developed by Megan M. Banks in the
fall of 2008, as part of a class on Recent Development in
Computer Education offered by Westfield State College.
This WebQuest was developed by exploring other
webquests.
Credit is due to:
Rebecca Anderson and Robin Pellegrini and their webquest
“Myth Makers”
http://www.southernct.edu/~ils6937/myth/webquest.htm
Mary B. Reid and her webquest “Once Upon A Time… A
WebQuest on Fairy Tales, Fables, Myths, and Legends”
http://members.tripod.com/~mbreid/FairyTales.html
Department of Education Frameworks can be found at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html