Folk Literature in the Classroom
Folk Literature as Traditional Literatures: Comparing Cultures Folklore: a reflection of people Subgenres of Folk Literature
Poetry Forms Prose Narrative Forms
Animal Tales
Nursery rhymes Myths Pourquoi Tales
Childhood rhymes Legends Trickster Tales
Ballads Tall Tales Fables
Folk songs Folk Tales
Epics Fairy Tales (marchen)
Fables
FABLES
Benefits Gained from Experiences with Folk Literature Experiencing pleasure in the language of folk
literature Increasing students’ literary options Negotiating fantasy and reality Transacting with literature on a personal basis Widening the view of the world
Pourquoi
Concerns over Folk Literature “unacceptable literature for children”
Children are incapable of understanding the differences between real and fantasy worlds.
Children should not escape the real world. Tales cause haunting, disabling, and pathological
fears. C. S Lewis insists otherwise:
Fantasy world is more orderly than the real world.
Transactional Model of Reading
Themes for Instructional Units
Overcoming Odds Unit Astonishing Animals UnitThe protagonists, through their cleverness or “gifts,” overcome almost impossible situations.
Objectives:1.Compare fantasy elements with realistic elements.2.Recognize themes.3.Observe justice systems that reward “good” over “evil.”
Animal characters use “trickery,” allowing children to analyze and compare the tricksters’ motivations and cleverness.
Objectives:1.Recognize story grammars.2.Note language differences as observed in literature.3.Analyze character motivations.
Stories: a universal tradition Tales reflect a people’s concept of
themselves: (Miller, 1995).
Same stories: different audiences
Worthy Resources Related to Folk Literature Bourke, R. T. (2008). First graders and fairy tales: One teacher’s action
research on critical literacy. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 304-312. EDSITEment Lesson Plans. National Endowment for the Humanities.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/. Florentine, M., & Smith, R. (2006). Collaborating on a fairy tale
newspaper. Book Links, 19-21. Goforth, F. S., & Spillman, C. V. (1994). Using folk literature in the
classroom: Encouraging children to read and write. Phoenix: Oryx Press. Grebin, M. (2002). Fairy tales get real. November/December 2002.
www.TeachingK-8.com/. Winner, M. C. (2008). The great fairy tale mix-up. School Library Media
Activities Monthly, 24(8), 12-14. Young, T. A. (2004). Happily ever after. Newark, DE: IRA.
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