Children's Traditional Literature Unit Study--From Fables to Fairytales
For our little two family co-op I wrote an elementary literature unit study that explored all sorts of traditional literature: fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales. It was so much fun to find stories that would fit each theme and by the end, each of our 3 littles could list each type of story and what characteristics each type contained. This unit is roughly 18 lessons, but could easily be lengthened or shortened. The children in our class were between 5 and 8 years old, but our two 10 year olds joined us from time to time when a particular story caught their interest.
I've included many links and web addresses to the books, activities, and coloring pages. Most all the book selections can be purchased through Amazon, or checked out from your local library.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Fables
Elements of a fable: fictitious (not true or real)
instructs in some kind of truth (moral)
animals are usually the main characters and take on human characteristics such
talking, wearing clothing, and standing upright
Introduce and read a bit about Aesop
Choose and read several of Aesop's famous fables (many can be found online, or you can purchase a compilation of Aesop's Fables). After reading each fable have students identify the elements that make the story a fable.
Enrichment activity: Choose a fable to draw
Lesson 2: Modernized Versions of Aesop's Fables
Review elements of a fable
Read newer versions of some favorite classic fables that have been made into popular children's books such as Jan Brett's The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, The Tortoise and the Hare, and the Lion and the Mouse both by Jerry Pinkney. After reading each fable have students identify the elements that make the story a fable.
Enrichment activity: Choose a fable for students to act out.
Lesson 3: Modern Fables
Review elements of a fable
Read modern fables such as Fredrick's Fables by Leo Leonni and Fables by Arnold Lobel
(Fredrick's Fables is a family favorite. Some of the stories are fairly quirky and odd). After reading each fable have students identify the elements that make the story a fable.
Enrichment activity: Have students either narrate a fable of their own or draw a picture of their own fable.
Lesson 4: Introduction to Myths
Review elements of fables.
Elements of myths: fictitious
main characters are usually gods and goddesses or demigods/goddesses
stories were meant to explain elements of the natural world and world origins
(i.e. how fire was given to man, how the sun and moon move across the sky, how
different constellations came into being)
Introduce Ancient Egyptian mythology, gods and goddesses and their dominions. This website is a great resource: http://www.historyforkids.net/egyptian-gods.html
Introduce Ancient Greek and Roman mythology, gods, and goddesses and their dominions. It is fun to compare each Greek god with its Roman counterpart. This website is a great resource: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Greek_Gods_vs_Roman_Gods
Read from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
Enrichment activity: Have students either draw their favorite mythological god or story or print god/goddess coloring pages for students to color.
Lesson 5: Norse Mythology
Review elements of fables and myths
Introduce Norse mythology. This website is a great place to start: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/beliefs_and_stories/
Read from D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Mythology
Enrichment activity: Have students draw a picture from Norse mythology or print a coloring page for students to color.
Lesson 6: Other Myths
Review elements of fables and myths
Read myths from other countries and cultures. We read from African Myths and Legends by Dianne Stewart and Jay Heale, and Myths and Legends from Around the World by Sandy Shepherd
Enrichment activity: Choose a natural occurring phenomenon (such as lightening, a local river, favorite constellation) and have student narrate or illustrate an original myth about the phenomenon.
Lesson 7: Introduction to Legends
Review elements of fables and myths
Elements of legends: depict real events or people
stories are exaggerated
elements of mystery and magic are often present
Read Irish Legends for Children by Yvonne Carroll
Enrichment activity: Have students draw a picture of one of the legends or color a celtic coloring page
Lesson 8: Christmas Legends
(I arranged my lesson plans so the Christmas legends lesson fell during the last week of Advent)
Review elements of fables, myths, and legends
Read The Legend of the Poinsettia and The Legend of Old Befana both by Tomie dePaolo
Read from Christmas Stories and Legends
Enrichment activity: Print coloring pages of poinsettias for students to color. This website has a pretty and simple one: http://beccysplace.blogspot.com/2012/12/poinsettia-freebie.html
Lesson 9: Native American Legends
Review elements of fables, myths, and legends
Read The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, and The Legend of the Blue Bonnet by Tomie dePaolo
Read Buffalo Woman by Paul Goble
Enrichment activity: Print out coloring pages of Indian Paintbrush, Blue Bonnets and/or Buffalo for students to color. Bluebonnets: http://www.coloringpagebook.com/bluebonnet-flowers-coloring-pages/ Indian Paintbrush: http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/wyoming-indian-paintbrush
Buffalo: http://www.daycoloringpages.com/2013/05/printable-zoo-animals-coloring-pages-for-kids/buffalo-coloring-pages-picture-4/
Lesson 10: Introduction to American Tall Tales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends
Elements of Tall Tales: American Tall Tales originated as tales told around the campfires of cowboys
and pioneers
most often about real people and historical times
characters have super human powers
historical elements but greatly exaggerated
humorous problem solving
Read The Birth of Davy Crockett, John Henry, Febold Feboldson, First Citizen of Nebraska, Johnny Appleseed! Johnny Appleseed! from From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs.
Enrichment activity: Research the real characters and help students distinguish between historical facts and tall tale exaggeration.
Lesson 11: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, and Tall Tales
Read several of the classic tall tales about Paul Bunyan and Babe. There are all sorts of books and websites devoted to these tales, any should do. We used this website: http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/paul-bunyan/
Enrichment activity: Print coloring pages featuring Paul Bunyan and Babe for students to color.
Paul Bunyan: https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/tall-tales-paul-bunyan/
Other Paul Bunyan printable: https://www.thoughtco.com/paul-bunyan-printables-1832438
Lesson 12: Narrate/Illustrate an Original Tall Tale
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, and tall tales
Have students come up with a tall tale character of their own based on themselves. Come up with problems they might need to solve and then have them narrate and/or illustrate a humorous way in which their character might solve the problem.
Alternatively, read several more American Tall Tales, such as Old Stormalong, Pecos Bill, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett--many of which can be found online or in From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs
Lesson 13: Introduction to Folktales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, and tall tales
Elements of Folktales: fanciful stories that may have some elements of truth but are mostly fiction
usually part of an oral tradition passed down through generations
usually part of a cultural heritage
Read It Could Always be Worse by Margo Zemach, Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, and Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
Enrichment activity: Have students draw a scene from one of the stories
Lesson 14: Fractured Folktales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, and folktales
Read any version of the classic Three Little Pigs story then read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and compare the two.
Read any version of the classic Gingerbread Man then read Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett and The Stinky Cheese Man from The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
Lesson 15: American Folktales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, and folktales
Read The Girl Who Loved Horses by Paul Goble
Read George Washington and the Cherry Tree from The Children's Book of Virtues edited by William Bennett
Read selections from The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit
Lesson 16: Introduction to Fairy tales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, and folktales
Elements of fairytales: fictitious
usually set in the far past
usually include magic and/or fantasy elements: people, objects, animals
often incorporate 3--3 events, 3 people, 3 objects
clearly defined good and evil characters
usually have a happy ending
Read several fairy tales from a favorite book of fairytales (exclude any Red Riding Hood or Cinderella tales in this reading). Our favorite fairy tale resource is The Random House Book of Fairy Tales adapted by Amy Ehrlich.
Enrichment activity: Have students draw and color a picture of their favorite fairy tale
Lesson 17: Red Riding Hood Around the World
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales
Read Little Red Riding Hood retold by Trina Schart Hyman
Read Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
Read stories from Little Red Riding Hood and Other Girls Who Got Lost in the Woods by Amelia Carruthers
Enrichment activity: Have students draw and color a Red Riding Hood picture
Lesson 18: Cinderella Around the World
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales
Read any classic version of Cinderella
Read The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin
Read Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Read The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirly Climo
Read Adelita by Tomie dePaolo
Read Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ed Young
Enrichment: Have students draw and color a picture of their favorite version of Cinderella. Watch a version of Cinderella for a family movie night.
Lesson 19: Bonus Fairy Tale Lesson on Rumplestiltskin and Rapunzel
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales
Read any classic version of Rumplestiltskin
Read Duffy and the Devil by Harve and Margot Zemach
Read and classic version of Rupunzel
Read Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora (I presented a project on Rachel Isadora in graduate school, so she is a favorite children's author of mine)
Enrichment activity: Watch Disney's Tangled
I've included many links and web addresses to the books, activities, and coloring pages. Most all the book selections can be purchased through Amazon, or checked out from your local library.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Fables
Elements of a fable: fictitious (not true or real)
instructs in some kind of truth (moral)
animals are usually the main characters and take on human characteristics such
talking, wearing clothing, and standing upright
Introduce and read a bit about Aesop
Choose and read several of Aesop's famous fables (many can be found online, or you can purchase a compilation of Aesop's Fables). After reading each fable have students identify the elements that make the story a fable.
Enrichment activity: Choose a fable to draw
Lesson 2: Modernized Versions of Aesop's Fables
Review elements of a fable
Read newer versions of some favorite classic fables that have been made into popular children's books such as Jan Brett's The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, The Tortoise and the Hare, and the Lion and the Mouse both by Jerry Pinkney. After reading each fable have students identify the elements that make the story a fable.
Enrichment activity: Choose a fable for students to act out.
Lesson 3: Modern Fables
Review elements of a fable
Read modern fables such as Fredrick's Fables by Leo Leonni and Fables by Arnold Lobel
(Fredrick's Fables is a family favorite. Some of the stories are fairly quirky and odd). After reading each fable have students identify the elements that make the story a fable.
Enrichment activity: Have students either narrate a fable of their own or draw a picture of their own fable.
Lesson 4: Introduction to Myths
Review elements of fables.
Elements of myths: fictitious
main characters are usually gods and goddesses or demigods/goddesses
stories were meant to explain elements of the natural world and world origins
(i.e. how fire was given to man, how the sun and moon move across the sky, how
different constellations came into being)
Introduce Ancient Egyptian mythology, gods and goddesses and their dominions. This website is a great resource: http://www.historyforkids.net/egyptian-gods.html
Introduce Ancient Greek and Roman mythology, gods, and goddesses and their dominions. It is fun to compare each Greek god with its Roman counterpart. This website is a great resource: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Greek_Gods_vs_Roman_Gods
Read from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
Enrichment activity: Have students either draw their favorite mythological god or story or print god/goddess coloring pages for students to color.
Lesson 5: Norse Mythology
Review elements of fables and myths
Introduce Norse mythology. This website is a great place to start: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/beliefs_and_stories/
Read from D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Mythology
Enrichment activity: Have students draw a picture from Norse mythology or print a coloring page for students to color.
Lesson 6: Other Myths
Review elements of fables and myths
Read myths from other countries and cultures. We read from African Myths and Legends by Dianne Stewart and Jay Heale, and Myths and Legends from Around the World by Sandy Shepherd
Enrichment activity: Choose a natural occurring phenomenon (such as lightening, a local river, favorite constellation) and have student narrate or illustrate an original myth about the phenomenon.
Lesson 7: Introduction to Legends
Review elements of fables and myths
Elements of legends: depict real events or people
stories are exaggerated
elements of mystery and magic are often present
Read Irish Legends for Children by Yvonne Carroll
Enrichment activity: Have students draw a picture of one of the legends or color a celtic coloring page
Lesson 8: Christmas Legends
(I arranged my lesson plans so the Christmas legends lesson fell during the last week of Advent)
Review elements of fables, myths, and legends
Read The Legend of the Poinsettia and The Legend of Old Befana both by Tomie dePaolo
Read from Christmas Stories and Legends
Enrichment activity: Print coloring pages of poinsettias for students to color. This website has a pretty and simple one: http://beccysplace.blogspot.com/2012/12/poinsettia-freebie.html
Lesson 9: Native American Legends
Review elements of fables, myths, and legends
Read The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, and The Legend of the Blue Bonnet by Tomie dePaolo
Read Buffalo Woman by Paul Goble
Enrichment activity: Print out coloring pages of Indian Paintbrush, Blue Bonnets and/or Buffalo for students to color. Bluebonnets: http://www.coloringpagebook.com/bluebonnet-flowers-coloring-pages/ Indian Paintbrush: http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/wyoming-indian-paintbrush
Buffalo: http://www.daycoloringpages.com/2013/05/printable-zoo-animals-coloring-pages-for-kids/buffalo-coloring-pages-picture-4/
Lesson 10: Introduction to American Tall Tales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends
Elements of Tall Tales: American Tall Tales originated as tales told around the campfires of cowboys
and pioneers
most often about real people and historical times
characters have super human powers
historical elements but greatly exaggerated
humorous problem solving
Read The Birth of Davy Crockett, John Henry, Febold Feboldson, First Citizen of Nebraska, Johnny Appleseed! Johnny Appleseed! from From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs.
Enrichment activity: Research the real characters and help students distinguish between historical facts and tall tale exaggeration.
Lesson 11: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, and Tall Tales
Read several of the classic tall tales about Paul Bunyan and Babe. There are all sorts of books and websites devoted to these tales, any should do. We used this website: http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/paul-bunyan/
Enrichment activity: Print coloring pages featuring Paul Bunyan and Babe for students to color.
Paul Bunyan: https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/tall-tales-paul-bunyan/
Other Paul Bunyan printable: https://www.thoughtco.com/paul-bunyan-printables-1832438
Lesson 12: Narrate/Illustrate an Original Tall Tale
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, and tall tales
Have students come up with a tall tale character of their own based on themselves. Come up with problems they might need to solve and then have them narrate and/or illustrate a humorous way in which their character might solve the problem.
Alternatively, read several more American Tall Tales, such as Old Stormalong, Pecos Bill, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett--many of which can be found online or in From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs
Lesson 13: Introduction to Folktales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, and tall tales
Elements of Folktales: fanciful stories that may have some elements of truth but are mostly fiction
usually part of an oral tradition passed down through generations
usually part of a cultural heritage
Read It Could Always be Worse by Margo Zemach, Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, and Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
Enrichment activity: Have students draw a scene from one of the stories
Lesson 14: Fractured Folktales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, and folktales
Read any version of the classic Three Little Pigs story then read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and compare the two.
Read any version of the classic Gingerbread Man then read Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett and The Stinky Cheese Man from The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
Lesson 15: American Folktales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, and folktales
Read The Girl Who Loved Horses by Paul Goble
Read George Washington and the Cherry Tree from The Children's Book of Virtues edited by William Bennett
Read selections from The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit
Lesson 16: Introduction to Fairy tales
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, and folktales
Elements of fairytales: fictitious
usually set in the far past
usually include magic and/or fantasy elements: people, objects, animals
often incorporate 3--3 events, 3 people, 3 objects
clearly defined good and evil characters
usually have a happy ending
Read several fairy tales from a favorite book of fairytales (exclude any Red Riding Hood or Cinderella tales in this reading). Our favorite fairy tale resource is The Random House Book of Fairy Tales adapted by Amy Ehrlich.
Enrichment activity: Have students draw and color a picture of their favorite fairy tale
Lesson 17: Red Riding Hood Around the World
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales
Read Little Red Riding Hood retold by Trina Schart Hyman
Read Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
Read stories from Little Red Riding Hood and Other Girls Who Got Lost in the Woods by Amelia Carruthers
Enrichment activity: Have students draw and color a Red Riding Hood picture
Lesson 18: Cinderella Around the World
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales
Read any classic version of Cinderella
Read The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin
Read Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Read The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirly Climo
Read Adelita by Tomie dePaolo
Read Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ed Young
Enrichment: Have students draw and color a picture of their favorite version of Cinderella. Watch a version of Cinderella for a family movie night.
Lesson 19: Bonus Fairy Tale Lesson on Rumplestiltskin and Rapunzel
Review elements of fables, myths, legends, tall tales, folktales, and fairy tales
Read any classic version of Rumplestiltskin
Read Duffy and the Devil by Harve and Margot Zemach
Read and classic version of Rupunzel
Read Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora (I presented a project on Rachel Isadora in graduate school, so she is a favorite children's author of mine)
Enrichment activity: Watch Disney's Tangled
Comments