1. Folktales, Myths, and Legends From Around the World
A Most Amazing Race
Folktales, Myths, and Legends
From Around the World

2. Folktale Characteristics
1. All folktales originally began as stories told by word of mouth.
What does this mean about the original form of the stories?

3. Folktale Characteristics
2. All folktales have a moral or teach a lesson.
What is a moral?

4. Folktale Characteristics
3. Many old folktales explain how something came to be. These are called “creation myths.”
Before science could explain actions and reactions, storytellers would attempt to explain the unexplainable with folktales.

5. Folktale Characteristics
4. Characters in folktales are usually animals or people.
Many old Native American myths use animals as characters to describe how things came to be.
Human characters in folktales can range from royalty to peasants, heroes to villains, princes to princesses.

6. Folktale Characteristics
5. Usually a character in a folktale must face an impossible test.
Name some stories you know where a character had to face an impossible test.

7. Folktale Characteristics
6. Many folktales contain the Rule of Three. Characters and events seem to happen in threes.
Name some stories you know where there are three things …

8. Types of Folktales Fairytales Characters are usually royalty.
Characters usually face a test.
Setting is usually, “Once upon
a time in a far off place.”
Themes usually include good
vs. evil and dark vs. light.

9. Types of Folktales Myths Characters are usually gods or
god-like creatures.
They usually explain how
something came to be or how
something was created.
These are some of the oldest
types of folktales.

10. Types of Folktales Legends Usually specific to a certain
area, but some similar legends
appear in different areas.
Legends are usually based on
fact but extraordinary details
have been added.
Different types include: urban
legends, personal legends,
local legends, and
supernatural legends.

11. A Most Amazing Race