1. Plot Features of Folktales Developed by Amy Thornton Dyer School

2. FOLKTALES Folktales are stories that grow out of the lives & imaginations of the people, of folk.

3. FOLKTALES Folktales began as an attempt to explain the natural & spiritual world. They began orally.

4. FOLKTALES Folktales have been passed from: generation to generation country to country

5. FOLKTALES Each teller of a folktale would slightly change the words. Folktales changed a great deal through this retelling process.

6. FOLKTALES There are several different kinds of folktales: Cumulative (There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly) Talking Beast (The Three Little Pigs) Humorous Tales (silly stories) Realistic Stories (Blue Beard) Romances (Beauty & the Beast) Tales of magic (Aladdin)

7. FOLKTALES Folktales begin with an introduction naming the: »characters »setting (often a road, bridge or forest) »conflict / problem

8. FOLKTALES After the introduction is the development of the plot. Action mounts until the climax (where the problem will be solved) The hero or heroine faces many obstacles and is usually helpless just before the climax.

9. FOLKTALES The conclusion is usually short and sweet. In the end, everything is resolved: the heroes are happy and the villains are punished can end with “and they lived happily ever after”

10. FOLKTALES The plot is important and the characters are “shallow”.

11. FOLKTALES A folktale usually starts quickly and is action packed.

12. FOLKTALES There is usually humor and a sense of justice-- good is rewarded and evil is punished.

13. FOLKTALES The Rajah’s Rice is an Indian Folktale Check out this website with other folktales: http://www.4to40.com/folktales/default.asp?article=folktales_index

14. FOLKTALES Watch this folktale about Chinese children’s names. Pay attention to the factors that make it a folktale. Watch Tikki Tikki TemboWatch Tikki Tikki Tembo (9 minutes)

15. Tikki Tembo Tikki Tembo

16. Tikki Tikki Tembo Who are the main characters? Who falls into the well first? What does the man use to get him out? Why does Chang have trouble helping his brother? How do the two brothers feel about one another? What is the setting?

17. Your Turn To learn how to write your own folktale visit: http://teacher.scholastic.com /writewit/mff/folktalewshop _index.htm http://teacher.scholastic.com /writewit/mff/folktalewshop _index.htm