Folktale Comparison

Objectives

• Children will recognize similarities and differences between two folktales.
• Children will categorize similarities and differences using a Venn diagram.
• Children will incorporate similarities from folktales into their own version of the tale.

Materials

• Bang, Betsy. (1975). The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.
• Galdone, Paul. (1974). Little Red Riding Hood. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company
• overhead projector, markers
• paper, pencil

Procedures

1. Anticipatory set: How many of you are familiar with stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and Cinderella? These stories can be considered folk tales.
2. Ask what a folk tale is. Ans: a story passed from generation to generation
3. Where do you think these familiar stories originated from?
4. Every culture has their own folk tales. Some are as well known as The Three Little Pigs is to you. Some of the stories may also sound familiar even though they are told across the world from us.
5. The Indian culture has many folk tales
6. Read: The Old Women and the Red Pumpkin
7. Does this sound familiar? What story does it remind you of? (The Little Red Riding Hood)
8. Read: The Little Red Riding Hood. Remind children to listen for similarities to The Old Women and the Red Pumpkin.
9. This is an example of two folk tales that have some similarities although they are from two different cultures.
10. Lets make a Venn diagram using the two stories to show the similarities and differences. Review parts of Venn Diagram.
11. Draw, label, and explain the Venn diagram as a class.
12. Fill out diagram using student responses.
13. Now, we are going to write our own folk tales. Have children select an Indian Folktale. Have a collection of various Indian Tales in a classroom collection.
    Here are possible sources:
    • Duff, Maggie. (1978) Rum Pum Pum. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.
    • Gobhai, Mehlli. (1971) The Legend of the Orange Princess. New York: Holiday House, Inc.
    • Gray, J.E.B. (1961) Indian Tales and Legend. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • Haviland, Virginia (1973) Favorite Fairy Told in India. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.
    • Jaffrey, Madhur. (1985) Seasons of Spledour. New York: Atheneum.
    *You may want to select a few tales and duplicate them for multiple uses to limit the reading you must do in order to evaluate the stories.
14. After you have read the tale, write your own folk tale that has similarities with it. Then, complete a Venn diagram displaying the similarities and differences in the stories.

Evaluation

Obj. #1: I will use our class discussion to gauge the children's ability to recognize similarities and differences in the stories.

• Are the children able to state similarities and differences?
• Are all children participating?

Obj. #2: Again, I will first gauge their ability to use a Venn diagram during our class activity. However, follow-up and closer evaluation will be taken through the childrenŐs personal Venn diagram using the Indian tale and their own tale.

Obj. #3: I will read the children tales to assess this objective. (I will need to at least skim each Indian tale that is used)

• Is the story similar in some ways to the Indian tale?
• Is the story different in some ways from the Indian tale?
• Does the story show creativity and effort?