Tales, Myths, Legends, and Fables
Genre Study
Before I looked into this genre; I thought fairytales, folktales, fables, legends, and myths were all pretty synonymous. However, I soon realized that they aren't. They are similar, yes, but they do have their differences. Fairytales are stories that include make-believe or imaginary people and places. They usually end in happily ever-afters. A classic example of a fairytale is Cinderella. Folktales are popular stories that have been passed down from generation to generation by oral storytelling or word-of-mouth. Many of these stories are eventually written down and turned into books, but the author is unknown. A popular folktale is the story about Jack and the Beanstalk. Fables are generally short stories that include talking animals and a moral. A well-known fable is the story of The Lion and the Mouse that teaches a lesson about friendship. A legend is similar to a folktale because it too was passed down for many generations, but these stories often include a "semi-historically true" aspect. The story of Paul Bunyun is a legend that many of us know. The story took real events from his life and exaggerated them to make him seem, well, legendary. Myths often try to explain big ideas like the beginning of the universe or why the sun goes down at night. Myths generally use supernatural beings or Gods to explain such occurences. An example of a myth is the story about Sun God, Ra from Egyptian times.
Many of the stories in this genre overlap and fit into more than just one category, but it is important to know the differences between them when teaching genres to your students or selecting books to use within your classroom. If you know what category the text falls in you'll be able to tell where the text came from and if it portrays any accurate information or if it's all just made up. When using stories from other countires, be respectful to differences and help your students build a respect for other cultures and traditions. Many of the books in this genre come with a lesson or moral already inside it, so take advantage and use them to teach students about behaviors that are expected within the classroom as well as in life. Because many of these stories have been passed down for many years, it is easy to find several different versions of the same story. A good activity idea is to have students compare different retellings of the same stories and then write their own version from a different perspective.
Book Awards
Authors
Genre Resources
Teaching Tools
Books that I Recommend
Red Ridin’ in the Hood: And Other Cuentos
Reference information for accessing the text (APA Citation): Marcantonio, P., & O, R. (2005). Red ridin' in the hood: And other cuentos. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Grade level span where the book would be considered “complex text.”: The Lexile score is 700L. The AR score is BL4.4. After looking at the language and structure of the book, I think this book would be considered a complex text in the 4-5 grade level range.
Grade level span for use as a class read aloud: 2-3
Major themes addressed in the book: There are several major themes presented throughout this book because it contains so many stories. Just looking at the Red Ridin’ in the Hood story, we see a major theme to follow directions and stay away from strangers.
Qualities of the writing that are worthy of note: This book includes a table of contents for ease of use. It also has a spanish-english glossary at the back of the book to help with vocabulary difficulties. It also includes pictures to pull the reader’s attention. Even though the pictures are in black and white, I think they still add a nice visual-it makes the stories seem a little spooky. The font is a little bit larger than what’s typically used, but it’s not a very large font that could be seen during “carpet time.”
Connections to authentic local, national, or global issues: This book ties together the traditional American Fairy Tales and the Hispanic culture. A great way to use this book within a classroom would be to compare it to the traditional version of Little Red Riding Hood.
Facets of the book that may be difficult for students and require support: Navigating the text may be difficult for younger students because there are multiple stories within the book. Also, the spanish words used throughout the story might throw off struggling readers and confuse them to the point of frustration.
Support that may be needed by students because of the difficult components of the book: In order to avoid confusion, I could copy just the pages of the story that I want to work with and hand those out to my students. Or I could do a lesson over the table of contents and make sure my students understand how to navigate a book properly. Since there are spanish words implemented throughout the story, I could do a vocabulary lesson over those words before diving into the text. I could also do a lesson to teach my students how to use the glossary to help them whenever they come across an unfamiliar word.
Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter
Reference information for accessing the text (APA Citation): Stanley, D. (1997). Rumpelstiltskin's daughter. New York: Morrow Junior Books.
Grade level span where the book would be considered “complex text.”:The Lexile score is 570L. The AR score is BL4.3. After looking at the language and structure of the book, I would place this text in the 4-5 grade level range.
Grade level span for use as a class read aloud: 2-3
Major themes addressed in the book: The major themes of this story are to not lie and to be kind.
Qualities of the writing that are worthy of note: This text contains large, very detailed and colorful illustrations. The illustrations help students comprehend the story better. The font isn’t very kid-friendly, it’s quite small.
Connections to authentic local, national, or global issues: Rumpelstiltskin lives in a castle and has knights that protect him. This could be a good way to discuss other forms of government, like how some nations have monarchies and others have democracies.
Facets of the book that may be difficult for students and require support: There is a lot of text on each page, so it may be difficult for younger students to stay engaged throughout the entire book. Some of the language also seems difficult for younger students (e.g. gnashing, clutching, longingly)
Support that may be needed by students because of the difficult components of the book: I can definitely see using this book as a read aloud book. This will help the students stay engaged, if I use the ELMO and allow them to follow along as I read. I also would do a full vocabulary lesson over the difficult words in this text, so that they are aware of them before reading them in this story.
