Folk Tales Stories of a People

Folk tales are stories that teach a lesson and are passed down orally to each generation.

There are several types of folk tales: Type of Folk Tale Example Purpose Folk Tale Tall Tale/Legend Myth Fable Ballad Nursery Rhyme

Literary Terms Motif—an element of a story that is used in many stories from many cultures Ex—the damsel in distress; the wicked stepmother; trickster tales Denotation—the dictionary definition of a word Connotation—your personal definition of a word

Connotations of a Snake

Connotations of a Trickster

The Magic Number The number shows up again and again in many different stories. Examples:

More Literary Terms Colloquialism—informal speech; slang Dialect—the way people from certain areas speak, including expressions and accents Accent—the way people pronounce words

“Brer Possum’s Dilemma” Questions—page 597 List three examples of the magic number from this story. What dialect does this story sound like?

“Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion” Questions—page 575 List two examples of the magic number from this story. What dialect is used in this story? Explain how this is possible if this story came from Africa.

Tall Tales A tall tale is a story, sometimes about real people, that has been exaggerated

Literary Term Hyperbole—an extreme exaggeration

The King of the Wild Frontier Davy Crockett was a real frontiersman and a hero of the Alamo. The Whigs created these tall tales about him because they wanted to get him elected to Congress.

Davy Is Born Questions List five examples of hyperbole. What two statements do you think the authors included specifically to make people think Davy Crockett would be a good Congressman?

Davy and the Frozen Dawn Read this story independently. Underline examples of hyperbole. Keep this story in your notebook.

“Paul Bunyan’s Cornstalk” Question—page 188 (blue) List three examples of hyperbole. What does this story explain about our world?

Irony Irony is when what happens is different from what you expect to happen. It is often used to create humor. Ex—It would be ironic for a teacher to tell a loud class to speak up because she can’t hear them.

3 Types of Irony Verbal Irony is when what is said is different from what is expected. Situational Irony is when the events of a story are different from what is expected. Dramatic Irony is when the audience knows things the characters do not.

Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is clues in a story that let you know what will happen later.

Irony in “The Ransom of Red Chief” Verbal irony— Situational irony— Dramatic irony—

Foreshadowing in “Red Chief”

Fables Fables are very short stories that teach a lesson. They usually have talking animals. Giving animals human characteristics, like talking, is called personification.

Aesop’s Fables Aesop is the most famous fable writer. He lived in Greece 2500 years ago and wrote these fables to warn politicians about their bad behaviors. Some of his most famous fables are “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Lion and the Mouse.”

Fable Questions Name the story. What is the lesson of this story? What animals are in the story? And why do you think he chose these animals to be in his story?

Writing a Fable List 2 or 3 annoying behaviors: List potential animals:

Your Fable Must Include… 1-3 animals that match the characteristics they represent A title that names the animals you used Dialogue (talking) for each animal 100-300 words A sentence with the lesson at the end

Folk Tale Quiz 1 Tuesday, December 4 Includes questions about “Brer Possum,” “Coyote Steals the Sun & Moon,” “Brer Lion,” “The Lion and the Mouse,” “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, and “The Ransom of Red Chief.” Includes definitions of all terms we discussed so far (i.e. irony, personification)