

For example, in his works Three Hundred Ramayanas, and Where Mirrors are Windows, he talks about intertextual quality of written and oral Indian literature. Ramanujan has written a lot about context sensitivity as a theme in many cultural essays, classical poetry, and Indian folklore.
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These lesson plans and worksheets can be downloaded for free at. We also have over 45 differentiated lesson plans with worksheets that are correlated to the common core standards for Kindergarten through 2nd grade. To learn more about using folktales in the classroom, please visit or check out Margaret Read MacDonald’s award-winning book Teaching with Story at: , When children learn about diverse cultural traditions, they not only broaden their view of the world, they frequently develop a greater appreciation of their own family’s heritage.įolktales can be used in a variety of ways to help children:Īs you explore the diverse stories included in our folktale collection, please remember that all of these timeless stories share a common thread: they were preserved so they could be shared over and over again with each new generation. By experiencing stories from different cultures, children can discover valuable insights about another culture’s values, beliefs, history, practices, and customs.

įolktales by their nature celebrate diversity. You might want to learn about the common characteristics of folktales at. Engaging children in discussions about the consequences of making poorly thought-out or rash decisions, helps them see the importance of making effective decisions in their lives.

As a result, folktales can demonstrate the importance of making difficult decisions under challenging circumstances. These decisions then lead to clear consequences that carry a message: making a “good” or more responsible decision results in positive outcomes while making a “poor” or irresponsible decision inevitably leads to negative outcomes. Characters in folktales invariably encounter conflicts that require them to make difficult decisions and take action to resolve a conflict. Over time, folktales subtly incorporated character traits like caring, resourcefulness, trust, or courage into the fabric of the stories.įolktales also model the elements of effective decision-making.
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Hopefully, the person at fault would then recognize the parallel between their actions and a character’s mistakes in the story.Īs folktales were passed down over generations, they modeled behaviors and helped reinforce expectations about how to live a meaningful life. As a result, stories were often shared to intentionally clarify how a transgression had occurred. Typically, only the chief, a high priest or a shaman could confront someone over committing an offense. When people belonged to a tribe or lived in a small village, by necessity they needed to be able to get along well under a variety of circumstances and minimize conflict. Folktales were often employed to share a common history, to reinforce cultural values, or highlight important traditions. These classic stories are not only highly entertaining, they also play an important role in passing along core values or character traits. Not surprisingly, working with folktales can also help children develop the critical reading skills of phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension needed to meet the requirements defined in the Common Core Standards for Reading. As a result, folktales make it easier for children to differentiate characters, follow a plotline or recall a sequence of events. Since folktales have been passed down through the oral tradition, they were honed for listening, so they were easy to remember and share.
