7 Characteristics of a FolkTale

Folk Tales begin with “Once upon a time”, “Long, long ago”, etc.

3 characters, 3 tasks, and 3 events often appear in Folk Tales (most of the time but not always!)

Folk Tales have good and bad characters.

•7 Characteristics of a Folk Tale

Everyday people and/or animals are the characters in Folk Tales.

The good characters in Folk Tales have a problem to solve.

Phrases are repeated in Folk Tales. For example: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…”.

Folk Tales have happy endings.

7 Characteristics of a Folk Tale

Next time you hear a good folktale ask yourself-

What kind of folktale is it?