“Myths, Legends, Fables, and Folklore”ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: HOW DOES A PEOPLE’S MYTHS, LEGENDS, FABLES, & FOLKLORE AFFECT THEIR CULTURE? WHAT ARE THE COMMON THEMES PRESENT THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT CULTURE’S MYTHS, LEGENDS, FABLES, AND FOLKLORE?

Essential Questions:

1. How does a people’s myths, legends, fables, & folklore affect their culture?

2. What are the common themes present throughout different culture’s myths, legends, fables, and folklore?

Definitions: myth, legend, fable, folktale

Myth (miTH/) noun: myth; plural noun: myths

1. a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

Example: The Ancient Greek Myth of how the Olympus gods overthrew Kronos and his Titans.

Definitions: myth, legend, fable, folktale

Legend (‘lejǝnd) noun: legend; plural noun: legends

1. a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.

Example: The Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Definitions: myth, legend, fable, folktale

Fable (‘fābəl) noun: fable; plural noun: fables

1. a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

Example: Aesop’s Fables – “The Lion and the Mouse”, The Fox and the Grapes”, & “The Tortoise and the Hare”

Definitions: myth, legend, fable, folktale

Folklore, Folktale, & Fairytale

Folklore (noun) 1. the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth. (Synonyms) mythology, lore, oral history, tradition, folk tradition

Folktale (noun) 1. a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on in oral tradition

Fairytale or Fairy Tale (noun) 1. a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands.

BRAIN BREAK! Turn and Talk Turn and Talk Directions:

With your “shoulder partner” – whomever is sitting right next to your left or right – make a list of as many examples of myths, legends, and fables that you can think of in three minutes.

Then, share with another group close to yours… 2 minutes to share for each group (4 minutes total… I’m setting my timer!)

“The Quiltmaker’s Gift” by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Gail de Marcken (18 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyQUrc46KGQ

Ticket out the door questions: 1. What is the lesson of this story? 2. Describe what the quilt represents. 3. The king was very greedy, but he couldn’t stand to be mean to the Quiltmaker. Explain the difference between greediness and being mean.