Folktales, Fables, Legends, Fairy Tales

Genre Study

Folktales: Elements• A folktale is a type of traditional story that tries to

explain or understand the world.

• They are NOT considered to be true.

• Orally passed down through the generations and feature morals or lessons. Over many generations, the story may change, but its core remains the same.

• Usually take place long ago in a faraway place

• Talking animals, royalty, peasants, or mythical creatures

• Goodness is always rewarded. Heroes and heroines live happily ever after while villains are suitably punished.

• Usually have no identified author, but they mirror the values and culture of the society from which they came.

Folktales: Examples

• T

Folktales: Class Mentor Text

Fables: Elements

• A fictional story that often involves magical creatures and places and has a moral to the story it tells.

• Include elements of the natural environment where the fable came from, along with native animals, forests, lakes, and other features of the region

• Told as a good way of educating children in proper behavior

Fables: Examples

• The Hare and the Tortoise

Fables: Class Mentor Text

Legends: Elements

• Stories that were once believed to be true, but its content has turned out to be fictional.

• Exaggerated, but within an area of possibility and are believable

• Contain a moral or meaning that is revealed within the story. (This is why these stories have been passed down over time.)

• Is focused on individual people and their accomplishments

• Fictional heroes or real people whose deeds have been exaggerated. They were either so lifelike or so admirable that people wished they were real!

Legends: Examples

• T

Legends: Class Mentor Text

Fairy Tales: Elements

• Characters: fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants, gnomes

• Magic or enchantments• Good wins over evil, the

bad are punished, and the good prosper.

Fairy Tales: Examples

• T

Fairy Tales: Class Mentor Text