Lesson Overview:

Students will explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales, while learning how these tales built the spirit of American people. Students will identify the tall tale elements. Students will interpret folktale characters by reading a Puerto Rican tale and comparing it to other tales and the characters found in them. They will also classify characters.

Length of Lesson:

Four 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• use strategic reading behaviors to construct, extend, and examine meaning for a variety of texts.
• interact with texts using the following reading stances: developing interpretation and personal reflections and responses.
• prewrite, draft, revise, and proofread as part of a strategic approach to effective writing.
• develop interpretation for a variety of texts and purposes by revisiting the text to clarify, verify, and revise their understanding.
• develop a personal response to the text by considering students' prior knowledge and information from the text.
• use the four stages of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and proofreading.

Supplies:

• Copies of the following folktales from Reading Literature (see Sources section for complete bibliographic information):
  • "Juan Bobo and the Princess Who Answered Riddles"
  • "Two Ways to Count to Ten"
  • "The King and the Shirt"
  • "The Learned Son"

Instructional Plan:

Providing Background

Many folktales incorporate the motif of an unwise character, often called a fool. The theme of the unlikely suitor winning the hand of a princess appears in a number of fairy tales. "Rumplestiltskin" and "The Princess Who Couldn't Cry" are two examples. Ask students to think about why this notion of an unlikely candidate winning out is so appealing. (Such tales give readers and listeners hope that individual merit, not one's station in life, makes anything possible.)

Using Prior Knowledge

Read the following riddles to the class. Call on volunteers to give the answers:

• What has an eye but cannot see? (Answer: a needle)
• When is a door not a door? (Answer: when it is ajar)

To stimulate interest in riddles, use the following questions:

• Do you know any riddles? (Call on students to share their riddles, and have other students answer.)
• What makes a riddle different from a joke? (Answer: A joke is told to provoke laughter; a riddle challenges the listener's imagination and wit.)

Setting a Purpose

Answering riddles is frequently a technique used in folktales to reveal a character's wit or lack thereof. As you read the tale, "Juan Bobo and the Princess Who Answered Riddles," find out what happened to the town fool when he tried to win the Princess.

Through discussion and/or writing, have students respond to the following questions:

• Literal: What do the contestants have to do to win the King's daughter? What will happen to them if they fail? What are the events that Juan Bobo includes in his riddle (students should state the events in the correct order)? What happens on each of the three nights that the Princess tries to figure out the riddle?
• Interpretive: The Princess is clever at solving riddles. What proof of her skill is given? Read Juan Bobo's riddle. Is cleverness important in figuring out the answer? Or is it more important to know what has happened to Juan on the way to the castle? Give reasons for your answer.
• Critical: Is the King right in believing that someone who can make up such a difficult riddle is sure to be intelligent? Support your answer.

Interpreting Character

Think about the things that Juan does in the tale. He figures out what causes Panda's death. He makes up a riddle. He thinks ahead and demands the Princess's shoe and ring. He escapes beheading and marries the Princess. Do these actions seem to be the actions of a fool? What quality do you think Juan Bobo actually represents: cleverness, foolishness, or good luck?

Appreciating Tales

This tale might be seen as a fool tale. But does Juan Bobo really act like a fool? This tale also shares some similarities with fairy tales. It has a "once upon a time" setting. Does the story seem to take place in a fantasy world? Is the main purpose of the tale to amuse? Or does the tale teach a lesson the way fables do?

Understanding Point of View

This tale is told by an outsider who knows the entire story. Does the storyteller tell only what he or she sees? Or does the storyteller tell what goes on inside a character's mind? Find examples to support your answer.

Critical Thinking—Classifying Characters

Draw a chart with two columns. Label the first column "Clever Characters" and the second "Foolish Characters." Have students fill in their own chart, listing characters from this tale as well as those from other tales. Have them give reasons for their answers. Accept alternative answers that students can support with evidence from the selections. Then have students answer these questions, explaining their answers:

• Does a clever character always use his or her cleverness against a fool?
• Does a fool always get tricked by a clever character?

Comparing Tales

Compare the events in "Two Ways to Count to Ten" to the events in "Juan Bobo and the Princess Who Answered Riddles." Some of the events in the two tales are alike. Others are different. Compare the tales in two paragraphs. Explain the similarities in the first paragraph and the differences in the second paragraph.

Writing Activity

Prewriting:

Have students work with a partner to complete this step. Using a Venn diagram, list at least three or more details and categorize the similarities and differences between the stories.

Drafting:

Have students use the details in their prewriting notes to develop the two paragraphs.

Revising:

Have students work with a partner to read and revise drafts. Tell them to ask for comments about their choice of details in each paragraph.

Proofreading:

Have students review their work and make corrections. After students have completed this writing assignment, have them write another two-paragraph compare/contrast composition about the characters (instead of the events) in the two stories.

Assessment:

Evaluation will be based on students' participation in discussion, as well as the quality of their written responses. The teacher should develop a rubric or checklist to assess the writing assignments. See the accompanying Sample Checklist and Sample Rubric for reference.

Extensions:

Folktales frequently have the motif of the unwise character. Stith Thompson counted and categorized such characters in his book, Motif—Index of Folk Literature (see below in Teacher References). He found that fools appeared in more than a thousand stories. The following list is a sample of types of fools:

• Fools (general)
• Absurd misunderstandings
• Absurd disregard of facts
• Gullible fools
• Talkative fools
• Inquisitive fools
• Foolish imitation
• Literal fools
• Thankful fools
• Cowardly fools
• Bungling fools

Have students research these types of characters in folktales and then have them create a character sketch of an original, unwise character they might use in a story. Have them write a short monologue or work in groups to write a short script to describe and demonstrate the original, unwise character. This skit should clearly show the type of fool that the character is through the character's actions, words, expressions, and body language.

Sources:

Print:

• Chaparro, Jacqueline L., and Mary Ann Trost. Reading Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal, Littel and Company, 1989.
• Thompson, Stith. Motif—Index of Folk Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990.

Authors:

• Kathy Cook, Teacher
  Thomas Pullen Arts Magnet School
  Landover, MD