Lesson Overview:

Students are introduced to the genre of folktales and engage in a study of several Russian folktales. They are asked to read the tales aloud, and then fill in a chart about each one. They then analyze the charts, answering questions about the folktales’ setting, main characters, and "uniquely Russian" attributes. They also compare and contrast Russian folktales they may have heard as young children. A culminating creative writing assignment is included.

Length of Lesson:

Four 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• read several Russian folktales.
• identify the elements of the tale that seem to be typically Russian.
• organize their answers into a chart.
• analyze their answers.
• compare their answers with other students.

Instructional Plan:

Day One

Have students give examples of folktales and nursery rhymes that they heard when they were younger. What were the settings of these tales? Did each tale have a moral? What were the characters like?

Discuss the definition of a folktale. (Folktales are short, fictional stories that may be set in any time and place, and often teach a moral lesson. Originally, they were passed down orally among members of a certain culture.) Ask students to list folktales that they heard as children. Point out the ways in which folktales differ from fairy tales. (A fairy tale is a special type of folktale that usually includes magical or supernatural elements such as fairies, witches, or spells.)

Ask students to list the American folktales they have heard (these may include tall tales about characters such as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, or Johnny Appleseed).

Explain that in Russia, folktales originated among the peasants and in the villages. They were part of an oral tradition, passed down from generation to generation. Many of these tales were gathered in serial form, from 1855 to 1864, by an ethnographer named Afanas’ev. The tales were first published in England, using the English translations of the original tales.

Tell students that for many centuries, literature was only allowed to be written in the Russian language within the Russian Orthodox Church; this is why the folktales were first published in England. As written, Russian folktales sound more like orations, because they have been retold and retold.

Explain that in the 18th century, folktakes became more and more common in literature, with the aristocracy preferring the writing of Pushkin, Dostoyesky and Tolstoy. The Russian folktales that have been passed down through the years are imbued with elements of Russian culture and history: the forest, snow, wooden huts, village dances, the tsar, boyars, fur hats, etc.

Have students read at least three Russian folktales. Folktales are available online at the Russian Folktales site or in the books listed in the Sources section. If using Internet resources, you may wish to download the tales and distribute copies to the students.

Distribute the copies of the Russian Folktales Chart. Have students read the folktales together, aloud or to themselves. As they read, have them fill out the chart. This should take the whole period.

Day Two

Have each student bring a completed Russian Folktales Chart to class. Allow students to compare their findings. Refer back to the previous day's discussion of the familiar American folktales. Ask students whether they think that people can learn about the values, culture, and geography of America through its folktales. What sort of things are typically "American" about the settings, characters, and moral lessons in these tales?

Next, ask students to consider the Russian folktales they have read. Referencing their completed charts, students should discuss any similarities between the different Russian folktales. Record responses on the board, or create a Venn diagram to compare the tales.

Ask students to answer the following questions:

• What can be learned from Russia through its folktales?
• How did Russians live in the past?
• What did they eat and drink?
• What were their fears and joys?
• Did the tales have exaggerations, or characters with special abilities?
• Did the stories have morals?
• Did they refer to any historical occurrences?

Ask students to list the elements that appeared to be typical of Russian folktales. Did any of the Russian folk tales have items in common? Engage students in a discussion about what folktales teach us about the culture from which they originated.

Ask students to complete one of the following culminating activities:

Option 1:
Have students select one of the Russian folktales they studied. Tell them that they will be adapting that folktale into a new American folktale. They should look at the elements that they have identified as being typically "Russian" and think about how they could adapt the tale with typically "American" elements. (Teacher note: See the ARTSEDGE lesson Writing Folktales.)

Option 2:
Break students into cooperative groups and have them collaborate to write a script based on one of the folktales studied in class. (When the script is complete, have students act out the folktale for the class.)

Assessment:

Have students write a short paragraph detailing aspects of Russian folktales. The essays should discuss the extent to which Russian folktakes reveal elements of Russian culture.

Sources:

Print:

• Afanasev, Alexander. Russian Fairy Tales. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
• Chandler, Robert, trans. Russian Folk Tales. Illustrated by Ivan Bilibin. New York: Random House, 1980.
• Onassis, Jacqueline, ed. The Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales. Illustrated by Boris Zvorykin. New York: Viking Press, 1978.

Authors:

• Julie Steimel, Teacher
  Eleanor Roosevelt High School
  Greenbelt, Maryland