Teaching Themes
Folktales and Folklore: Everything You Need
Use these resources to teach students about folklore, have them analyze folktales that have been passed down from one generation to the next, and tell one of their own!
Online Learning Activities, Writing Activities
Folktale Writer's Workshop
Grades: 1–2, 3–5, 6–8
Share the magic of writing folktales. This activity offers tips, challenges, and guidelines to help you write and publish your own folktales.
Writing Activities, Lesson Plans, Unit Plans, Extension Activities, Teaching Guides
Tell Us a Tale: Teaching Students to Be Storytellers
Grades: 3–5, 6–8
Follow a step-by-step lesson to help even shy students find their voice and make a story their own.
What is Folklore?Grades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8 This resource will help you and your class take time to think about how and why folklore is woven into our lives. |
Writing Activities Myths, Folktales, and Fairytales: A Writing With Writers ActivityGrades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12 Scholastic’s rich resource for learning about and writing in these genres fires up students’ imaginations. Includes workshops by the pros. |
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Unit Plans Playing With Language: Tall Tales and CodesGrades: 6–8 Students brainstorm the evolution of communication, explore folktales and their elements, and study and create cryptology (secret codes). |
Writing Activities, Book Resources, Lesson Plans American Folktales and Tall TalesGrades: 3–5 Explore American tall tales and their elements. |
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Articles, Authors and Illustrators, Book Resources The Making of Tales from ShakespeareGrades: 6–8 Publisher and Senior Vice President of Scholastic, Inc. Jean Feiwel discusses working with the award-winning theater company Shakespeare &... |
Book Review: Bone: Tall TalesGrades: 3–5, 6–8 Kid Reporter Gowtham Balaji reviews Bone: Tall Tales, the latest book in the wildly popular Bone series. |
Retelling a Traditional FolktaleGrades: 1–2, 3–5 Writing and telling folktales is another way to remember our histories, and keep family stories and traditions alive in each generation. |
Finding FolkloreGrades: 1–2, 3–5, 6–8 These three categories define places and groups where you can look for different types of folklore. |
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Computer Lab Activities, Online Learning Activities, Writing Activities, Articles, Readers Theater Scripts Folktales on the WebGrades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5 This content resource includes links to various children's author sites. Teachers may use this to gather information for a classroom study on... |
Writing Activities, Book Resources, Discussion Guides The Folk Keeper Discussion GuideGrades: 6–8 As the Folk Keeper of Rhysbridge, Corinna Stonewall's job is to appease the malicious Folk. Until, on a visit to a seaside estate, Corinna wonders... |
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Book Resources, Lesson Plans Teaching With Pourquoi TalesGrades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8 Pourquoi tales are used thematically to make many subject connections through different activities. Provides a bibliography of sources and a... |
Writing Activities, Lesson Plans, Extension Activities A Tale to Tell!Grades: 3–5 Requires students to choose characters and settings, and use them to create scenes for a story. Students organize events into sequence then write... |
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Book Resources, Lesson Plans Books to Compliment The Tale of DespereauxGrades: 1–2 Lists books that compliment a reading of The Tale of Despereaux. |
"The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales"Grades: "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" |
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Book Resources, Unit Plans A Lively Read of the Tale of DespereauxGrades: 3–5 Second graders experience the joy and richness of literature as their teacher introduces them to The Tale of Despereaux. |
Articles, Book Lists Books to Complement The Tale of DespereauxGrades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5 Lists books that compliment a reading of The Tale of Despereaux. |
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Writing Activities, Writing Prompts, Extension Activities Tale of Despereaux Extension ActivityGrades: 3–5, 6–8 Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat... |
Book Resources, Lesson Plans Activity Plan 3-4: Folktale PuppetsGrades: PreK–K Children will develop cooperation, literacy, and creative-thinking skills as they work in small groups to develop a puppet show based on favorite... |









