Folktale Reading Assignments
Name/Group Members: _______________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________
Block ____________________
Choose 3 stories in any Tic-Tac-Toe Pattern.
I / we chose to read: #__________, #_________, #_________
1) "Rumpelstiltskin"
(Brothers Grimm)
With the help of a strange little
man, a young woman
accomplishes the impossible task
of spinning straw into gold, but she
must promise to give him her
firstborn child in return.
4) "Khodumodumo"
(African folktale)
Hiding from a shapeless ogre who
is devouring every creature in its
path, a woman gives birth to a boy
who immediately grows to
adulthood, slays the beast, and
cuts the people and animals free
from its body.
6) Aniz the Shepherd
(Chinese folktale)
Aniz is a young shepherd boy who
loves to play his flute. Although his
flute-playing does not interfere with
his work, it aggravates his wealthy
landlord. When the landlord beats
him and crushes his flute to pieces,
Aniz finds help from an elderly
stranger.
2) "Orpheus and Eurydice"
(Greek myth)
When Eurydice, wife of the great
musician Orpheus, dies from a
snakebite, her husband descends
into the underworld and, through the
beauty of his singing, persuades the
rulers of Hades to release her. He is
permitted to take Eurydice back with
him on one condition: he must not
turn around and look at her until they
have reached the surface.
Your Choice
Pick any one of the tales
from the menu to be your
third tale.
7) “The Charmed Ring”
(Hindu folktale)
A merchant’s son is thought a fool
for spending his inheritance to save
the lives of three animals, but these
very creatures help him gain a magic
ring and the hand of a beautiful
princess.
3) "Creation of the World"
(Norse myth)
In this excerpt from "Voluspo"
("The Sibyl's Vision"), a wise
woman relates how Othin (Odin)
and his fellow gods created the
world from the body of the frostgiant Ymir.
5) "The Devil with the Three
Golden Hairs"
(Brothers Grimm)
To prove himself worthy of the
King's daughter, a young man
must enter Hell and bring back
three golden hairs plucked from
the Devil's head.
8) “Thomas the Rhymer”
(Scottish ballad)
Thomas goes willingly to Faerie
when the Queen of Elfland
entices him to spend seven years
with her. During their marvelous
journey, the lady shows him three
roads from which he must
choose: one to Heaven, one to
Hell, and one to Elfland.
Assignment
Part 1: As you read, look for examples of each of the Academic Vocabulary terms. Use the
chart below to check off each term that you find evidence for in the story.
Vocabulary
Term
Story:
Story:
Story:
____________ ____________ ____________
EPIC
EPIC HERO
ARCHETYPES
EPIC SIMILE
EPITHET
ALLUSION
ORAL TRADITION
FAERIE
MYTH
FOLKTALE
MOTIF
EUCATASTROPHE
Part 2: For each story, choose three of the terms that apply and cite evidence from the text
demonstrating how the term applies to the story. Use the cloze statement below to help guide
your responses. You may need to change the wording of the sentence to fit your response.
You will need to write your answers on a separate piece of paper. You should have a total of 9
sentences.
_____________________ demonstrates _____________________ when _______________.
(Name of story)
(Academic Vocabulary term)
(what happens in the text)
Part 3: Choose one person from your group to enter your group’s answers in the appropriate
place on Edmodo. Be sure you all agree on the responses and that you have given sufficient
evidence from the story to support your statement.