5th August 2013 Dear Parents, As part of this term`s theme on Traditional Tales, the children are going to be studying a number of stories. There are many types of stories that come under this category. Some of the ones we will cover are: 1. FAIRYTALES are a type of short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters. Examples include many of the tales written down by the Brothers Grimm (Rapunzel, Snow White, etc.) or those by Hans Christian Andersen (The Snow Queen, The Tin Soldier, The Wild Swans). 2. FOLK TALES serve to share the wisdom and experience of ordinary folk. Animals frequently feature in folk tales, alongside, or instead of, humans, both of whom succeed or fail in response to their ability to be quick‐witted. 3. FABLES are often very brief tales with few characters, an element of the fabulous and very overt morals. Animals are most often used as the characters. The most well‐known are Aesop’s Fables or those written by la Fontaine such as ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ and ‘The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse’. 4. LEGENDS usually refer to individual characters, great heroes or kings, who lived in the periods before written records. While based on truth, these have often been embellished over time. Examples include the legends of ‘Joan of Arc’, ‘King Arthur’, etc. 5. TRICKSTER TALES are stories about a trickster, or someone who is clever and tricks other characters in the story. There are many different types of Trickster Tales. There are also lots of words that we can use to describe the Tricksters, who are often the main characters of these stories. Here are some of the Traditional Tales we will be covering in class. We will be using these tales as part of our Readers Workshop with comprehension strategies with a focus on questioning. 









‘Rapunzel’ ‘3 Billy Goats Gruff’ ‘Chicken Licken’ ‘The Foolish Fox’ ‘Elves and the shoemaker’ ‘The Little Red Hen’ ‘The Ugly Duckling’ ‘The Mouse and the Elephant’ ‘How the Bear Lost its Tail’ ‘I will Get You’ 









‘The Gingerbread Man’ ‘Tikki Tikki Tembo’ ‘The Boy who Cried Wolf’ ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ ‘Hansel and Gretel’ ‘Mulan’ ‘Finn Mac Cool’ ‘Tiddalik the Thirsty Frog’ ‘Twelve Dancing Princesses’ ‘Princess and the Pea’ Task 1 For News this term, your child is invited to bring a book, about a Traditional Tale, which we will read to the class in our READ ALOUD. Attached to this letter is a roster, for when it is your child’s turn to bring a book. Yours sincerely, Nyree Summerfield