Trickster Tales
Theme Two: Focus on Genre
Grade Three
What are “Trickster Tales”?
• A trickster tale is a kind of folktale told all over
the world.
• The trickster is a clever animal or person who
plays tricks on other characters.
• Often it’s because the trickster is greedy or
boastful.
• Sometimes though, another character outwits
the trickster!
Genre Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Boastfulness
Being full of praise for yourself
Smart
Clever
Culture A group of people’s customs, beliefs, and traditions
Folktale A traditional story handed down by generations
Selfishness
Greediness
Bad behavior
Mischief
Features that make a person special
Qualities
Trickster A character who plays tricks or pranks on others
Applying the Vocabulary
boastfulness
culture
clever
trickster
greediness
Applying the Vocabulary
culture
mischief
folktale
qualities
clever
Trickster Tale One
Hungry Spider
A Tale from Africa and the Ashanti Tribe
Based on the title and the genre, what do you predict will happen in this story?
When else have we read or learned about the Ashanti people?
Told by Pleasant DeSpain
Character Traits
Characters in folktales often have
exaggerated traits or personalities.
Authors reveal character traits through:
• descriptions
• dialogue (conversations)
• the character’s actions and reactions
Pay attention to the character traits throughout the story.
Hungry Spider Story Map
Steps Used in the Trick
Trickster’s
Character Traits
Problem Trickster
Needs to Solve
Critical Thinking
• Why does the author begin the story with a
description of the Spider?
• Why does Spider invite Turtle to dinner,
even though he doesn’t want to share his
food?
• Why do you think Turtle invites Spider to
dinner after Spider treated him so badly?
Lesson to be Learned
What lesson can we learn from this story?
Trickster Tale Two
Rabbit Races with Turtle
Have you heard any versions of this trickster tale?
Told by Gayle Ross
Problems and Solutions
Trickster tales always have a problem and solution.
As you read, think about the different problems and
how each is solved.
Problems
Solutions
Critical Thinking
• How can you tell that this story is a
“trickster tale”?
• In “Hungry Spider”, how does politeness
cause both Spider and Turtle to be tricked?
• What details in “Rabbit Races Turtle” a
good trickster tale?
Trickster Tale Three
Aunt Fox and the Fried Fish
What will be the trick in this trickster tale?
Told by Rafael Rivero Oramas
Critical Thinking
• What details does the author provide to show why
Aunt Fox eats the fish?
• How is this story similar to and different from the
other two trickster tales?
• Does this trickster tale teach a lesson or is it
written just to be entertaining?
Wrapping up our Focus
Compare the tricks played by the characters:
Which do you think was the cleverest?
Which one was the funniest?
Do you think the characters had good
reasons or bad reasons for playing tricks?
Who was your favorite “trickster” and why?
Trickster Tales Test