Title: Pourquoi Tales
Genre: Teaching Fiction Writing
Prompts: “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale Retold” by
Verna Aardema and “How the Ostrich Got a Long Neck: A Tale from the Akamba
of Kenya” by Verna Aardema
Contributor: Nanette Musters
Week 1
I usually start introducing Pourquoi Tales by explaining that the word “pourquoi” means “why”
in French. A Pourquoi Tale explains why something in the natural world is the way it is today.
Then I read two Pourquoi Tales, a book and an example from a student. The students and I
discuss the similarities and the pattern of the story: both tales start with “Long, long, ago” and
end with “And that’s how….” We discuss the structure of the tales. Usually I break the story
down into three parts.
The first part: This part begins “Long, long ago,” and tells what the animal “doesn’t have” and
what problems the animal has because it doesn’t have this quality/characteristic.
The second part: This part explains how the animal got that quality/characteristic. Did the
animal have an accident? Did the animal borrow something from another animal, or another
living thing?
The third part: This part explains the animal’s reaction to getting the new quality/characteristic.
How did it feel? The pourquoi tale ends “And that’s how….” We create a tale together first; I
pick an animal that they aren’t likely to pick (platypus). I usually suggest a title “Why Does the
Platypus Have a Flat Bill?” Then I have students give me ideas for each part of the story.
Week 2
We review what a Pourquoi Tale is, and depending on time, I might read another student
example (or reread the tale we created together) and have the students comment on the
structure of the tale again. Before students begin writing individually, I have students think of
an animal and a specific characteristic of the animal (cats purr, birds fly). Then the students
formulate those ideas into a question, which functions as the title of the tale: “How Did the Cat
Get Its Purr?” or “Why Do Birds Fly?” To further reinforce the three parts of the story, I have
the students write the parts of the story on three separate sheets of paper. Students share
what they have written at the end of the class period.
NOTE: The characters in Pourquoi Tales do not have to be animals. Students can use things in
nature as the main character in Pourquoi Tales, for example, “Why Does the Sun Live in the
Sky?” If you want the students to go deeper into the writing, revise during the third week, but
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model first with the platypus story. If you’d like to include an art component, you can have the
students make puppets out of brown paper lunch bags; this will take at least one entire session.
Other Resources:
http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/legends.htm
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3863
STUDENT EXAMPLES:
How the Wolf Got Sharp Teeth
Long, long ago the wolf had no sharp teeth. Instead he had regular human teeth. One
day when wolf was walking in the snow, he came upon a porcupine. I need sharp teeth. I
need quills. “May I have some of your quills?” said wolf. “Certainly,” the porcupine said.
So the porcupine gave the wolf some of his quills. The wolf put the quills in his mouth.
“Thank you,” said the wolf. So the wolf went home and showed his friends, and that is
how the wolf got sharp teeth.
Ethan Epley
2nd Grade
Cheetah’s Spots
Long, long ago the Cheetah had no spots. It was bare! Cheetah was sitting on a branch in
the jungle. Then out sprang Tiger, Giraffe, and Leopard, which caused Cheetah to fall!
Tiger, Giraffe, and Leopard tossed poor Cheetah up and down.
“Take me down!” meowed Cheetah.
“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Tiger.
“Bare fur, bare fur,” chanted Giraffe.
“Not pretty,” said Leopard.
After all the playing, Cheetah wanted to run away. Why are they doing this? When he
was running away, he got stuck in thorns. “Owww! That hurt!” cried Cheetah and ran to
his cave house in the middle of the jungle. After he got all the thorns off, he got black
spots! The next day Tiger, Giraffe, and Leopard tried to find Cheetah, but his spots
camouflaged it, so they quit teasing him! And that’s why cheetahs have spots!
Sharon Kim
2nd Grade
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