As a future teacher one hope to offer a classroom with enticing challenges for student on all types of learning styles. Have being interested in folk literature since a child, especially stories about princes on horses, and bad people getting what they deserve in the end. I considered how to approach this topic in the classroom. What are the ways of introducing folk literature in to the classroom? As a teacher, one needs to be aware of the standards and banned books within the district. Bette Bosma's 1992 book Fairy Tales, Fables, Legends an Myths Using Folk Literature in Your Classrooms, offers both back ground material and relevant teaching ideas that are adaptable to any classroom (1). Bosma believes that folk literature is worth reading, even just for fun. Bosma says that folk literature is a wealth of treasure that requires that an adult to unlock the beauty and enjoyment for a child. In her book, she emphasizes that guided reading of folk literature will direct attention to the story's structure; this helps the reader become a better reader on his or her own. This structure of a folk tale Bosma feels gives the type of fulfillment to the child's expectations (1). Most folk literature uses problem-solving structure; meaning within the setting and characters, the problem is expressed early on in the story. The story unfolds in a very predictable matter. Such as stories like "The Princess and the Frog", the episodes play out until the problem is solved (5). Bosma stresses the four main characteristics that help the reader assimilate the folk literature. First, the magic in the tale typically lies within the people and creatures, not in the wishes and dreams. Second is the use of natural wit, intelligence, and... ... middle of paper ... ...r the bridge? Do you think the Gruffs had made a plan ahead to time to tell the troll to wait for the bigger goat? Why or why not? Read some think from the story that makes you believe what you think (76). As a teacher, there was just a bounty of information in both books. Yet, as a person reads the books with their separate ideas and views, one would have to give both an equal grade. They both offered large amounts of knowledge and I hope that while in the education program, we as student will get to experience a class on methods which is what both of the books covered. Works Cited Bosma, Bette. Fairy Tales, Fables, Legends, and Myths; Using Folk Literature in Your Classroom. 2nd Ed. New York: Teachers College Press, 1992. Goforth, Frances, and Carolyn V. Spillman. Using Folk Literature in the Classroom. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press. 1994.
Katelyn Matroni Professor Torrence English 102 February 12th, 2014. Meaning of Life According to Bruno Bettelheim, in Introduction: The Struggle for Meaning taken from The Uses of Enchantment, the use of fairy tales in a children’s life allows them to deal with their fears in a symbolic way. In order for a story to hold a child’s attention, it must “help him to develop his intellect and to clarify his emotions”(263). The use of fairy tales in Burn Your Maps, by Robyn Joy Leff, portrays the subtle but important influence of fairy tales on a child.
In one, a specimen-creating brute robs a pelican child’s life and her guardian trying to bring her back to life. In the other, a prince learns the value of his frog-turned-princess and sets out on a quest to find her. Joy Williams’s Baba Iaga and the Pelican Child and Alexander Afanasev’s The Frog Princess are both critical facets of the fairy tale genre. While initially it may seem that Williams preserved no elements from Afanasev’s tale, upon a closer glance, it is evident that the two tales’ similarities outnumber their differences. By incorporating a generous portion of the original story into his, Williams’s version brings forth an innovative arrangement of classic and new. As a result, William’s tale introduces features to the tale that mirror everyday life lessons while simultaneously maintaining qualities that are reflective of the definitional aspects of the fairy tale genre.
Fairytales share similar themes in the manner in which they approach storytelling for the individual. In “The Great Fairy Tale Tradition”, Jack Zipes has selected and edited stories and categorized them by their respective themes, illustrating the different thematic elements found in each story. Every chapter includes a short introduction to the literary history of the selected stories and their themes. In the “Three Brother’s Who Become Wealthy Wandering the World”, “The Three Brothers”, and “The Four Skillful Brothers” each story explores the adventures and pursuits of brothers who venture into the outside world and are later faced with a test of skills in which they must prove their worth and courage. Although the three tales are incorporated into the thematic chapter of “Competitive Brothers” and share similar characteristics, there are contrasts between their respective stories.
Zipes, Jack, Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tale (London: Heinemann, 1979).
Fairy tales portray wonderful, elaborate, and colorful worlds as well as chilling, frightening, dark worlds in which ugly beasts are transformed into princes and evil persons are turned to stones and good persons back to flesh (Guroian). Fairytales have long been a part of our world and have taken several forms ranging from simple bedtime stories to intricate plays, musicals, and movies. However, these seemingly simple stories are about much more than pixie dust and poisoned apples. One could compare fairytales to the new Chef Boyardee; Chef Boyardee hides vegetables in its ravioli while fairytales hide society’s morals and many life lessons in these outwardly simple children stories. Because of this fairytales have long been instruments used to instruct children on the morals of their culture. They use stories to teach children that the rude and cruel do not succeed in life in the long run. They teach children that they should strive to be kind, caring, and giving like the longsuffering protagonists of the fairytale stories. Also, they teach that good does ultimately defeat evil. Fairy tales are not just simple bedtime stories; they have long been introducing cultural moral values into young children.
While fairy tales are entertaining stories and can be used to educate children of the normal social manners of reality; however, it can be used to entertain and educate people of all ages. It can be used as a method of escaping the real world or to teach valuable life lessons than just the normal social mannerisms of society.
At first glance, what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale may seem obvious—some kind of magic, hidden symbols, repetition, and of course it’s evident it’s fiction—but fables are more than that. As Arthur Schelesinger puts it, it’s about “[expanding] imagination” and gaining understanding of mysterious places (618). While doing this, it also helps children to escape this world, yet teach a lesson that the reader may not be conscious of. A wonderful story that achieves all of this is Cinderella, but not the traditional tale many American’s have heard. Oochigeaskw, or The Rough-Faced Girl, and Ashputtle would be fitting for a seven-year-old because they get the gears of the mind turning, allowing for an escape on the surface, with an underlying enlightenment for children of the ways of the world.
The simplicity of fairy tales and non-specific details renders them ideal for manipulation allowing writers to add their own comments often reflecting social convention and ideology. Theref...
Guroian, V. (1996). Awakening the Moral imagination:Teaching Virtues Through Fairy Tales. Wilmington, Delaware: Intercollegiate Studies Institute .
Fairy tales are one of the sources of a child’s imagination and creativity which nourishes a child’s mind. The value of these stories is in helping the child to grow and mature while learning import themes that carry into maturity and imagination that most adults lose. Fairy tales and short stories last throughout time with their important themes that deal with humanity in general without regard to the time period. Bluebeard by Charles Perrault comes as an example of a story standing the tests of time with its story of a wife marrying a seemingly loving husband until she finds that he has killed all of his past wives. She eventually is able to live herself when her brothers save her then finds herself in possession of a great fortune that
I am writing this paper because I was assigned to write it as a class project. Along the way I realized the importance of sharing the real meanings of all these stories. Stories are important because in the society we live in things are constantly changing. Fairytales change but the base of the story always remain the same no matter how many times it has been retold. It’s important to reveal the true meanings of these stories, even with its dark characteristics, because the world is dark .Children need to know that there are people that have told stories relatable to what they are going through. Fairytales help the development of children; it helps their maturity as they confront someone else’s tough situations, instilling hope of a more positive ou...
Hansjorg, Hohr, (2000). Dynamic Aspects of Fairy Tales: social and emotional competence through fairy tales. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, Vol 44, No 1, Department of Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
Zipes, Jack. Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk & Fairy Tales. Revised and expanded ed. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1979. Print
Fairy tales have been around for hundreds of years, dating all the way back to at least the 1600’s and are still common narratives today. The way they are told has changed, but the purpose of them as not shifted. They used to be passed down by word of mouth or by writing, and now they are passed down through children’s book, to adult novels, to motion pictures and plays. Certainly they are used for entertainment, but fairy tales also teach us valuable life lessons in danger, safety, respect, friendships, and love.