Traditional Literature

There are six types of traditional literature. There are fables which are brief stories in which the moral is clearly stated. There are myths which explain aspects of culture or provide an explanation of how something came to be in the natural world. There are legends which are narratives based on historical facts. Religious stories are told of important events or people that represent different religions. Tall tales are exaggerated humorous stories of characters that complete impossible acts. And lastly a folktale is a tale passed down by word of mouth usually about humans or animals. Fables, tall tales, and folktales are not told as fact whereas myths, legends, and religious stories are. The biggest benefit to traditional literature is that it provides students with lessons of life and society. Most of these texts provide some form of entertainment in a humorous light, they can often be silly or exaggerated. I remember that I loved folktales and myths as a child because I loved hearing everyone's different thoughts about why or how things in nature occurred. I recently read a folktale called Coyote and it is supposed to explain why coyotes are gray in color. When reading traditional literature, it is important to remind children that not all of the stories are told with accurate facts and that some are just meant for entertainment.