Genre Lessons
Exploring Genres

Fairy Tales vs. Folktales

Genre Extensions
Extensions

Genre PDF Downloads

Genre Bookmarks

Blank Bookmarks

Cinderella vs. Babe

Fairy Tale or Folk Tale?

Complete Genre Unit

1 Genre
Episode: Mike Fink

Lesson Overview

The purpose of the lessons in this unit is to help Ohio students in grades 3-7 learn the characteristics of the literary text GENRE indicators that they must master for their respective Ohio achievement tests. Special care has been taken to dovetail the lessons with the indicators and the types of questions commonly asked on Ohio tests.  

Ohio Academic Content Indicators

2001.EL.S05.G04-07.BF.L05.I06    
Describe the defining characteristics of literary forms and genres, including poetry, drama, chapter books, biographies, fiction and non-fiction.

2001.EL.S05.G04-07.BF.L06.I06    
Explain the defining characteristics of literary forms and genres, including poetry, drama, myths, biographies, autobiographies, fiction and non-fiction.

2001.EL.S05.G04-07.BF.G07.I06   
Explain the defining characteristics of literary forms and genres, including poetry, drama, myths, biographies, autobiographies, science fiction, fiction and non-fiction.

Ohio Achievement/Proficiency Tests Setting Question Types

• Given a list of details, select the detail which shows that the selection in an example of Genre X.
• Given a list of possible genres, select the correct genre for the selection.
• The selection is best described as which type of work?
• Given a list of characteristics of one or more genres, which is a characteristic of the genre demonstrated by the selection?

Mike Fink
Episode Overview

This episode is about the legendary Mike Fink, a keelboat man who traveled up and down the Ohio River. The segment begins with information about Fink, keelboats, and river transportation in early Ohio. In the tall tale portion of the episode Mike faces river pirates, travels through time, and enlists the help of other versions of himself to defeat the pirates.

Examine Fact and Fiction
Say: Are the following statements fact or fiction? Be prepared to support your opinion.

• Statements:
• The sun rises in the west.
• Fiction. It rises in the east.
• Source: “Watching the Sunrise”.
  http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/
  terc/content/investigations/es0405/es0405page02.cfm.
• The Green Bay Packers is a National Football League team from Green Bay, Ohio.
• Fiction. The team is from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
• Source: “Green Bay, Wisconsin”.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay,_Wisconsin .
• Keelboats are like rafts.
• Fiction. Keelboats were not rafts. They had keels or shallow v-shaped hulls rather than being flat on the bottom. Like rafts, they could be moved by the river’s current, be rowed or be poled but, unlike rafts, they could travel upstream against the current.
• Source: Keelboat.com. “LBJ Library Project and Photos.”
  http://www.keelboat.com/lbjpics.html.
• A light year is a measure of distance equal to around 9 x 1018 meters or 6 x 1015 miles.
• Fiction. It is a measure of distance but an extra period of zeros (000) has been added to each answer.  The correct approximations of a light year are  9 x 1015 meters and 6 x 1012 or 6 trillion miles. Sources:
•  Baez, John. “Distances.”
  http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/distances.html.
•  Fact Farm. ”What and how far is a light year? http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/What_and_how_far_is_a_light_year.
• The Sons of Liberty actually held four Boston Tea Parties between 1773 and 1774 where tea cargoes were destroyed in order to protest British taxes. Only the first one is remembered.
• Fiction – there were two, not four.
• Source: State of Delaware. “Little Known Facts about the American Revolutionary War.” http://www.state.de.us/facts/ushist/revfacts.htm .
• The pressure on an unprotected human at the deepest point in the ocean is so heavy that it would feel like 50 jumbo jets were pressing down on him/her.
• Non-fiction.
• Source: Marine Bio.org. “Ocean Facts.”
  http://www.marinebio.com/MarineBio/Facts/.
• The increase in the internal energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the amount of heat energy added to the system plus the work done by the system on the surroundings.
• Fiction. The word “plus” should read “minus”.
• Source: Wikipedia.org. “The First Law of Thermodynamics.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_law_of_thermodynamics.
• Say: If a sentence is stated as a fact and it can be proven to be untrue, is the statement then an opinion? Answers will vary. Accept responses that the students can support.

Discuss Genre

• Ask: What makes a genre unique?
  • Say: Make a mental list of all the different types of genres of which you are aware. Then mentally review the characteristics of each genre.
  • Say: Be prepared to identify the genre of this episode.

Genre Lessons

Exploring Genres

Materials:

• Genre Bookmarks Handout: completed version or blank version.

Procedure:

• Say: The genres you will be expected to know by the end of 7th grade in Ohio include: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, fairy tale, folktale, fables, fantasy, myth, biography, autobiography, drama, and science fiction.
• Copy and print out one of the two versions of the Genre Bookmarks – blank or completed.
• Genre Bookmarks – Complete
• Have the students cut the bookmarks apart and use them as study aids.
• Genre Bookmarks – Blank
• Assign students to research the characteristics of each genre. There are 12 bookmarks. The students may complete this activity in small groups.
• Look for websites specific to a genre. For example: Prof. Waller Hastings’ web page: “Defining the Fairy Tale” http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/ftdefine.htm .
• You can begin with an online search that included the specific genre’s name in one of the following phrases: “define ___”, “characteristics of ___” or “genre ___ understand”.
• The following websites are general and have information about several genres at each website:
• “Genre Definitions”:
  http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/SusannaTaylor/
  genre_definitions.htm
• “Genre Study”:
  http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/course/
  course1/index.html Mouse over to display and then click the links for definitions and interactive activities for: poetry, non-fiction, drama, short story, and folktale.
• “List of Literary Genres”: http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/
  readingliterature/genres/menu.htm Scroll down the page to find this section. Not all genres have been completed.
• “Reading Genre" Downloadable PDF file: http://www.district70.org/esc/curriculum/langarts/
  Reading%20Genre.pdf
• “Reading Genre”: http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/
  yorba/literary_genre.htm
• “Recommended Literature: K-12 Literary Genres”: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/ll/ 

Fairy Tales vs. Folktales

Materials:

• Read It, Write It, Tell It episode “Mike Fink.”
• Comparing Fairy Tales and Folktales handout: “Cinderella vs. Babe the Blue Ox” or “Fairy Tales vs. Folktales.”
• Choose one of the two handouts that compare fairy tales and folktales:
• “Fairy Tales vs. Folktales”: The “Folktale” and “Differences” columns are blank.
• Choose a folktale, have the children read the folktale, and fill in the Folktale column.
• The following websites are sources for fairy tales and folktales:
• American Folklore:
  http://www.americanfolklore.net/
• Fairy Tales, University of Maryland:
  http://www.lib.umd.edu/ETC/ReadingRoom/
  Fiction/FairyTales/
• Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm:
  http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2591
• Myths, Folklore and Fairy Tales:
  http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/
• Tales of Wonder, Folk and Fairy Tales from Around the World: http://www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/ 
• Welcome to Classic Fairy Tales:
  http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/fairytales.htm
• Have the students fill in the Differences column.
• Discuss and explain the similarities and differences between folktales and their subgroup fairy tales.
• Have the students create a list of the characteristics of folk and fairy tales
• “Cinderella vs. Babe the Blue Ox” Both the “Fairy Tale” and “Folktale” columns are complete but the “Differences” column is blank.
• Have the students read the information on the worksheet and fill in the “Differences” column.
• Discuss and explain the similarities and differences between folktales and their subgroup fairy tales.
• Have the students create a list of the characteristics of folk and fairy tales.
• Watch the “Mike Fink” Read It, Write It, Tell It episode a second time.
• Say: Decide if the episode is a fairy tale or a folktale. Write a paragraph supporting your decision based on what the class has learned about the two genres and on details from the episode.
• Extend the lesson. Have each student rewrite part of the episode so that it is a fairy tale.