Genres

=Folktales= The folktale has deep cultural ties due to the oral method by which these stories are passed down. It is only until recently that these traditional tales have been written down during the last one to two hundred years retelling stories that are many hundreds or even thousands of years old. It is no wonder that the genre has ties to magic and exaggeration. The folktale involves a simple plot with simple characters where most often a lesson is taught. The story line usually involves a good character with a wicked one and will be resolved with a satisfying happy ending. Many folktales have deep cultural ties related to beliefs and traditions of a people. Pourquoi is a frequent theme of folktales where the story involves explanation of how something came to be.
 * ==**Other more specific types of Folktales:**==
 * **Fable**, Uses talking animals to teach a lesson.
 * **Fairy Tale**, involves magical beings and the supernatural and often includes royalty
 * **Legend,** stories told in the same tradition as a folktale, but are more based in reality and often are closer to rumor than gross exaggeration however feats can still be extraordinary borderline to unbelievable.
 * **Myth**, involves a tale of gods and goddesses
 * **Tall Tale**, great exaggeration of character attributes and the storyline often has a remote basis in truth. The tall tale is an American story-telling tradition.

Additional resources to help with folktales and related types of stories.
 * Famous American Folktales, tall tales, myths and legends, ghost stories, and more. http://www.americanfolklore.net/
 * Pitara Kids Network, Folktales, []
 * Folk Literature, Powerpoint presentations, []
 * Shows a demonstration of an African Folktale
 * The second video shows a modern folktale

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Poetry

 * @http://rhymeit.com/