ENGLISH – STORIES – TRADITIONAL STORIES – KS2

Learning Objective: To understand what a traditional story and what their purpose is.

Information

Traditional stories refer to the tales that have been passed down from the oral storytelling traditions of many cultures. These can include – myths, legends, fairy tales and fables. Passed down through generations they usually embody moral messages and lessons to be learned or explain something unknown.

Examples & Explanations

• The Tortoise and the Hare
  • This is a fable and carries a lesson that being slow and steady can help you be successful more than rushing into things.

• Cinderella
  • This is a fairytale and carries a moral lesson that no matter how badly people treat you, you should always be kind.

• Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
  • This is a myth/legend no one knows if it is actually true but it explains the unification of old England.

Information

Traditional stories had expectable story structures and repetitive language. They had these to make them memorable for the story teller and listener. Traditional stories were important because there were a way of sharing kinship, wisdom and experience of previous generations and cultures. They passed on vital knowledge about everyday life. They were often told for the benefit of children, to have them learn about important life lessons in a more exciting way. For example the story of Little Red Riding Hood explains how going through the forest alone can be dangerous.

Traditional Stories also depict spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions, giving people simple reasons to behave in certain ways. The stories influence behaviour and although different storytellers might change the details the core message or moral did not change over time.

Definitions

Fairy tale: A fairy tale is a short story normally featuring some kind of magic and fantasy characters such as fairies, dwarves, giants and witches. The shared understanding is that fairy tales are not real they are purely fictional stories designed to entertain. They usually end happily, often with a wedding. Popular ones include: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella.

Fable: These are fictional stories usually involving animals as the main characters. They are normally very short and to the point. They carry a moral message for the listener, things like: slow and steady wins the race: try, try and try again. The most famous collection is of “Aesop’s Fables”.

Myth/Legend: These are stories that some people regarded at some time to be true and factual explanations for things. They often try to explain things that people didn’t understand e.g how the sun crosses the sky everyday. They later came to be accepted just as stories.