Traditional Tales Topic Guide for Teachers

When a story begins “Once upon a time”, you can be fairly sure that it is a traditional tale. These stories have been told for centuries, and have some common elements.

Some of the elements you might find in a traditional tale are; a magical setting, talking animals, good and evil characters, and a happy ending.

Teach your children about traditional tales using our handy topic guide!

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Teaching Ideas

Ask children to bring in different versions of the same tale and compare them.
Try some of our ideas for teaching The Jolly Postman.
Use these ideas for Peter and the Wolf.
This series of lessons encourages children to explore the features of traditional tales.
Can your children work out which tales these rules are from?
Write an alternative ending for a traditional tale.
Write some social media posts from a traditional tale character.
In pairs, role play interviewing a traditional tale character. What questions should the interviewer ask?

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Resources

Check out our Traditional Tales theme for plenty of ideas and resources!
Our traditional tales banners are perfect for your display board! Choose from Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
These resources from Storytime Magazine include ideas for Aesop’s Fables, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Brother’s Grimm.

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Traditional Tale Facts

Many traditional tales have been around for centuries. The very first versions of Jack and the Beanstalk were told over 5,000 years ago!
Traditional tales are also known as “fairy tales” or “folk tales”
Grimms’ Fairy Tales was first published in 1812. The book was originally meant for adults, and many of the stories were later changed to make the book suitable for children!
Tradional tales were originally passed on by retelling. As the tales were shared, small changes were made, which is why there can be different versions of the same tale.
There are believed to be hundreds of different versions of the story of Cinderella told around the world.