Fairy Tales of Siberian Folks Story

Complied by Galina Smirnova, Book: Fairy Tales of Siberian Folks Story: How the Camel Lost his Good Looks,Design by Victor and Larisa Yegorov, Krasnoyarsk “Vital” Publishers, 1992, 23-23 pp. Folktales for Children, Grades K-4

Long ago the arrogant camel was one of the best-looking animals in the forest and he proudly announced it to be sure all the animals knew of his handsome qualities. Soon the animals got fed up with his boastful comments and plotted against him asking to borrow his beautiful horns and tail. This short child-centered folktale can be described as a pourquoi tale as it’s meaning is to describe why camels look the way they do and also why being egotistical is not a good trait to have.

Activity

1. I think the best activity to do with young children based on a short pourquoi tale is to talk about it briefly (the silliness of it) and bring another book in to the discussion that is also a pourquoi tale. The students can discuss it again. Then the teacher can assign student to brainstorm a kind of way they can describe why the camel looks the way it does and write their own story.

Charlotte's Web

E.B White, Charlotte's Web, Garth Williams, USA, Harper Collins, 1952. 192 pp. Children’s story, Grades 3-5.

Wilbur is a runt of a pig born on a farm in the mid 1900’s whose owner sells to the Zuckerman’s farm where he is forced to adapt to farm life amongst other animals. The use of dialogue between animals at the farm and Wilbur brings to life a child’s perspective on a real life dramatic struggle in learning about life, loss and opportunity.

Children Response Activities:

1. A Venn Diagram activity were children can compare characters from the story (they can even compare them to self, media, or another book)

2. Book report where children get to choose how to present the story Charlotte's Web. It can be a poster, speech with visual aids or even a skit. Partners can be assigned for this activity by teacher.