How to… spot a traditional tale
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This poster will help children analyse the structure of traditional story genres and understand the difference between fairy tales, myths, legends and fables – a useful step before writing stories within these genres.

Shared learning and teaching
Shared reading
- Begin reading the poster. Give examples for the genres identified. Compile a list of other examples.
- For each poster section, ask for examples – eg, story openings, repeated phrases, heroes and villains.
- Collect the children’s ideas and direct them to other examples. Use this visual and creative work for a classroom display.
- Continue reading the poster. Discuss and explain the differences between the four genres. Ask the children to identify which genre their favourite stories belong to, and why.
- Look at Figures 1 and 2 and discuss visual ways of representing story structure. What other methods are there? Visually represent another well-known story.
- What kind of text is the poster? Explore the features the author has used – eg bulleted lists, sub headings, diagrams, clear and concise information.
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Published 1 May 2008
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