March 11

Tricky Trickster Tales

In February we read a lot of folktales, including trickster tales. The protagonist of a trickster tale is a clever, devious animal whose trick or tricks usually cause trouble for another character. What makes them fun is a smaller animal, such as a tortoise or hare, usually plays a trick on a larger, more powerful animal, like a leopard or elephant. The trickster often gets away with the trick and goes away gloating. (Here are a few trickster tales you might enjoy.)

We enjoyed these trickster tales so much that we decided to write our very own. We’ve published them on our VoiceThread page. We had a great time coming up with our plots and adding lots of lively dialogue. Please let us know what you think. If you enjoyed the tales, which tale did you enjoy the most and why?

We look forward to hearing from you.

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Posted March 11, 2012 by Mrs. McKelvey in category Uncategorized

About the Author

Hello my name is Karen McKelvey and I am a 3rd grade teacher at Curie Elementary School in San Diego, California. I began teaching at Curie Elementary in 2002. I feel fortunate to be part of such a great community. I love blogging with my students as it provides them with an authentic audience for their work. Collaborative group work and project-based learning are key components of my classroom. I completed my Masters degree in Educational Technology from San Diego State University in 2010. Many of the concepts/pedagogy and technologies I learned about in this program, like learning management systems, Google tools, and blogs are implemented in my classroom. Technology plays a key role in the learning that occurs in our classroom. We don’t learn about technology, we learn with technology. Students are engaged in activities that incorporate writing, research skills, critical and creative thinking skills, and much more on a daily basis.

4 thoughts on “Tricky Trickster Tales”

    1. Mrs. McKelvey (Post author)

      Our favorite folk tale is “Why the Hare has Long Ears and a Short Tail.” This tale is a Why/Trickster Tale. Brother Fox tricks Hare into sticking his tale in the water and he gets stuck in the frozen water at night. Brother Owl had to pull his ears to have him pop out of the frozen water. When he pops out his tail snaps off. And that’s why Brother Hare’s ears are longer and his tail is short.

      From,
      Sophia and Mieke

      Reply ↓
  2. ZM class 3.2

    I love the videos they were awsome.But I did not watch them all SORRY.Did you have fun makeing them? Did your teacher do one?

    Reply ↓
    1. Mrs. McKelvey (Post author)

      Yes, we had fun making them. All of the videos were a collaborative project which means we all did it together. Some of us took pictures, we recorded our voices on VoiceThread, and our teacher finished the videos, and posted them to our blog.

      From,
      Mrs. McKelvey’s Class

      Reply ↓

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