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Folklore Facts & Worksheets

Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a specific group, including jokes, fairy tales, myths, legends, animal tales, folk dances, and proverbs.

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Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a specific group. It refers to traditions unique to a particular culture, subculture, or group, passed down from one person to the next informally, either by verbal teaching or demonstrations. It includes jokes, fairy tales, myths, legends, animal tales, folk dances, and proverbs.

See the fact file below for more information on Folklore or you can download our 26-page Folklore worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

FOLKLORE

  • Folklore is composed of two words: folk (regional people) and lore (tales). Therefore, folklore represents stories spoken by individuals in a particular place. With its literary themes, folklore can define a population’s values, beliefs, and preferred way of life.
  • Many forms of creative expression are included in contemporary folklore, including folk art, folk music and dance, stories, myths, children’s rhymes, and proverbs.
  • Folklore is a collection of narratives about the culture and people it came from that plays an essential role in passing on the traditions of a cultural group.
  • A folklorist examines the subject of folklore (folkloristics), which includes how culture groups develop lore and how lore iterates the group’s practices and beliefs.
  • Folkloristics mainly focuses on:
    • Oral histories (e.g., songs, poems, oral histories)
    • Practices and shows (e.g., dance, holiday celebrations, religious traditions)
    • Artifacts (e.g., fashion, foodways, and instruments).

CHARACTERISTICS OF FOLKLORE

  • Folklore is primarily transmitted orally, through performance, or craft.
  • Folklore transmits and preserves a group’s traditional norms and beliefs. Some of the folklore categories are:
  • Verbal tradition – a folklore feature in which verbal communication transmits cultural knowledge, such as music, speech, oral history, tales, poetry, legends, and so on.
  • Material culture – a folkloric feature in which artifacts pass on cultural knowledge, such as textiles, art, monuments, architecture, ceramics, records, etc.
  • Customs – a folkloric feature in which human interactions/social behaviors pass on cultural significance, such as greetings, cuisine, festivals, celebrations, religious traditions, etc.
  • Childlore – a folklore feature in which children’s stories pass on cultural knowledge, such as fairy tales, fables, rhymes, children’s games, and so on.
  • Folklore performances – a folklore feature in which a performance expresses/celebrates a group’s culture, such as dance, music, or theater.

TYPES OF FOLKLORE

  • Folklore allows communities to communicate their views in a variety of ways. Some cultures share their stories through song and dance, while others narrate larger-than-life stories about mythical heroes. Here are some examples of folklore that you may be familiar with.

Fables and Folktales

  • Most forms of folklore are based on traditional stories about ordinary people. Typically, these folktales contain a person or animal learning a valuable lesson by obeying – or, in most cases, not obeying – cultural conventions. Folk stories include the following:
    • “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a British tale about a girl who breaks into the three bears‘ abode, tries everything out, and is terrified away.
    • “The White Elephant” is an Asian folktale about how the white elephant was treated gently.
    • “Anansi the Spider” is an Ashanti folk tale about Anansi, a trickster who takes the guise of a spider and empowers people of African heritage worldwide.
    • “The Ant and the Grasshopper” is a fable by Aesop about a grasshopper who plays all summer, an ant who prepares for the hard times ahead, and the winter that awaits the two of them.

Fairy Tales

  • Fairy tales are folklore stories that contain elements of fantasy fiction, such as monarchy and magic. They include several early collections of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm in Germany and Hans Christian Andersen in Denmark. These are frequently told to children as early introductions to social conventions and expectations.
  • Here are some examples of fairy tales from across the world:
    • “Cinderella” is a fairy tale about a servant girl who transforms into a princess through magic and true love. Though Charles Perrault first published it in France, there are many distinct versions of this fairy tale worldwide.
    • “The Golden-Headed Fish” is a Middle Eastern story about a hero who must discover a cure for a king’s ailment from the magical golden-headed fish.
    • “The Little Mermaid” is a famous Danish story about a mermaid who gave up her fins and, eventually, her love life.
    • “Rapunzel” is a German fairy tale about a stolen infant who grows up alone in a tower, relying solely on her miraculously long hair to hoist others up and down.

Mythology

  • Many civilizations use legendary figures to explain ordinary occurrences. They vary from Greek deity legends to French Pourquoi tales (stories to explain why certain events happened) and tall American tales.
  • Cultural mythology examples include:
    • “Prometheus Steals the Fire” is a Greek tale about the trickster Titan Prometheus stealing fire from the gods for humans.
    • “Why the Porcupine Has Quills” is a Chippewa Pourquoi story about how the porcupine learned to defend itself.
    • “John Henry” is a tall American story about a formerly enslaved person named John Henry and his hammer, who beat a mechanized steel driver to give his people their land.
    • “Quetzalcoatl” is an Aztec legend about a feathered serpent who created humanity in Mesoamerica.

Folk Song

  • Folklore and traditional music are two ways that cultures tell their stories. They range from essential folk stories to heroic tales delivered in ballad style. You might recognize the following folk songs:
    • “O Danny Boy” is an Irish ballad about Danny going out to war and returning to a transformed Ireland.
    • “Arirang” is a Korean folk song sung for over 600 years.
    • “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” is a traditional American folk ballad about the country’s history and freedom.
    • “Waltzing Matilda” is an Australian bush ballad about a traveler who gets into trouble one fateful day.

Folk Dance

  • You’ve probably seen a folk dance if you’ve ever been to a cultural festival or a wedding. Traditional dances are passed down to each new generation in a particular culture. These dances frequently need many people and are often performed at community meetings and special celebrations.
  • Check out these samples of folk dances from many cultures:
    • Tarantella is a quick couple dance from Southern Italy.
    • Barynya is a classical fast-paced Russian dance with both stomping and crouching steps.
    • Square dance is a moderately paced American dance in which groups of couples respond to a caller.
    • The sun dance is a joyful dance by many Native American tribes. The American government prohibited the sun dance until 1934.

Folk Art

  • Folk art is art done by regular people in traditional media. Its artists are not professionally trained but rely on traditions from previous generations of folk painters, and their creations can be displayed as artwork or used in everyday life.
  • Following are some examples of folk art:
    • Italian mosaic ceramics
    • Quilts from America
    • Mexican leathercraft

Proverbs

  • Proverbs are one- or two-sentence phrases that promote the principles and beliefs of a culture. They are intended to give advice guide cultural behavior. Proverbs are sayings or maxims in some civilizations.
  • International proverbs include the following:
    • The night rinses what the day has soaped. – A Swiss proverb concerning consequences.
    • In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed. – Thai proverb concerning oppression.
    • The pen is mightier than the sword. – An English adage concerning communication.
    • It takes a whole village to raise a child. – African proverb concerning the community.

Folklore Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Folklore across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Folklore, which is the body of expressive culture shared by a specific group, including jokes, fairy tales, myths, legends, animal tales, folk dances, and proverbs.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Folklore Facts
  2. True or False?
  3. Does It Belong?
  4. The Lion and the Mouse
  5. Proverbs
  6. My Favorite Folklore
  7. Beauty and the Beast
  8. Folkloric Characteristics
  9. Folklore Influence
  10. Different Folklore
  11. Bookmarks

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called folklore?

The term folklore was first used in 1846 by William Thoms, who needed a replacement for the then-current terms “popular antiquities” or “popular literature”. The second half of the word, lore, comes from Old English meaning ‘instruction’.

What is folklore in history?

Folklore is often used to describe the cultural expressions within a group that help shape and spread a shared identity. This can include items like stories, jokes, music, dance, food, festivals, and more.

What is the significance of folklore?

Folklore is essential to any society as it preserves the culture and traditions of that group. Folk tales serve as narratives about the people and cultures from which they come, making folklore an important part in passing down a group’s customs.

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Link will appear as Folklore Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 30, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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