Pourquoi StoriesIntroductionGrade 4

Raise your hand if you have every asked your parents “WHY?”

Why do cat’s purr?Why is the sky blue?Why does the moon change shape?Why does it snow during the

winter?

In Today’s Lesson…we will review different kinds of

folktales you have learned about in the past or may discuss in the future.

you will learn what a Pourquoi tale is.

you will read a Pourquoi folktale and identify the main elements.

What is a Pouquoi story? Pourquoi means “why” in french. This is a type of folktale that was made

up to tell why something happened or exists.

It usually tells about animals or a natural occurance.

The main characters can be humans or animals.

What is a Folktale?

Examples Fairy Tales Legends Myths Trixter Tales (You

learned about this in 2nd grade, “Anansi and the Talking Melon”)

Tall Tales So What IS IT?

It has been changed so many times that there are different versions of it.

No one know who wrote the original.

Folktales come from everywhere in the world.

A story that has been passed down from person to person for many, many years.

Read “Why Dogs Chase Cats”At your table discuss the following questions. Be ready to answer them out loud. Where does this tale come from? What happens in the beginning? What is the problem? How does the story end? (This is the

answer to the “why”)

In summary, What is a Pourquoi Tale?