Storytelling Through the Years by Kristin Marciniak H O UG H T O N MIF F L IN Storytelling Through the Years by Kristin Marciniak PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover © Golden Pixels LLC/Alamy; © Spencer Grant/PhotoEdit; © Bob Winsett/Jupiter Images; © Golden Pixels LLC/Alamy; © Robbie Jack/Corbis; © Spencer Grant/PhotoEdit; © Mary Evans Picture Library/Edwin Wallace/The Image Works; 10 © Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis; 11 © TH Foto/Alamy; 12 © Hulton Archive/ Handout/Getty Images; 13 © North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy; 14 © Ariel Skelley/Corbis Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777 Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-42710-2 ISBN-10: 0-547-42710-7 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format Table of Contents Oral Traditions Using Song to Tell Stories Puppets in Storytelling Folktales Legends Myths 10 How Technology Changed Storytelling 11 Storytelling Today 14 Suppose you are sitting with your friends and family around a campfire roasting marshmallows and telling stories Your older brother begins to tell a scary story “Once upon a time, there was a hideous dragon that lived inside a volcano,” he begins “The volcano was always exploding, and the dragon was always roaring Everyone was afraid of the dragon.” Some scary stories are passed from generation to generation Your older brother tells the story, but he heard it from your mother Your mother first heard it from her mother, and so on This is an example of an oral tradition Oral Tradition Oral tradition, or storytelling, is a way of passing history and stories from one generation to another Before the printing press was invented, storytelling was one of the only ways that many societies were able to keep records If people didn’t share their stories, an immense amount of history would be lost Since stories were not written down, storytellers had to rely on their memories Storytellers would learn the basic plot and then make up details as they went along That is why there are sometimes many versions of the same story Using Songs to Tell Stories Storytellers sometimes sang their stories A ballad, also known as a folk song, is a story in song They might tell about a prince who becomes invisible to rescue a princess Some storytellers used ballads to tell their tales Puppets in Storytelling Have you ever been to a puppet show? The art of using puppets to tell stories has been around for thousands of years This art form began in ancient Greece In ancient India, puppets were used to tell religious and historical stories about kings, gods, and other events A story might be about a warrior who refuses to give up Puppet shows continue to delight audiences even today Puppets were used to tell stories before actors performed them Folktales Oral stories also were used to teach lessons There are many different kinds of stories, but some common ones are folktales, legends, and myths Folktales are fictional stories about people or animals that speak and act like people Fairytales are one type of folktale Folktales teach lessons about how people are supposed to act Good characters always win in the end, but they only get there with determination For example, in the story of Cinderella, we learn that being wealthy and important are not the ways to happiness Native Americans used storytelling to pass down their cultural history Folktales were originally stories for adults They were popular entertainment for farmers, sailors, and other workers Many of them did not know how to read In addition, many Native Americans and American slaves used oral traditions to preserve their history Today, some tribes in Africa still use oral storytelling as the main way to keep records of events Legends Unlike folktales, legends are stories that are thought to be true Legends are always about a person or subject that many people believed was real Most legends are about kings, heroes, or a battle Famous legends include the stories of Robin Hood, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table The legend of the Sword in the Stone tells how King Arthur became the king of Britain Myths Another type of story is a myth Myths are sacred stories from the past that explain a culture’s beliefs and values Myths are also used to explain unusual events or how something came to exist Most myths come from religion The ancient Greeks had many myths that are still around today Hercules is one of those myths He was very strong and brave The story of Hercules is an example of a Greek myth 10 Writing helped to change the way stories are shared How Technology Changed Storytelling Technology has shaped the ways stories are passed from generation to generation Writing has been found carved on stones and walls from thousands of years ago Paper was later invented in ancient China, but people still had to write by hand During the 14th and 17th centuries, people were hired to copy texts into books This, however, was a very slow process 11 In the mid-1400s, a German inventor named Johannes Gutenberg made the first printing press Gutenberg’s first version was made of blocks with raised letters The letters were inked much like the rubber stamps you can buy in craft stores today This invention made it much easier to print books Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany, around 1400 He worked as a stonecutter and goldsmith These experiences helped him to create the metal molds for the letters 12 The invention of the printing press did not decrease the importance of oral traditions Except for those who were rich, most people did not know how to read They also were not able to get the printed books Books became more widely available with the invention of the monotype machine in 1897 This meant that the books were less expensive than before, so more people were able to read them The printing press made it much easier to print books and share stories 13 Storytelling Today Today, modern technology helps us publish stories at astonishing rates Newspapers tell us what’s going on and we read books for education and entertainment The Internet also allows us to access information quickly Despite all of these forms of media, traces of oral storytelling are all around Each time you share a bedtime story, a joke, or a family legend with others, you are helping to keep the oral tradition alive Most people still like to listen to a good story 14 Responding Word Builder Make a word web around the word hideous What synonyms you know for the word hideous? Copy and complete the word web below TARGET VOCABULARY disgusting nasty hideous ? ? Write About It Text to Text You just read about how stories have been shared Write a paragraph describing a story you have read that may have started in the oral tradition Use a word from the Word Builder in your writing 15 TARGET VOCABULARY battle exploding hideous hired immense invisible refused rescue warrior wealthy Infer/Predict Use text clues to figure out what isn’t directly stated by the author TARGET STRATEGY Which word rhymes with a word that describes how you feel when you are ready for bed? 16 Level: Q DRA: 40 Social Studies Strategy: Infer/Predict Word Count: 930 4.2.6 Build Vocabulary HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02324-3 ISBN-10: 0-547-02324-3 1032175 ... legends include the stories of Robin Hood, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table The legend of the Sword in the Stone tells how King Arthur became the king of Britain Myths Another type... in the end, but they only get there with determination For example, in the story of Cinderella, we learn that being wealthy and important are not the ways to happiness Native Americans used storytelling. .. afraid of the dragon.” Some scary stories are passed from generation to generation Your older brother tells the story, but he heard it from your mother Your mother first heard it from her mother,