World Folktales
updated April 24, 2023
Recorded here is my own personal collection of articles, resources, favorite links, teaching ideas, and lesson plans. It encompasses many years, from the very beginning of my experience studying and learning about Waldorf to the present time. People from all around the world visit my site and recommend it to others. Welcome!
This site records my journey. I hope my honesty is encouraging and helps break down some barriers that may prevent people from trying Waldorf methods. Because this is an ongoing site documenting my curriculum planning and ideas, some materials are more Waldorf-y than others. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.
This page has helpful links and LOADS of free resources to help you plan your second grade year. Enjoy!
World Folktales
for Class 2
Mission Statement - Consulting Services - Lending Library
Rationale
Traditionally, Waldorf schools have taught Fairy Tales in first grade and Fables in second grade. All of
that seems well and good except that, after many years, I
suddenly realized
that World Folktales didn't have a page on my website!
I found a book from the library which I liked -- The Magic
Pillow by Demi -- but when I went to write it down there was no "topic"
that it went with.
So here are some notes on World Folktales which I think are wonderful, and please feel free to use them however and whenever
you wish. You could, of course, simply do a World Folktales main lesson block in second grade. Jane Yolen has
put together a lovely collection of 160 stories,
called Favorite Folktales from Around the World.
 
I also really like Play Me A Story: Nine Tales About Musical Instruments collected by Naomi Adler.
 
Have a suggestion? Email me!
Favorite Books
I have separate sections of my website for Native American Legends
and stories from Africa.
I also really like the Junior Great Books series 2 (old edition) curriculum and their anthologies are quite lovely. Grade 2 is a good year
to begin JGB, if you wish. One story is done each week. The stories and shared inquiry questions are so rich that you can easily use them in later grades as well (through middle school).
 
Junior Great Books Series 2 First Semester Teacher's Edition (1992)
Junior Great Books Series 2 Second Semester Teacher's Edition (1992)
The first semester and second semester stories are as follows:
First Semester Student Anthology
"The Happy Lion"
by Louise Fatio
"The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin"
by Beatrix Potter
"How the Camel Got His Hump"
by Rudyard Kipling
"Kanga and Baby Roo Come to the Forest, and Piglet Has a Bath"
by A.A. Milne
"Arap Sang and the Cranes"
African folktale as told by Humphrey Harman
"Blue Moose"
by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
"Anancy and Dog and Puss and Friendship"
West Indian folktale as told by James Berry
"Jack and the Beanstalk"
English folktale as told by Joseph Jacobs
"The Magic Listening Cap"
Japanese folktale as told by Yoshiko Uchida
"The Jackal and the Partridge"
Punjabi folktale as told by Flora Annie Steel
"Nail Soup"
Swedish folktale as told by Linda Rahm
"The Apple of Contentment"
by Howard Pyle
Second Semester Student Anthology
"The Red Balloon"
by Albert Lamorisse
"The Other Side of the Hill"
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
"The Emperor's New Clothes"
by Hans Christian Anderson
"How the Elephant Became"
by Ted Hughes
"Anansi's Fishing Expedition"
West African folktale as told by Harold Courlander and George Herzog
"The Velveteen Rabbit"
by Margery Williams
"The Terrible Leak"
Japanese folktale as told by Yoshiko Uchida
"The Singing Tortoise"
West African folktale as told by Harold Courlander and George Herzog
"Three Boys with Jugs of Molasses and Secret Ambitions"
by Carl Sandburg
"Cinderella"
by Charles Perrault
"The Mouse's Bride"
Indian folktale as told by Lucia Turnbull
"How Coyote Stole the Sun"
Native American folktale as told by Jane Louise Curry
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