Oral TraditionThe sharing of stories,

beliefs, cultures, and ideas by word of mouth

Oral Traditions are shared with stories, songs, and poems.

They share and maintain our culture, history, tradition, and ideas.

They help us explain our world.

HYPERBOLE• TYPE OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE• THE DELIBERATE USE OF EXAGGERATION OR

OVERSTATEMENT• USUALLY USED TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH

• I AM SO HUNGRY I COULD EAT A HORSE.• THAT MAN IS STRONGER THAN AN OX.• Remember Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout.

PERSONIFICATION• Another figure of speech

• The giving of human characteristics to a nonhuman subject.

• Remember “The Desert Is My Mother.”

THEME AND MORAL• Theme is the underlying message

about life. (You must figure it out.)• Moral is a directly stated

lesson about life.

FABLES• Stories featuring animals that speak

and act like humans• Often end with a moral that is

stated • Example: Aesop’s FablesThe Boy Who Cried WolfThe Fox and the Grapes

MYTHS• Explain the actions of gods,

goddesses, and the heroes who interact with them

• Can be used to explain natural events

• Greek and Roman

EPICS• Long narrative poem or story• About larger-than-life hero• On a quest or dangerous journey• Important to the history of a nation

or culture• Example: Beowulf or

Hercules

FOLK TALES• Stories about ordinary people• Reveal traditions and values of a

culture• Teach a lesson• Example: Johnny Appleseed

LEGENDS• Traditional stories about the past• Based on real-life but facts have

been twisted• Now people are larger-than-life• Examples:

King Arthur and Robin Hood

TALL TALES• A type of folk tale with hyperbole• Focus on a hero who performs

impossible feats• Example: Paul Bunyan