Building Bridges with Oniroku
A Direct Lesson Introducing Folktales
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Purposes
This lesson will begin with an exciting performance of the folktale Oniroku with the purpose
of engaging students in learning about folktales. The second purpose of this lesson is to introduce
the elements and purposes of folktales.
GLCE’s
R.NT.03.02 identify and describe the basic elements and purpose of a variety of narrative genre
including folktales, fables, and realistic fiction.
Objectives
After the discussion of Oniroku, students will be able to describe a purpose of folktales.
After the discussion of Oniroku, students will be able to identify the elements of a folktale.
Materials
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Oni costume: blue face paint or mask, horns, tiger print fabric for dress/wrap, wild hair
List of folktales
Index cards with the following labels:
Number
of cards
for role
6
2
2
2
Front
label/name
River
Horse
Swimmer
Boat
3
Bridge
1
1
2
6
Builder
Messenger
Drummer
Dancers
Back label/action
Wave your hands around above your head.
Gallop behind river, then fall down
Move arms like a swimmer behind the river, then fall down
Make your hands look like the front of a boat, try to cross
river, then fall down
Join hands with the other bridges and stretch out your arms
wide.
Stand up and pretend to use a hammer.
Say “I’ll pay any price!”
Drum your hands on the ground or the desk.
Stand up and dance.
Anticipatory Set
Dressed in oni costume, tell students that they are going to be a part of an exciting story.
Student Directions
Pass out index cards randomly. “Your name for the story is written on one side of the card. On the
other side of the card is what you need to do when I say your name. Raise your hand if you are the
river. Who can read me what your job is?” Repeat with each role so that every student knows the
action they will be performing during the story.
“Now, everyone stand up, and we’re going to move.”
“If you have a river card, you can sit in the middle of the room.”
“If you are a swimmer, horse, or a boat, you can sit behind the river.”
“Bridges, sit wherever you like, but stay together.”
Allow the remaining students to sit down, as well.
Storytelling
Tell the story below, emphasizing the words in bold so that students with that part tune in to
perform their action.
High in the mountains of Japan there flowed a raging river that surged and whirled
around rocks and boulders. [River waves hands all around] Since the beginning of time,
there had been no way to cross that river. Swimmers, horses, and boats could not cross.
[Swimmer, horse, and boat try to cross] The people who lived near the river had tried again
and again to build a bridge, but each time, the river’s powerful currents brought their
handiwork crashing down. [Bridges join hands and stretch out.]
In a faraway city there lived a man who was rumored to be the finest builder in all
of Japan. His fame spread throughout the country until at last news of his great skill
reached the people who lived in the village beside the river. They sent a messenger,
offering whatever price he asked to build a bridge for them.
The master builder came at once, eager to test his skill. He stood on the riverbank
looking out at the whirlpools and waterfalls that he would have to conquer, and he thought,
“There is no bridge that will withstand the power of this river. Yet if I do not build one
here, my reputation will be ruined.”
As the builder pondered his situation, an oni—a hideous horned ogre—arose from
the river—tsaan! The oni’s long, tangled hair swirled about him, and his enormous eyes
flashed like lightening.
“You can never build a bridge here,” thundered the oni, “unless you have my help. I
bring them all down, yes. I bring them all crashing down!”
The builder began to tremble and shake. Then the oni spoke again: “If you should
agree to pay my price, I will not only allow a bridge to be built here, I will build it myself,
tonight, while you sleep.”
“How much money would the oni want?” the master builder wondered. The people
of the village had offered him any price he asked. “Very well,” he told the oni, “I will pay
your price.” Then he went to the local inn for the night, but the uneasy memory of making a
bargain with the oni kept him awake for a long time.
The next morning, the builder hurried to the spot where he had met the oni. There,
to his great astonishment, a magnificent wooden bridge, high and strong, arched above the
wild currents of the river. At the foot of the bridge stood the oni, smiling and showing his
gruesome, yellow tusks.
“And now for my payment,” he said. “You must give me your eyes!”
“My eyes?” the master builder cried out in anguish. “No! No!” How had he fallen into
the oni’s trap so easily? He dropped to his knees and pleaded with the monster, tears
streaming down his cheeks.
“Oh, very well,” said the oni at last. “Since you carry on in this disgusting manner, I
will give you one chance to escape your fate. If by sunset you have learned my name, you
may keep your eyes. If not, they are mine!”
The oni strode onto the bridge, jumped over the side—tsaan!—and sank beneath
the swirling rapids.
The builder turned and ran into the forest. He had no idea how he could ever
discover the name of the oni. Deeper and deeper he plunged into the silent woods.
Then he heard the sound of drumming and the footsteps of dancers—tangura,
tangura, tangura, tangura. He walked toward the noise and found a clearing among the
trees. He saw that the dancers were little oni children. They were dancing and clapping
their paws, and singing,
When Oniroku brings the eyes,
How happy we will be!
When Oniroku brings the eyes,
How happy we will be!
The builder’s heart pounded with joy and excitement. He turned and ran back to
the river.
“Oniroku! Oniroku!” he shouted. “Where are you, Oniroku?”
The water churned and bubbled—tsaan! The oni’s hideous face appeared in the
water.
“How did you learn my name?” the oni raged. “Who told you my name?” His face
turned crimson and great gusts of steam shot from his nose and mouth. At last, he regained
his composure. “Keep your silly eyes,” he rumbled. “But never tell my name to anyone else,
and do not ever dare to come back here again.”
You may be sure that the master builder never did.
Input
Why do you think people tell stories like Oniroku? [Wait for student answers.]
Oniroku is a folktale. During the next couple of weeks, we will be learning about folktales.
You will even be creating your own tales! One reason folktales are told is to entertain audiences,
like I was trying to entertain you with Oniroku.
There are certain things that make a story a folktale. The first thing is that folktales have a
happy ending. Did Oniroku have a happy ending? [Wait for student answers.]
The second thing is that there is usually a good character, a bad character, and a magical
character. What was the good character in Oniroku? [Wait for student answers.] What was the bad
character in Oniroku? [Wait for student answers.] What was the magical character in Oniroku? [Wait
for student answers.]
Modeling
[Pass out or project list of folktales] With the person next to you, you will pick a folktale you
know from the list and find the elements we talked about. Let’s talk about a folktale we read
together, The Mysterious Giant of Barletta, and then you can try one.
Happy Ending: The giant scares the army away by convincing them that he is bullied by bigger
giants.
Good Character(s): the Mysterious Giant and Zia Concetta
Bad Character(s): the army
Magical Character: the Mysterious Giant
Guided Practice
In pairs, students select a folktale they know from the list of folktales, “Folktale Favorites.”
In their reader’s notebooks, they list the happy ending, the good character(s), the bad character(s),
and the magical character.
Checking for Understanding
As a whole group, review their answers to the guided practice activity.
Closure
Ask students to describe what all folktales have in common. Review the purpose of
entertaining through storytelling.
Independent Practice/Assessment
In their reader’s notebook, ask students to describe a story that they have been reading in
their book box. Would this story be considered a folktale? Why or why not? If it could not be a
folktale, what could they add to the story to make it a folktale?
Adaptations/Differentiation
Students begin in pairs to find the folktale elements in folktales they know. Students who
finish quickly and need a challenge can try this with multiple folktales and see how many they can
figure out.
This story-telling lesson was created to engage all students, including those who learn best
with movement. The story included movement roles for these students.
Resources
Sierra, J. (2002). Can you guess my name?: Traditional tales around the world. New York, NY: Clarion
Books.
Folktale Favorites
The Frog Prince
King Midas
Jack and the Beanstalk
Pinocchio
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Little Pigs
Hansel & Gretel
Rumplestiltskin
Little Red Riding Hood
The Pancake
The Golden Fish