Lesson Overview:
Students will be able to recognize the fable as a literary form; apply literal, interpretative, and critical thinking skills to fables; write an opinion about a fable; recognize personification; and explain a moral.
Length of Lesson:
Two 45-minute class periods
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- read for literary experience.
- activate prior knowledge and relate it to the reading selection.
- identify text according to genre: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama.
- identify major elements of a literary selection.
- respond to literature through writing and discussion.
- demonstrate grade-level proficiency to read for literary experience using before, during, and after strategies.
Supplies:
- Copies of Aesop’s fables, "The Fox and the Crow" and "The Fox and the Grapes" (pages 8-12 in Reading Literature; see Related Textbooks section for complete bibliographic information.)
Instructional Plan:
As a warm-up, ask students to think of different ways that they have
tried to acquire something they really want. Prompt them with questions such as the following:
- Have you ever used flattery to get something you wanted?
- Did the person you flattered grant your request?
- What other methods have you used to get something you really wanted?
Divide the class into pairs and have the students engage in an improvisation
activity. The students should think of a scenario in which one person wants
very badly to obtain something (tickets to a rock concert, a tasty dessert,
an extension for a homework assignement, etc.). The other person has the power to
grant or deny the request. The first person's job is to convince his or her
partner to grant the wish. Allow students to improvise for about a minute. Then,
tell the students to switch places in the scene, with the other student trying
to convince his or her partner to fulfill the request. (The student can choose
a different desire to pursue.) Again, allow the students time to improvise for about
a minute.
Bring the students back into the group and have them discuss the exercise.
What techniques did they use to convice their partners to grant
their desires? Did they use flattery? Humor? Begging? Bargaining? Intimidation? Which strategies were most successful?
Have the students read two Aesop's fables, "The Fox and the Crow" and "The Fox and the Grapes." Tell them to think about the warm-up questions and
excercise as they read. Following the reading, help develop comprehension skills by having
students answer the questions about the fables on the accompanying Thinking About Fables handout.
As a closing activity, ask students to imagine that the crow was too smart to fall for the fox's flattery. Have each student think up one humorous line the fox might use to get the crow to drop the cheese. Re-read the story to the class using some of the students' lines. After doing this, ask the students to write an alternative conclusion in which the crow eats all of the cheese instead of dropping it.
Assessment:
Student evaluation will be based on the student's response to the comprehension questions, and understanding of vocabulary and literary terms.
Extensions:
- Encourage students to read other fables by Aesop. Allow time to share them with the class, challenging the other students to figure out the moral before it is stated.
- Have students read fables from other cultures, such as "Two Ways to Count to Ten," a Liberian fable (pages 20-26 in Reading Literature). Discuss the moral.
Authors:
-
Kathy Cook, Teacher
Thomas Pullen Arts Magnet School
Landover, MD
