Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 30813
If Animals Could Talk: Writing Fables
In this lesson, students will analyze and discuss the characteristics and story lines of two different fables, "The Owl and The Grasshopper" and "The
Town Mouse and The Country Mouse," and then write a fable of their own.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 4
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 4 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: narrative writing, fables, text dependent questions, evidence, Venn Diagram, inference, conclusion,
plot, setting, characters, dialogue
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
CharacteristicsofaFable.docx
TheOwlandTheGrasshopper.docx
WritingAFableRubric.docx
TextDependentQuestionHandout.docx
TheTownMouseandTheCountryMouse.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will:
be able to use evidence from the text to support their ideas and inferences.
be able to describe characters, settings or events in a story by drawing on specific details in the text.
compare and contrast two fables.
demonstrate understanding of the genre fables by writing a fable of their own.
use descriptive details and a clear sequence of events in the fable they write.
establish characters and a setting in the fable they write.
will use dialogue in their fables to help the reader understand the characters and events in the fable.
use transition words to manage the sequence of events.
use sensory words and details to make their writing explicit.
include a conclusion as part of the fable.
revise and edit a narrative piece of writing.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students will need to know:
how to write sentences.
page 1 of 4 the narrative elements of a story.
how to work cooperatively.
how to read grade level text.
how to write dialogue.
how to come to conclusions.
the conventions of Standard English for grammar, spelling and punctuation.
how to use a graphic organizer for narrative writing.
how to plan a narrative piece of writing.
how to revise and edit writing.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
How does a reader determine the moral of a story?
What are the narrative elements of a story?
How do authors reveal their characters to the reader?
What are the characteristics of fables?
How can readers organize their thoughts for writing a fable?
What are the steps in writing a narrative piece of writing?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
1. To begin this lesson, explain to the students that they are going to be learning about fables. Fables originated long ago and were a form of oral storytelling. To help
students understand what oral storytelling is all about, play the Telephone Game. Have students sit in a circle. The teacher will whisper one line into the ear of the
student to her right. Each student will in turn repeat that line to the next person by whispering it in their ear. Once the last students hears the line, they need to say it
out loud. Discuss with the students: How did the story change? Why did the story change?
2. The teacher will begin, "Now we can see why it was so important for oral storytellers to write their tales down. There was a man by the name of Aesop, and he
wrote many of the fables that we know today. We are going to be reading two of his fables, but before we do that, let us look at what characteristics are common to
most fables."
3. The teacher will project the handout Characteristics of Fables (other options are for the students to each have their own copy of Characteristics of Fables, or the
teacher can create an anchor chart of the characteristics of fables) and review these characteristics with the class.
4. Teacher will give each student a copy of the fable "The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse."
5. The teacher will read this fable. Once the teacher has finished reading the story, the teacher will call on individual students and have them identify the elements of
a fable found in this story, referring to the handout.
6. The teacher will give each student a copy of the second fable, "The Owl and The Grasshopper."
7. Students will read this fable silently. Once all of the students are finished, the students will share with their shoulder partner, the elements of a fable found in this
story. The teacher can monitor the student discussions at this time by walking around the room.
8. Once all of the students have had an opportunity to discuss the second fable with their shoulder partner, the teacher will give each pair of students a Venn diagram
to complete. The students are to compare and contrast the two fables they have just read.
9. The teacher will monitor the students as the partners are working on their Venn diagrams and collect the Venn diagrams to review to determine if further
instruction on fables is necessary.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
1. The students will have an opportunity to reread both fables before this part of the lesson begins.
2. To continue the analysis and understanding of fables, the students will be answering some text-dependent questions about the fables with a partner during this part
of the lesson.
3. The teacher will give each student their own whiteboard, whiteboard marker, and whiteboard eraser. (If the teacher does not have a class set, pencils and
notebook can be given to each student on a clipboard as an alternative.)
4. The teacher will explain that the students are going to be participating in a strategy called Turn Around. The teacher will partner the students and they are to sit in
chairs, back to back. The students will need to bring their copies of the two fables with them to their chairs.
5. The teacher explains that the students are going to be answering some text dependent questions. After the teacher asks the questions, the students write their
answers on the whiteboards. When cued, the students turn around in their chairs and compare answers and discuss.
6. When students are finished sharing and discussing, the students return to the back to back position in their chairs and wait for the next question.
7. The teacher can post each question as it is asked.
8. The teacher can use the questions listed on the attached Text Dependent Question Handout, or the teacher can create his or her own set of questions.
9. The teacher will monitor the student answers and discussions.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
1. Students will write a fable of their own for the summative assessment. (The teacher should use a narrative graphic organizer that has already been introduced.)
2. The teacher will review the elements of the fable and have those elements projected for all students to see. (Another option would be for all students to have a
copy of the Characteristics of a Fable Handout which they can keep out while they are writing their fable.)
3. The teacher will review the attached Writing a Fable Rubric with the students so they know how their writing will be assessed.
4. Students will plan, draft, revise, edit and write a final copy of their fable.
5. Once students have written their first draft, they meet with the teacher and revise and edit based on suggestions and comments from the teacher.
page 2 of 4 6. Comments and or questions the teacher can state or pose during a revision conference include any of the following:
What other words can we use to describe__________________?
What else can the author write to make that point in the story?
Where in the story can the reader see some character traits of ____________?
What descriptions of your setting create a mood in the story?
After listening to your fable being read aloud (teacher reads, student listens) what did you notice?
How can the moral of the story be more evident? What does the dialogue reveal about the characters in the story?
Where in the fable is there a lapse in sequence?
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Students will have an opportunity to share their fables with each other. With fable in hand, students will randomly walk around the classroom until they are cued by
the teacher. Once cued, students will find a partner by slapping hands, and then students will read their fables to each other. This process can be repeated as many
times or over as many days as the teacher would like.
Summative Assessment
Students will write a fable of their own for the summative assessment. (The teacher should use a narrative graphic organizer that has already been introduced.)
1. The teacher will review the elements of the fable and have those elements projected for all students to see. (Another option would be for all students to have a
copy of the Characteristics of a Fable Handout, which they can keep out while they are writing their fable.)
2. The teacher will review the attached Writing a Fable Rubric with the students so they know how their writing will be assessed.
3. Students will plan, draft, revise, edit and write a final copy of their fable.
4. Once students have written their first draft, they meet with the teacher and revise and edit based on suggestions and comments from the teacher.
5. Comments and or questions the teacher can state or pose during a revision conference include any of the following:
What other words can we use to describe __________________?
What else can the author write to make that point in the story?
Where in the story can the reader see some character traits of ____________?
What descriptions of your setting create a mood in the story?
After listening to your fable being read aloud (teacher reads, student listens), what did you notice?
How can the moral of the story be more evident?
What does the dialogue reveal about the characters in the story?
Where in the fable is there a lapse in sequence?
Formative Assessment
The teacher will monitor student discussions about the characteristics of fables in Step 7 of the Teaching Phase to determine student level of understanding.
The teacher will collect the Venn Diagrams completed by the students in Step 8 of the Teaching Phase as feedback to determine if students need more instruction
on the genre of fables.
During the Guided Practice, the teacher will monitor the student answers and discussions while the students share ideas using the Turn Around Strategy.
Feedback to Students
During the Teaching Phase, when students are working together to identify the characteristics of a fable as well as working on the Venn diagram, the teacher can ask
any of the following questions or make any of the following comments:
What other elements of personification did you notice in that fable?
Why did the author decide to _____________ in the fable?
Were there more similarities or differences between the two fables? Why?
What about the ___________ in the story? Was that a similarity or difference?
When the characters did ___________ in each fable what element was the author showing the readers? How did you come to that conclusion?
Where in the fable is the answer to that question found?
How does the text help to answer that question?
How were you able to determine the moral of the story?
You are both working very well together.
I like the way you are taking turns in filling out the Venn diagram.
I like the respect I hear in your voices as you are sharing ideas.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Students can listen to audio versions of the two fables to ensure better comprehension.
Students can tape their final fables before actually publishing them to help them organize their story ideas.
Students can have a scribe for their final fable.
Students can work in groups of three instead of two during the Guided Practice when they are sharing answers and discussion.
Extensions:
Students can create Reader's Theater scripts from their fables and present them to the class.
Students can create modern day fables using popular animal cartoon characters or characters from television and movies.
Students can create an audio recording of their actual fable using PowerPoint slides.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
page 3 of 4 Handout: Characteristics of Fables
Fable: "The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse"
Fable: "The Owl and The Grasshopper"
Copies of Writing A Fable Rubric
Copies of Venn diagram – 1 copy for every 2 students
1 copy of Text Dependent Questions handout
Whiteboard
Whiteboard markers
Whiteboard erasers
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Name of Author/Source: Anonymously Submitted
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.4.RL.1.1:
LAFS.4.RL.1.3:
LAFS.4.RL.3.9:
LAFS.4.W.1.3:
LAFS.4.W.2.4:
LAFS.4.W.2.5:
Description
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from
the text.
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a
character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of
events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and
clear event sequences.
a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event
sequence that unfolds naturally.
b. Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
c. Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events.
d. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience. (Grade­specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and
editing.
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