Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 59839
Close Reading of the Folk Tale "The Little Red Hen"
This lesson will provide an in-depth look at a classic folk tale, "The Little Red Hen." By the completion of the lesson, students will have analyzed the
key characters. They will also have written a new version of the folk tale based on the things they learned about the characters and that puts a
twist on the original version.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 4
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, LCD Projector, Adobe Acrobat
Reader
Instructional Time: 4 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: close reading, folk tale, The Little Red Hen, character analysis, character point of view, story elements,
story map, narrative writing
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Little Red Hen Summative Rubric.pdf
Narrative Writing Rubric for Fourth Grade.pdf
Little Red Hen Summative Writing Assessment Paper.pdf
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?
The students will be able to:
Answer text based questions to demonstrate their understanding of the folk tale after reading "The Little Red Hen."
Use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words.
Describe characteristics of the fox and the hen, comparing and contrasting them to each other and to real-life animals.
Use the story structure of this folk tale to create their own using the guidelines given.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
From prior grade level standards, students should have a basic ability to:
Ask and answer questions about the text using text-based evidence (characters, setting, major events and details, etc.).
Recount stories including fables and folk tales, determine the central message or lesson, and how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
While writing, establish a situation, introduce a narrator/characters, and organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
How can we use context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words?
Why do we use evidence from the text to support our answers to questions about the text?
What story elements are included in a folk tale?
How is the structure of a folk tale the same as other stories? How is it different?
page 1 of 4 Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Day 1
1. To assess prior knowledge of the text type, the teacher will ask:
What is a folk tale? (You can record responses on chart paper, whiteboard, or SMARTboard, depending on your resources.) Look for these responses: animals as
characters, a magical element, a moral or lesson to be learned, retold time and time again.
Why does an author put a moral or lesson in a folk tale?
Name some folk tales you have heard or read. (You can have students recap them at this point as well if you would like further clarification of their prior knowledge
of folk tales.)
What story elements are included in a folk tale?
How is the structure of a folk tale the same as other stories? How is it different?
First Reading
1. Pass out the text "The Little Red Hen" to the students. Some students may tell you that they have read/heard this folk tale before. Remind them that folk tales are
retold again and again, and therefore each version of the folk tale will be different. Explain to students that they will focus on story elements and the overall structure
of the folk tale.
2. Before students begin reading, provide sticky notes to them. Tell them that while they read, they should write down any questions they have about the text,
including any words they do not know. Have students close read "The Little Red Hen."
3. After students read the text, display a vocabulary t-chart where one side is titled "Word" and the other side is titled "Meaning." Ask, "How can we use context clues
to figure out the meaning of unknown words?" Discuss the following words, referring back to the text to use context clues to determine the definition of each word:
crafty, sly, scurried, perched, whisked (any other words your students may need to discuss can be added as well).
4. If students generated their own questions about the text, you may have them share them now. When students share their questions, they ask can call on other
students from the class to answer them. You can record these questions and answers on chart paper as they do this. Ask, "Why do we use evidence from the text to
support our answers to questions about the text?"
5. Display the story map and review story elements by asking these guiding questions:
Who are the characters in this story?
Where is the setting?
Does the setting change?
What is the problem in the story?
What are the important events in this story?
How is the problem solved?
What do the characters learn from what happened in the story?
Students will create a story map with a partner to solidify their understanding/identification of the story elements. Have students turn them in; look them over and
provide written feedback for each.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Day 2
Second Reading
1. Have students pull out their copy of "The Little Red Hen." Tell them that today, when they read the text, they will work in partners. (If you have a method of
assigning partners, such as assigned numbers on a craft stick, use that to partner students. You can also choose to use shoulder partners, numbering students off as
1s and 2s and having a 1 find a 2, partnering up by like color shirts/shorts, etc.) While they read, they will be focusing on understanding the characters in the story by
completing the Character Consideration graphic organizer. Tell them they will focus on the character of the fox and look for actions, thoughts, motivations, etc. as they
read.
2. When students are finished, have them come back together as a whole group to share the characteristics they came up with. Record on a class version of the
graphic organizer they used with their partners.
3. Ask the students:
Why was the fox determined to catch the hen?
How do you think the fox felt when the stone fell into the pot instead of the hen?
What lesson did the fox learn?
What does the author mean when she calls the fox "crafty and sly"?
Reread the fourth paragraph. How does the fox show he is "crafty and sly" in this paragraph?
I would use this question to begin a routine writing task question. Have students answer this one on an index card to collect for a grade. Remind students they
will need to answer the question using four parts:
1. Cite the text title they are finding their answer in,
2. Use words from the question to start their answer,
3. Give their answer, and
4. Use evidence from the text to support their answer.
Day 3
Third Reading
1. You will repeat the steps from Day 2, but focus the students on the hen's character. Provide the same graphic organizer from Day 2 for the students to complete in
partners based on the hen. As before, go over the students' responses by completing a graphic organizer as a class.
2. Following this reading, ask the following questions:
How does the hen prove to be too wise for the fox in the beginning of the story?
page 2 of 4 Why was the hen always so cautious?
How did the hen escape from the fox?
Why did she place a stone in the sack?
What lesson did the hen learn?
3. Now that we've focused on the character traits of the fox and the hen, think about what you know of real-life foxes and hens. Turn to your shoulder partner and
come up with a characteristic for each to share with the class. Record their responses on a T-chart.
4. Pose the following question for the students to do as another routine writing task (see previous writing expectations):
Choose either the fox or the hen and write a paragraph to compare and contrast the folk tale animal (character) to the real life animal. Use evidence from the
text to support your answer.
Day 4
1. Recall the story "The Three Little Pigs" with the students. Have the students give you a recap of the story. Remind them that this is a folk tale because:
1. Pigs are characters in the story who act as real people would,
2. There is a moral to learn, and
3. It has been retold many times, therefore there are different versions of the same story.
2. Display The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. Tell them that this text is going to be a completely different version of "The Three
Little Pigs" because it is told from the wolf's point of view and makes him out to be innocent. Read the story to the students.
3. Discuss how this version of the story differs from the original version. (Record on chart paper/whiteboard/SMARTboard if you would like.)
4. Have students take out their copy of "The Little Red Hen" and turn to a shoulder partner to respond to the following prompt:
Locate an event in "The Little Red Hen" where you could flip this version and make it more like the wolf's version of "The Three Little Pigs."
Have them generate their own ideas before sharing.
5. Ask partners to share their ideas with the group. Pick one idea and model with the students how to turn that specific part of the folk tale into a new version. (This
will prepare them for the summative writing activity.) Use the summative rubric/checklist and Narrative Writing Rubric to evaluate the modeled writing as a group; this
will familiarize students with the rubrics prior to starting their own writing.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
Day 5
The students will be asked to complete a culminating writing task using the following question:
Think back to the different characteristics of the fox and the hen throughout the folk tale "The Little Red Hen" and how these characteristics relate to their
characteristics as real-life animals. Based on how the fox and the hen's characters reacted to each other in this folk tale, write a new version of the folk tale where
the roles change between the fox and the hen. Be sure to use the same structure as the folk tale, but have the hen trying to catch the fox for dinner. Be sure to use
the real-life strengths and weaknesses of each animal when you write them trying to outwit each other.
Provide the students with the attached summative rubric prior to their writing to use as a checklist for self-assessment of their writing. Go over the Narrative Writing
Rubric before students begin to write to ensure understanding of the writing expectations.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
1. The teacher will invite any students who would like to share their summative writing assessment with the class to do so via Author's Chair (said student sits in a
special chair/the teacher's chair to read their writing aloud).
2. Review the guiding questions to see how student understanding of the text has deepened through completion of the lesson.
Summative Assessment
The students will be asked to complete a culminating writing task using the following question:
Think back to the different characteristics of the fox and the hen throughout the folk tale "The Little Red Hen" and how these characteristics relate to their
characteristics as real-life animals. Based on how the fox and the hen's characters reacted to each other in this folk tale, write a new version of the folk tale where
the roles change between the fox and the hen. Be sure to use the same structure as the folk tale, but have the hen trying to catch the fox for dinner. Be sure to use
the real-life strengths and weaknesses of each animal when you write them trying to outwit each other.
Student writing will be assessed using the attached Narrative Writing Rubric.
Formative Assessment
To begin the lesson: The teacher will assess the students' background knowledge of folk tales. Ask for key details of folk tales, such as animals as characters, a
problem/solution, or a moral or lesson that is taught.
During the lesson: Students will complete two graphic organizers and will answer text-dependent questions. The teacher will be able to determine if students
understand the target skills based on their oral and written responses. Students will be given additional support as needed.
Feedback to Students
The students will get feedback from the teacher throughout the whole group portion of the lesson through use of whole group graphic organizers (described further in
the teaching phase). Students can also receive oral or written feedback on the graphic organizers they complete.
After the summative assessment, the students will get feedback through use of a summative rubric/checklist to score their writing.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
page 3 of 4 Accommodations:
ELL students can use Spanish-English dictionaries (or whatever type of dictionaries necessary for their home language).
ESE/ELL students who need it can use the various graphic organizers (T-Charts) completed in the lesson during the writing of their summative assessment.
The teacher can restate, rephrase, and repeat information as needed when prompted by struggling students.
When completing the story map and character analysis graphic organizers, the students can work with partners if needed.
Students who need additional assistance with writing can be provided a writing frame to complete the summative assessment.
Extensions:
Students can check out other folk tales from the school library. After reading the original version of the folktale, they can recreate the folk tale from the opposite point
of view. Have students illustrate their new writing and bind the completed writing assignments in a class book to display in the room/book nook.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, LCD Projector, Adobe Acrobat Reader
Special Materials Needed:
"The Little Red Hen" folk tale (from http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/TheLittleRedHenFiction4thGrade.pdf)
Chart paper
Markers
Sticky notes
Pencils
Index Cards
Blank paper
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Graphic organizers (see CPALMS Related Resources)
Summative Writing Paper with Question (attached)
Summative Writing Rubric (attached)
Narrative Writing Rubric (attached)
Further Recommendations:
Special partnerings of students for various parts of this lesson are listed throughout as needed.
While students are working in partners, the teacher should be circulating through the classroom. Guide groups who are off task in the right direction. Ask questions
of groups who are on task in order to know who would be key students to call on during the whole-group/sharing portions of the lesson.
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
"The Little Red Hen" has a Lexile of 870.
As a close reading activity, this lesson focuses on the application of the aligned skills, not as an introduction.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Heather Kahoun
Name of Author/Source: Heather Kahoun
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Osceola
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.W.1.3:
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).
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.
page 4 of 4