A Retelling of Aesop's Fable
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Lexia Reading Core5 GRADE 2 | Comprehension LEXIA LESSONS Compare/Contrast Stories (Supplemental) Description Supplemental Lexia Lessons can be used for whole class, small group or individualized instruction to extend learning and enhance student skill development. This lesson is designed to help students identify likenesses and differences between two similar stories from different cultures. Students learn that folktales and fables are old stories that have been retold many times, and often change in the retelling. Comparing and contrasting two versions of the same story can sensitize students to variations in storytelling and also help them begin to appreciate that big ideas in literature are universal. Teacher Tips Students are introduced to each text in this lesson by following along as you read it aloud. Preview the texts to determine if your students are likely to be able to read them to you instead, with some support. Preparation/Materials • Copies of the two stories “The Milkmaid and Her Pail” and “The Daydream” (for display and for each student) • Copies of the compare-contrast graphic organizer (for display and for each student) CCSS: RL.2.9 Direct Instruction Today we’ll be reading stories that are very old. They were passed down over time from storyteller to storyteller before they were written down. The two stories come from different parts of the world, but you’ll see that they are alike in many ways. Display the first story, the fable “The Milkmaid and Her Pail.” Have students read aloud the title and subtitle. Encourage students to tell what they know of Aesop’s fables. They may be familiar with “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” for example. A fable is a short story that teaches a lesson. A man named Aesop was a storyteller who was famous for his fables. Aesop lived in ancient Greece more than 2,500 years ago, so these fables are very, very old. Read the story aloud while students follow along. After reading, ask questions to draw attention to the central message, key details, and story structure. Questions to ask: Reread the first paragraph. One detail in that paragraph is that the milkmaid has “a large pail of milk balanced on her head.” Why is that important to the story? (It’s important to know that because she moves her head at the end, and the pail falls down.) What does the milkmaid imagine as she carries the pail of milk? Use time-order words like first, next, and then to tell about her thoughts. (She imagines what she’ll do with the milk. First, she’ll make cream from it. Next, she’ll make butter. Then she’ll sell the butter and buy eggs. After that, the eggs will hatch into chickens. Next, the chickens will lay more eggs that become chickens. After that, she’ll sell chickens and buy a beautiful dress. Then she’ll go to the fair in her dress and act as if she doesn’t care to know the young men who think she’s so lovely. At last, she’ll toss her This material is a component of Lexia Reading® www. lexialearning.com www. This material is a component of Lexia Reading® © 2015 Lexia Learning Systems LLC head to show how proud she is.) Script page 1 Lexia Reading Core5 GRADE 2 | Comprehension LEXIA LESSONS Compare/Contrast Stories (Supplemental) Read the statement of the moral at the end of the story. (“Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.”) What does that mean for the milkmaid? (She shouldn’t imagine getting money by selling chickens because she doesn’t have any chickens yet.) If someone says to you, “Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched,” what do you think that saying means? (Just because you hope something will happen doesn’t mean that it will happen. It’s better to take one step at a time than to be thinking of the last step. Don’t count on a plan working out, because something might go wrong.) Display the second story, the folktale, “The Daydream.” We’ve just read a very old story about a milkmaid whose plans did not work out as she hoped. Now we’ll read another very old story about someone who makes a plan. Have students read aloud the title and subtitle. Ask students to tell how a daydream is different from the kind of dream people have when sleeping. Then have students use their own words to explain what “a retelling of a tale from India” means. Read the story aloud while students follow along. After reading, ask questions to draw attention to the central message, key details, and story structure and to get students thinking about similarities and differences with the previously read fable. Questions to ask: CCSS: RL.2.9 Reread the first two paragraphs of “The Daydream.” What details there remind you of what happens in “The Milkmaid and Her Pail”? (The worker carries a basket with pots of oil balanced on his head. Like the milkmaid, he's doing a job and balancing something on his head.) What does the worker daydream about as he carries the pots of oil? Use time-order words like first, next, and then to tell about his thoughts. (He imagines what he’ll do with the copper coins he gets as payment. First, he’ll use one coin to buy food. He’ll use the other to buy chickens. Then he’ll sell the eggs that the chickens lay. After that, he’ll buy goats. After the goats make more goats, he’ll sell some and buy cows. Next, he’ll sell the calves that are born to the cows. After that, he’ll use that money to buy land. Next, he’ll get married and have children. Then, one evening, his children will tell him to wash his hands for dinner. Then, he’ll shake his head to tell them no.) Reread the first sentence of the last paragraph. (The merchant was laughing too hard to be angry anymore.) Why is the merchant laughing? (The worker’s story made him laugh because it was so silly. The worker was acting as if he really did lose all the things that he never had.) Are the endings of “The Milkmaid and Her Pail” and “The Daydream” alike or different? (Some students may note that the endings are alike, because in both stories the characters move their heads and drop the items that were going to lead to riches. Some students may note that the endings are different, because “The Daydream” tells what happens after the items fall; the worker tells a funny story that saves him from having to pay the merchant back for the lost oil.) Guided Practice Distribute copies of both texts, along with copies of the compare-contrast graphic organizer. Now that we’ve read the two stories, we can sum up our ideas about how they are alike and different. We’ll write notes in this chart to show our ideas. Let’s start by writing the title of each text above the left and right sections. This material is a component of Lexia Reading® www. lexialearning.com www. This material is a component of Lexia Reading® © 2015 Lexia Learning Systems LLC Script page 2 Lexia Reading Core5 GRADE 2 | Comprehension LEXIA LESSONS Compare/Contrast Stories (Supplemental) Model filling in the chart with the text titles. Have students write the titles in their own charts. Prompt students to reread in order to compare and contrast the texts. Ask for ideas in complete sentences, and show how to write key words and phrases as notes for students to copy. Suggested prompts follow. We’ve read two stories that are alike in many ways. What are both stories mainly about? (Characters make big plans that don’t work out.) What events are alike in both stories? (Characters carry things on their heads. They imagine how the thing they’re carrying will lead them to what they want. They get so caught up in their dreaming that they forget about what’s on their heads. They end up moving their heads and dropping the thing.) Can you think of other things we should write in the “Both” section? Discuss students’ ideas and reasoning, and add any details that accurately describe both tales. Now let’s look at the section for “The Milkmaid and Her Pail.” What are some things that are only in this story? (Sample responses: The main character is a milkmaid. She is carrying a pot of milk. She imagines how to turn milk into a beautiful dress. Her dream is to be able to show off in front of young men. The lesson is stated at the end.) What should we write in the section for “The Daydream?" (Sample responses: The main character is a worker in India. He is carrying pots of oil. He imagines how to turn one copper coin into a happy life with land and a family. He thinks he really has lost all those things. Another CCSS: RL.2.9 character, a merchant, is also in the story.) Independent Application Display this prompt, and read it aloud with students: Think about the main characters in “The Milkmaid and Her Pail” and “The Daydream.” • What is one important way that both characters are alike? • Use details from both stories to support your idea. • Use complete sentences in your answer to the question. Encourage students to use their own words to tell what they are being asked to do. Tell them to refer to the chart they just filled out, along with the two stories, to answer the question.