Expose young readers to a new genre of fiction with a short reading passage. After learning about fables, children identify the main idea and supporting details in preparation for writing a short summary. Read the text as a class,...

Imagine you could increase reading comprehension and social media skills at the same time. Learners can read and then respond to the tale "The Sons of Sultan Bey." Their comments are guided by comprehension-style questions and can be...

Young readers examine the details in an 1821 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting two sisters who are exiled princesses. They read a tale about the Brothers Grimm, who were writing fairy tales during the same time period that these...

Examine the fables of Aesop with your class. Pupils identify the morals of fables and role-play a scene from their favorite fable of Aesop. Additionally, they compose letters to a favorite character in the fable. Learners role-play again...

What is the moral of the story? Ask your class to read a series of fables from which the last line has been removed. After supplying this concluding statement, they must justify their responses. This could be used as an individual or...

Review the values of traditional literature. Each slide traces the history of oral storytelling, prominent literary figures, and explores the values of teaching through traditional literature. The presentation could be used as a teacher...

When we write a story with a message or specific purpose, we are writing something like a fable. Kids examine a wonderful tale about a boy whose wishes come true. They use their critical analysis skills to understand how the author...

Students read a famous Japanese fable and discuss why the main character plucked its own feathers. Using construction paper, they cut them into feather shapes and color them using colored pencils. To end the activity, they attach them to...

Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this lesson is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral to use as the...

Study folklore and its various criteria with your class. Young readers write original folktales and create visual displays. Individuals present their works to the rest of the class and compare the features of their stories with the...

Stories from "The Great Lakes Mariner" provide pupils with an opportunity to practice their synopsis-writing skills. The tabloid, which focuses on the Great Lakes region, is filled with stories written by sea captains, that are filled...

Before writing their own fables, class members select an animal or insect to use in their story and research its character, habits, movements, etc. After reading a wide variety of fables and identifying the elements of a fable, writers...

If you are looking for a instructional activity to cap off a unit on myths, legends, fables, and folktales, this is a solid option. Readers analyze additional stories in the genre to identify common elements to this type of literature....

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

This literature-based learning exercise presents pupils with the fable "The Lion and the Elephant Retold" by Ellen Baumwoll. No lesson is attached but the handout could be used as a resource to create Reader's Theater.

What a way to teach the parts of a play! Use Michelle Anthony’s adapted script of Falling for Rapunzel to demonstrate for your young readers the differences between stories and dramas. While no lesson plan is included, the script could...

Writers use details to infer meaning beyond the surface level of their stories. In this richly detailed plan, the lyrics of spirituals are used to show class members how to recognize these inferences and to recognize the messages...

Model for young learners how to determine the theme of a story. Read aloud Aesop’s The Fox and the Stork. Chart the plot and the main idea of the fable, showing class members how these elements support the theme. Fable titles for guided...

Three great graphic organizers guide readers to see how the elements of plot and main idea can be charted to reveal the theme of a story. Model the process on the provided Direct Teaching Teacher Graphic Organizer using Aesop’s The...

What details convey the moral of a story? This question guides a study of showing writing. After reading and discussing the moral of the Chinese fable “The Magic Pillow,” young readers use a graphic organizer to record the details from...

A brief list of folktales is displayed on these slides. Four types are written out with an example for each fairytale, tall tale, fable, and trickster tale. The last slides segues into the creator's favorite fairytale, "Two of...

Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...

Various fables, folk tales, myths, and legends are listed on these slides to give your learners examples of traditional literature. Plots and details are not included except for a few elements of tall tales, but you could use this before...

Use fables as a fun way for English Language Learners to gain confidence and fluency in their reading and speaking skills. After reading a fable in class, they retell their story to a group of their peers. When this jigsaw activity is...