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Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
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Comprehension Skills: Evaluate Using Fiction Stories and Aesop's Fables
Primary readers investigate several comprehension skills in the ten lessons of this unit. Forming opinions about stories, comparing stories to each other, using Venn Diagrams, and applying the ideas from a story to real life situations...
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And the Moral of the Story is...
Students retell a story using computer software. For this story elements lesson, students retell the story giving the plot, setting, characters and moral using Pixie software.
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Those Fabulous Fables
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...
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Around the Room Short Story
Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...
August House
The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind
Learn the moral of the story with a series of activities about Aesop's fables. Focusing on The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind, learners complete a graphic organizer to discuss who, what, how, and why the events occur. Additionally,...
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Inventions and Magic
Explore physical science by reading Barthlomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. Discuss the moral of the story and the discretion an inventor must use when creating something they want instead of something they need. This lesson is embedded...
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Talk is Cheap
Second graders listen to the tale, "The Tortoise and the Hare" and discuss the moral of the story. Afterward, they brainstorm words that encouraged the Tortoise to accomplish his goal. Students then review the concept of goal setting and...
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Character Traits in Fables
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...
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Theme and Fables Review
In this fables instructional activity, students read fables and write the moral of the story and how their answer relates to the story. Students do this for 5 stories.
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Aesop's Fables
Regale your class with renditions of Aesop's fables from the engaging, and beautifully illustrated book by Jerry Pinkney. Guide discussion to practice prediction, compare and contrast various stories, explore the connections between the...
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Different Strokes For Different Folktales
Young readers use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and story maps, to analyze a variety of folktales and the elements of a story. They use writing, sequencing activities, and creative art to identify the morals learned from a...
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Morality "Tails" East and West: European Fables and Buddhist Jataka Tales
Have your class explore Buddhist Jataka Tales to compare and contrast them to European fables. After defining fables, Jataka tales, and the elements of each, learners identify themes and patterns for both types of narratives and the...
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Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales for Grades K-3
Have your class explore the art of storytelling through this lesson on fairy tales and folktales. Learners interact with a variety of fairy tales and folktales. They practice telling stories out loud as well as writing their own. This...
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Understanding Theme with Fables
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...
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Fable Writing - Interdisciplinary Approach to Social Sciences
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...
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We Tell Stories
Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...
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Teaching Peace through Literature and Song
Negative effects of bullying come to light through listening to the book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. Class members identify philanthropic acts portrayed in the story and make illustrations to connect them to their own...
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Story of Self-Choosing to Participate
Everyone has a story; help your writers develop their own with this prewriting packet. Designed for upstanders to share their story and encourage others to be upstanders, this set of questions helps writers craft and structure a story to...
August House
The Clever Monkey
Your clever kindergartners will enjoy a series of activities based on the West African folktale, The Clever Monkey, adapted by Rob Cleveland. They sequence the story with pictures, copy sentences, illustrate idioms about cats, and taste...
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And the Moral of the Story is...
Students discover the parts of a story through the retelling of a fable as well as characters, plot, and setting. This lesson is completed using the program Pixie to create an online storybook.
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Recognizing Elements of a Short Story
In this short story elements worksheet, students recognize the elements of short story by reading the sentences and selecting the correct story element. Students complete 10 online questions.
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Teaching "Theme" with Children's Literature
In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...
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Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict
Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...