Aesop's Fables {Must Read Mentor Text}

We are very excited to share our Must Read Mentor Text with you today!  About two weeks ago we were contacted by Vincent Mastro, the author of

Vincent asked if we would be willing to review the books for him.  Well, you know me, the bookaholic, I said YES PLEASE! But, then I realized he thought we taught younger grades.  So, I explained to him we teach 4th, but we'd still be glad to review them for him if he wanted us to.  

Lucky for us, I totally persuaded him, even though we only had 3 days of school left, but I was totally psyched because I couldn't wait to tell my class!!  So, we got super lucky, and I (Amanda) got to review Book 1 in the series and Stacia reviewed Book 2.  (AND he's working on Book 3!)

So, picture this.  3 days of school left.  Yep, you know what that looks like for kids and for teachers.  But, I loved that I could totally be honest with my class.  Here's how it went:

Me- Please come to the carpet, I have some really exciting news!

Them- (something close to a groan because the carpet means work) and they sluggishly come to the carpet.

Me-  So, guess what???

Them- Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????  (they look totally bored.)

Me-  This really cool author contacted me and he has asked if you and I would review his book.  AND tell him what we think! 

Them-  (sitting up straight and all eyes now.)

Me- So, I really want to read you some of his book, and see what you think?

Them-  How did he find you?  Why did he ask YOU?

Me-  Because he knows I have the best class and because I'm totally famous!!!  (ok, not the last part, but I did say the first part!  They don't know I have a blog.  I just told them I like helping and sharing what we are doing with other teachers, which is why I take so many pictures.  It's totally a motivator for them!)

So, after all that, we get started.  I had already picked a fable that I wanted to share with them (I knew in 3 days I couldn't do all that I wanted with the book, so I wanted to make the lesson really count).

The fables in this book are "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Crow and the Pitcher," and "The Friends and the Bear." I used "The Tortoise and the Hare" as a review of all of the elements of fables since they were all familiar with this fable.  

Then, I read them the fable "The Crow and the Pitcher" which was totally new to me and all of the students.  

Short synopsis- Aesop is a character in the book that goes out each day trying to find the answers to his questions.  On this day, while he's out, he meets his friend Crow who is thirsty.  Aesop tells him to get a drink from a pitcher of water on a table but the Crow can't get down in it to get the water.  So, how will he solve this problem???

Ok, not gonna lie here.  

I was worried of two things.  

#1 It would be too easy.  

#2 It was the end of the school year and they were going to totally "check out" on me.

Well, I worried for nothing!  They were totally hooked!  They loved the beautiful illustrations!  They kept trying to figure out how the crow was going to get the water!  And, we were all shocked when the crow put rocks in the water so he could get a drink!  It was great!  

Here are some things we did with the fable:

Sorry the pictures are so small.  You can click on any of them to make them bigger!

And, of course I have these graphic organizers for you as a freebie!!  :O)

I love that these fables are so traditional (which is what fables should be, right?) but they were new to my students, which allowed them for deeper thinking.  My students and I loved the fables, along with the illustrations.  I can definitely see myself using this book next year when we are talking about the different genres and I know my students will be totally engaged!  These books are great for teaching theme and for students to make inferences about the characters and the events in the story!  It created great discussion, between the students and a lot of analysis of the story!

Sorry my part was so long!!  You all know I'm wordy!!  :O)

Amanda

Now, onto Book 2 with Stacia!

Happy Sunday, Friends!

Okay, like Amanda said, I was a little worried doing a language arts lesson the last week of school. BUT, my kids really enjoyed it! I was shocked but I think they just love being read to and hearing a NEW story is always engaging.  :)

So, I explained that we were reading a fable together. We started by talking about fables and about some that they may have heard before. Then, I jumped right in to the story. The story we read is called "The Goose that Laid Golden Eggs." As we read, we made predictions and inferences and even thought about what the author was trying to teach us.

A short summary: Aesop listens to a story about a greedy farmer who has a goose that lays golden eggs. The farmer becomes so greedy that he will do anything to have as many golden eggs as possible...Now, I must say, this story surprised me because I never would have predicted (and my kids didn't either) that the farmer would do what he did (it definitely shocks the reader!). You'll have to read to find out... ;)

We used the same graphic organizers as Amanda did, and my kids came up with some great morals and lessons they learned:
"Don't be greedy because bad things can happen."
"Be patient."
"Share with others."

I am definitely using this story next year when I teach about fables. :)
-Stacia

PS-  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STACIA!!!!  Give her some birthday love!  ;O) ~Amanda

Now, it's your turn!

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Next week's topic- Math