Fables

Grade: 4
Common Core State Standard:
Objective: By the end of this lesson students will be able to distinguish different
characteristics in a fable.
Materials:
Aesops Fables by Lisbeth Zwerger
Chart Paper
Graphic Organizer
Procedure:
1. Lesson Introduction/ Objective and purpose:
a. Today we will begin thinking about and developing a deeper
familiarity with fables. Some of you may have heard of this genre and
have either read some fables or have been told them by someone else.
One thumb up if youve heard of fables.
Two thumbs up if youve read a fable before.
b. Well today I want to teach you that fables are stories that have
particular characteristics, that we will always find when we read
them. Knowing these characteristics, and knowing how fables tend to
go, helps us to read them and know what to expect when we are
reading them. This makes it easier for us to understand the story as
we read and deepens our comprehension of story, too. Before we read
a fable, lets brainstorm characteristics of a fable together.
i. Scaffold class to have them say these characteristics:
1. Animal Characters
2. Personification- human characteristics.
3. Conflict
4. Few characters
5. Teaches a moral or lesson
6. Short stories
c. Great job at distinguishing the characteristics of fables. Lets see if we
can recognize these characteristics of a fable as we read a story
together.
d. I have put this graphic organizer up on the board for us all to fill in
together as we read.
2. Teach and Model
a. I am going to read you all a story from Aesops Fables called The
Hares and the Frogs. (Fill in Title part of graphic organizer.) When you
hear a characteristic of a fable I would like you to give me a thumbs
up.

b. Since the stories are so short, I am going to read it through once and
then we will go back and talk about the characteristics we found.
c.
3. Guided Practice
a. Boys and girls I think you are ready to find these characteristics on
your own. I am going to read you the story of The Hare and the
Tortoise and you are going to fill out your own graphic organizer.
Remember to keep in mind the characteristics of fables, and the list of
characteristics are right up here to refer back to if you need help.
4. Independent Practice
a. Remember when you know how stories go, and you know the
structure or form of a story, it can help you as a reader know what to
expect in the story. Knowing what to expect in a story helps a reader
understand the story better. So I would like you all to keep these
characteristics in mind when reading fables independently.
5. Assessment
a. I will be able to know students are successful by collecting their
graphic organizers. If the graphic organizers are filled out correctly
with the correct characteristics, then I will know the students have
met the objective of the lesson.