The Tortoise and the Hare: Reading Activity Ideas

Reading Activity Ideas Reading: "The Tortoise & the Hare" By: Aesop (Aesop’s
Fables)

by Iva Skobic

Fables are a great tool for the ESL classroom. They often use language that is simple enough for
beginning learners, but have lessons and morals which are complex enough for advanced
students. Below are some pre-, during, and post-reading activity suggestions using "The Tortoise
and the Hare," one of Aesop's most famous fables.

Pre-reading: To activate schema and raise interest, the teacher may pre-teach the term “fable”
and “moral” (in a culturally homogeneous class, the teacher may show pictures of popular fables
from the students’ country) and lead a class discussion around the following questions:

 What is a fable? Who was Aesop?

 Are any of Aesop’s fables (or fables in general) popular in your country?
 What does a fable say about a society’s beliefs and morals?
 What is the “narrative arc” of a fable? (this question could entail its own set of activities.

1. Students read the first few sentences of the fable, and then make 3 predictions of what
will happen in the story. After reading, students compare their predictions and how these
were the same/different from the story with other students.
2. Students are given a cartoon or picture (depending on the level) of the Tortoise & the
Hare with the dialogue omitted. From the pictures, students must discuss the pictures in
groups of 3 or 4 and guess the story. Then the students read the story and discuss where
they were correct and incorrect.

During reading:

1. The teacher divides the class into groups of 4. Each student receives 1/4 of the story.
Each student reads his/her section and decides whether it should go in the
beginning/middle/end of the story. Students then discuss their sections and put the story
together. Finally, the the teacher provides the full story and students discuss whether what
they did correctly and incorrectly and why.
2. An alternative would be to divide the story into 5, not giving the students the ending of the
story. After putting the story together, the students must write the ending. Then, the the
teacher hands out the actual ending and students discuss the similarities and differences.
3. After reading the first few sentences, students receive a text with certain words erased
and replaced with a blank space (for example, all simple present verbs) and predict what
words should complete the cloze. Students then continue reading to check their answers.
4. Students are given the fable in sections, having to stop to make predictions after each
section they read, then reading on to see whether or not their predictions were correct.

Post-reading:

1. Students are given access to the PDF of Aesop’s fables. Each s reads 3-5 fables of their
choice and pin-points the “moral of the story.” Later activities (depending on level) can
include presentations on individual fables, mapping which animals represent which
personality traits and why, and comparing similarities and differences in 1) narrative arc, 2)
“moral of the story,” 3) characters [always animals!] between these fables and perhaps
fables from the students’ own countries.
2. In groups of 3, students are given a sheet with four blank squares. Students must
summarize the story (lower levels may do this as a class) and then draw a cartoon of the
story (with or without dialogue) to test comprehension and retention.
3. Students choose one character and write a "spin-off" story (for example, what happens to
the disgraced Hare after the race? How did the tortoise learn to be persistent?)
4. Students watch a cartoon adaptation of the Tortoise & the Hare (for example,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeZe2qPLPh0), taking notes on the differences between
the story and the cartoon. Then, in groups of 4 or more, students develop and put on a play
with their favorite elements from each version. The class and the teacher vote on the best
(most thorough, entertaining, funny, dramatic, etc.) adaptation.
5. Students play: “How would the story be different if…?” with the the teacher providing
different scenarios and students having to “speed write” their ideas in 2-3 minutes. Students
then rewrite the ending of the story based on their favorite scenario (in groups in class or
individually as homework).
6. Students write journal entries reflecting on a time they and/or someone they know have
been like the tortoise and/or the hare. More advanced/older classes may comment on how
the lessons in the Tortoise & the Hare may apply to their personal/professional lives and/or
politics or world events, while lower-level/younger students may comment on their own lives.
7. Students choose a fable from their own country, then journal about the
similarities/differences between that fable and its moral and the style and moral of the
Tortoise & the Hare. Another option would be to retell their country’s fable in the style of
Tortoise & the Hare.