Reading Lesson Plan- Fables

UNIT BIG IDEA

“Expanding our Horizons:” In this unit, we will learn about how people have different perspectives and how to share/discuss
them in a healthy, civil, insightful, and meaningful way.

LESSON RATIONALE
This lesson is important because it teaches students about the structure of fables, important life lessons within fables,
and how to write meaningful fables of their own so that they can apply and share these life lessons in their own lives as
well as in the lives of others. This lesson will focus on the strategies of “Summarizing What’s Most Essential (5.3)” and
“Retell What’s Most Important (5.11)” from the Serravallo Reading Strategies book.

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s)— Students will be able to read and interpret a story according to their own perspective
B. Objective(s)—Students will be able to read/listen to a fable, summarize what happened, identify themes, and
draw out important life lessons from the story
—Students will be able to apply what they know about the contents/structure of a fable to write
their own fable with a theme/main idea and act it out

Standard(s): 4.RL.2.2 Paraphrase or summarize the main events in a story, myth, legend, or novel; identify the theme
and provide evidence for the interpretation.

II. Management Plan- Time per lesson element, use of space, list of materials. Describe expectations and
procedures.

Materials: Computer (Projector, SmartBoard etc), markers/pens/pencils, internet access, scrap paper/whiteboards/giant sticky
notes, laptops/iPads to view, props, books both print and online (https://freekidsbooks.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/12/Aesops_Fables_for_children-Illustrated-FKB.pdf) , Recording Sheet
( (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BiPJfsxp4pKdfXp7T4po6AoFuAClaV35/view?usp=sharing)
Time per Element:
Anticipatory Set- 3 minutes
Instruction- 10 minutes
Activity: 10 minutes (x3 stations)
Assessment- 7 minutes
C. Space-Anticipatory set: At reading corner. Instruction: At reading corner, Activity: Around the classroom
Assessment: At seats
For the stations I’m going to have one group of students working with me in a horseshoe desk formation and another
group on the floor in one corner and table behind my group so I can still see and supervise all of them.
D. Behavior: Groups will be assigned by the teacher to avoid any arguing among students. All students will be expected
to participate in some way rather it be sharing thoughts, sharing their discoveries, taking part in the activity, or
answering questions in the lesson
E. Procedure: The anticipatory set, instruction, and assessment will take place in the reading corner. During instruction,
the teacher will talk about what a fable is, how we find main ideas/themes, and how we find the life lesson hidden in
the story. Afterwards, groups will be assigned by the teacher, and told where in the classroom they will work.
F. Students: Students will be given clear instructions about what to do in each station and will be given checkpoints that
one representative of each group has to show me to make sure everyone is on task. I will be up front with my guided
reading group most of the time except for a short check up on another group while I give my GR group a question to
think about. I will keep noise level at indoor voices.
G. Stations: Station 1: Guided reading with teacher (2 groups separately)
Station 2: Student guided reading
Station 3: Student Collaborative Application Creation

III. Anticipatory Set

“OK students, today before we get started I'm going to tell you guys a story from my childhood. So get comfortable,
turn your listening years on, and enjoy the story.

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 Once upon a time, Mr. Yoder was at his grandma and grandpa's house. Now, all the cousins were at grandma and
grandpa's house. All of the cousins were older than Mr. Yoder. One of our favorite traditions when all the cousins
were at grandpa and grandma's house was to ride the Go Kart around the street. All of the cousins took their
turn riding the Go Kart all by themselves. At the time, Mr. Yoder was the youngest cousin. He was only about four
or five years old. He watched as each of his cousins rode the Go Kart all by themselves. Now, Mr. Yoder thought it
was unfair for all the other cousins to ride the Go Kart by themselves and him be the only one who had to sit on
Grandpa’s lap. It made him feel like a helpless little baby. But Mr. Yoder was determined. So he got up, went
inside and asked Mom if he could ride the go kart all by himself. She said no. So he went to Dad and asked him if
he could ride the go kart all by himself. He said no too. So Mr. Yoder went to Grandma and asked her if he could
ride the go kart all by himself. Grandma said no way. So finally, Mr. Yoder went to grandpa and asked him if he
could ride the go kart all by himself. Grandpa wanted to make me feel happy and included, and he said yes. I told
Mom, Dad, and Grandma that Grandpa said it was ok to which he agreed. Finally the time came. It was Mr.
Yoder’s turn to ride the go kart all by himself. He sat down in the seat and Grandpa told him which one was the
gas and which was the brake. But Mr. Yoder was so excited, he didn’t hear a word Grandpa said. He put the gas
pedal down as hard as he could. He went flying down the road. It was so much fun until BANG! Mr. Yoder went
flying right into a pine tree! The whole family was scared and came running over to make sure he was ok!
Luckily, Mr. Yoder walked away with no injuries, but he made quite a scare.

What did you guys think Mr. Yoder learned from this experience?

Just as we discussed what Mr. Yoder learned from his experience, we can read stories to learn important life lessons.

IV. Purpose: Today we are going to learn about fables. Fables are important because they help us identify themes,
main ideas, and important life lessons that we can connect and apply to our own lives.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners-- Demonstrate your understanding of individual
differences and diverse families, culture, and communities unique to the students in this class as you describe
the specific instructional opportunities provided in this lesson.

Early finishers- Read more fables or create one of your own independently or quietly with another person who is
done.
ELL- Have them draw or act out the main ideas of the story have a buddy for them that could help them as they go
through each station
Handicapped/wheelchair- Have a friend push them around and if they are able, they could be the notetaker/scribe
ADHD- Provide flexible seating/ fidget toys as needed, moving around the room, provide books with pictures so they
are stimulated while the read
Multiple intelligences- My stations include moving around the room and exploring which is evidence of bodily-
kinesthetic, working in groups which is evidence of interpersonal, and student guided exploration around the
classroom which is evidence of naturalistic

VI. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

“Now, if you were listening to what I just said about why fables are important or you read fables with someone at home
from time to time, you may already know the answer to what I’m going to ask you. Can anybody tell me what a fable is or
what they know about fables? (Give time for responses). Great responses! Thanks for your participation! A fable is story
with a theme or main idea that teaches us a valuable life lesson. Now, let me ask you this: do you think a fable would be
good if the author just wrote in the book and told us “The life lesson , or moral, of this story is…?” No! What makes fables
so exciting and fun is that we have to discover the themes and life lessons for ourselves. Now, since we have to discover
the themes and life lessons ourselves, let me ask you this: Do you think there can only be one life lesson in a given story or
only one correct theme? You’re right, the answer is no! We all respond/react differently to the story and the life lesson or
theme that one person got out of the story may not be the same one you think of. The possibilities are endless as long as
you can explain your reasoning! Ok, well now that we have a basic understanding of what fables are, we are going to do
some activity rotations that will help us explore fables even further.

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One group will be with me where I will read you a fable and ask you questions about it as well as do an activity with it to
help build our reading comprehension skills. I’ll tell you exactly what you’re going to do.

At another station, you will find a stack of fables. You will each choose one to read silently. Once you are done reading
silently, wait until the rest of your group is done reading. If you finish early, you can start reading another one. Once
everyone had read at least one fable on their own, you will talk to your peers about it. You will take turns going around
the circle one at a time and sharing about your fable. There are a few things I want you to share with your peers. First, I
want you to give a summary of your book. This should include the setting, the characters, and the plot. Then, you are
going to share some main ideas/themes you found in your book. Finally, you are going to share the life lesson in the story.
Make sure that when you’re not sharing, you are writing down what your peers are saying on a recording sheet I will give
you. You will fill out a recording sheet for each person that shares.

At the third station you will work with your group to write your own fable which you will choose to either read or act out
in front of the class at the end of the week or if we have some free time. First, you are going to brainstorm some ideas with
your group. You will want think of some characters, a theme/main idea, a setting, and an important life lesson. Your life
lesson may not come to you right away. If you have to write the story and then pull out a lesson, that may be what works
best for you. Whether you want to decide on a life lesson before you write, while you write, or after you write is up to you.

(Tell students their groups and release them to their stations. )

Guided Reading Group 1 (lower level reading students) Easier fable, has illustrations

“Ok students. Today I am going to read you a fable called “The Lion and the Mouse.” Now right away, does anything seem
interesting to you about the title of this story? Yeah a lion and a mouse don’t seem to be a very common pair don’t they.
They’re opposite; the lion is big and strong, while the mouse is little and weak. Let’s see how that plays out in our story.
(Start reading story) Ok., lets pause really quick. Do you think that the mouse is going to be gracious and kind and save the
lion? (Listen to responses, then keep reading) Let’s find out! (Keep reading) You were right, the mouse did end up saving
the lion. Why do you think the mouse did that? Do you think the mouse should have saved the lion or not? (listen to
responses) Ok, so now that we’ve read the whole fable, I want you to go back into the book and tell me what you think the
life lesson from the story is. (Listen to the responses) Good, the story was about not thinking someone couldn’t help you
just because they’re different than you. Ok, now you’re going to go to the next station and read and discuss some fables
with your peers. Remember all the skills we worked on and use them as you read the fables.

1. Prereading: Asking students what they notice about the title of the story
2. Reading: Pausing when the lion gets stuck and ask students if they think the mouse if going to save him or not
3. Responding: Ask students if they think the mouse should have saved the lion
4. Exploring: Ask students to go back in the text and pick out the life lesson from the story
5. Applying: Encourage students to use the skills they practiced with me when they get to the independent fable reading
station

Guided Reading Group 2 (upper level reading students) Shorter, but more complex story and moral, no illustration,
moral not as clearly stated.

“Ok students. Today I am going to read you a fable called “The Bundle of Sticks.” Based off of the title of the fable, what do
you think it might be about and why? (Listen to student responses) (Start reading) Ok, as we begin to read, what seems to
be the setting and who are the characters we have been introduced to so far? (Listen to student responses) (Finish the
story). Ok, now that we’re finished reading the story, I want you to give me a brief summary of what we read. (Listen to
student responses) Ok, now that we have a good understanding of the fable we just read, I want you to take some time, go
back into the story, and see if you identify the moral of the story. (Give students some time, listen to responses) Good, the
moral of this story is that if we stick together, we won’t break as easily than if we were all individual. Now, do you think
there is only one moral of the story? Did you notice any other main ideas, themes, or morals? (Listen to student
responses) Ok, great. Thank you all for your great participation. Remember all the skills we worked on together and use
those to help you on the next activity.

1. Prereading: Ask students based off the title, what do you think this story might be about?
2. Reading: Ask students to name all of the characters and the setting and ask them questions about predicting how the
setting and characters may contribute to the plot.
3. Responding: Have students summarize the story and ask if their predictions were correct and why

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4. Exploring: Ask students to go back in the text and find the moral of the story
5. Applying: Have students come up with several other possible life lessons that could be drawn from the story instead of
just the obvious one

VII. Check for understanding: (Serravallo 7.12 “Dig Deeper to Find a Story’s Topic”)

“From what I could see, you all did a great job at all the stations! Let’s go ahead and do a quick review to make
sure we understand the big ideas from today’s lesson. On the white board, I am going to draw a big box and
write the question “What’s the story really about?” I am going to read you a very short fable and you are going to
write on a post it note a main idea, theme, or life lesson you got out of the story and put it on the board under the
question “What’s the story REALLY mean?” (Read fable and give students time to write on the sticky note and
out it on the board) Wow! I love all of your ideas. They are all so deep and insightful. Great job! You all really
know what you’re doing!

VIII. Review learning outcomes/Closure

“You all obviously listened well today, learned well today, and showed me you really knew your stuff. What a fun lesson it
was! Remember how we started off with Mr. Yoder’s crazy go kart story, and how we read together at my table, and how
you got to choose fables you were interested in to read, and how we even got to write our own fables. If you couldn’t quite
finish those fables, I will give you more time tomorrow and we’ll present them at the end of the week. Throughout all the
activities, we learned about how to find main ideas, themes, and life lessons as well as learn about characters, titles, and
settings. We learned so much today, but you all showed me that you are capable of learning and capable of working hard
and I couldn’t be more proud of you guys for all of your hard work!

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

Informal Assessment: As my guided reading students are thinking about a question I asked them, I will go ask another
station a quick question about what they are doing and what they are learning. This helps me keep them engaged and
accountable.

Formal Assessment: I will have student turn in the recording sheets they filled out about their peers’ fables for me to
grade. I will take time to read each students’ responses and decide if they met the learning objectives and goals.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. Did I have enough time to achieve my goals and objectives effectively?
5. Do students know how to go beyond just reading the book?
6. Can students use the reading skills they already know to solve problems?
7. Can students create examples of fables on their own?
8. Can students successfully find the main ideas, themes, and life lessons from fables?
9. Can my students work together with each other successfully in small group settings?
10. How would I pace it differently?
11. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
12. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
a. Bloom’s Taxonomy
b. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences