For an overview of this project, click here.

Activity One | Activity Two | Activity Three | Extension Activities

The following is the suggested procedure for completing this project.

Activity One: Benjamin's Bowtie

1. Read the fable as a group.
2. Discuss the elements of a fable (setting, characters, problem/solution, moral)
3. Discuss the moral of this fable.
4. Students can e-mail the author (noah@fablevision.com) about their feelings about the fable.
5. Students will complete a writing assignment where they will write about a time that they were teased for being different or about a time when they felt pressured into doing what everyone else was doing. They should be sure to include: what happened, who was involved, what was the problem? How was the problem solved?

Activity Two: Benty

1. Read the fable as a group.
2. Review the following vocabulary:
   • casserole
   • realized
   • clearing
   • approaching
   • clamored
   • vibrations
   • scattered
3. Discuss the following quote and explain its meaning. “Hunting season opened and the forest creatures were on their guard.”
4. Re-read the fable (shared reading) Students will take notes after hearing the story twice.
5. Discuss the moral.
6. Read the Lion and the Mouse by Aesop.
7. Review the following vocabulary:
• shrugged
• scampered
• capture
• thrashed
• "the ropes bound him tighter"
• pitifully
• bellows
• scurrying
• gnawed
8. Reread the fable and compare and contrast to Benty
9. Use a Venn diagram or other graphic organizer to compare the two fables.

Activity Three: Froggy Fable

1. Read fable aloud as a group (shared reading).
2. Review vocabulary:
   • sulked
   • utterly
   • unexpected
   • bewilderment
   • whisked
   • scruffy
   • jostled
   • shelter
   • hollow
   • encountered
   • emerged
3. Discuss the following quote “ Wouldn’t you rather see the world alive and unfolding than keep things always the same?”
4. Re-read the fable.
5. Discuss the moral.
6. Cause & Effect Writing activity: Describe how the frog changed from the beginning of the story. What caused the frog to change? Explain.
7. Creative writing activity: Now that the frog is going on adventures with his friends, write about an adventure the frog may have had.

Extension Activities

Materials:

• cyberguides.com
• Aesop's Fables
• Graphic organizers - webs, Venn diagrams, problem/solution, cause/effect, comparison chart, T-charts

Activity 1- Text to Text Characterization- Students can read two or more fables with a focus on characters. Students will evaluate character traits from both fables. Students will identify common behaviors and themes using a graphic organizer of their choice.(venn diagram) Students will produce a written response that supports their comparisons.

Activity 2- Text to Self Connection- Student/teacher will read 2 or more fables as a shared reading, or independent reading activity. Students will make a text connection to their own experience incorporating elements from the fable. Students will write their connections in their writer's notebook and can share with the class.

Activity 3- Producing a Completed Fable Book- Students will produce a completed fable including a cover, dedication page, story, pictures, and a moral.

Activity 4- Producing a Modernized Tale- Students will read/listen to a traditional version of a fable. Students will complete a story map based on the traditional version. Students will then create a modern version of the traditional fable. Student will use a graphic organizer of choice to help organize their writing. Students will be able to read aloud their version of the fable while the class gets to decide the traditional version.