Spend two days on each lesson to give scholars practice.
Lesson 1: Great readers recognize the common characteristics of folklore.
Lesson 2: Great readers pay attention to what characters say, do, and think over time to develop ideas about characters.
Lesson 3: Great readers identify how the negative and positive attributes of characters lead to consequences or rewards.
Lesson 4: Great readers retell folktales and fables by explaining the key events and how they lead up to the outcome of the story.
Lesson 5: Great readers explain what they’ve learned about life from the characters by using key details to prove their thinking.
Lesson 1
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers recognize the common characteristics of folklore.
Success is when scholars understand that folklore stories often include animal characters whose actions teach the reader important life lessons.
Lesson 1
Engage — 1 minute
Build excitement by telling scholars that today they’re going to learn about the fascinating genre of folklore, and how they can tell when they’re reading folklore.
Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5-7 minutes
- Note: All texts used throughout this unit should be familiar to students. The texts have been picked because scholars are familiar with the stories, allowing us to zoom in on particular examples. Read these texts before the lesson, or choose different example texts.
- Show The Monkey and the Crocodile, by Paul Galdone, under the ELMO. Read the first four pages aloud. Think aloud about the characteristics of folklore.
- Show Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown, under the ELMO, and read the first two pages. Have scholars turn and talk about characteristics of folklore that they noticed in the story. Listen in to understand how well scholars identify the characteristics of folklore.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes
- Scholars each choose a folklore text from the classroom bins you set up before the unit. Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
- Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
- Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as always making mind movies.
- Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 3-5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
- Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they notice the common characteristics of folklore? Are they paying attention to characters and their traits? Do they need to envision more? Do they need to work on their fluency?
- Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
- Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3-5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share how they knew they were reading a folklore story.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are identifying the characteristics of folklore correctly. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share how she recognized she was reading folklore and have others evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 2
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers pay attention to what characters say, do, and think over time to develop ideas about characters.
Success is when scholars notice characters’ actions and use their observations to develop strong ideas about a character’s nature.
Lesson 2
Engage — 1 minute
Build excitement by reminding scholars that earlier this year, they learned that characters are just like us, and today they will use their observations of characters to develop new ideas.
Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5-7 minutes
- Read the first two paragraphs of “The Fox and the Stork,” on page 46 of Aesop’s Fables, by Jerry Pinkney. Discuss how the fox’s actions reveal his jealousy and selfishness.
- Read to the end of the fable.
- Scholars turn and talk about the insights they’ve gotten from the words, actions, and thoughts of the fox and stork. Listen in to understand how well scholars understand how the stork’s actions convey the lesson—treat others the way you’d like to be treated.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes
- Scholars each choose a folklore text from the classroom bins you set up before the unit. Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
- Make sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music at a low volume.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 3-5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading goal and what’s holding her back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
- Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding. Do they notice what characters say, do, and think? Are they developing ideas about the characters in their texts? Do they understand that the characters’ actions teach us lessons?
- Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3-5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share the ideas they developed from paying attention to what their characters said, did, and thought.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are accurately using characters’ moves to develop big ideas. Look for a scholar who can model his thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share how he paid attention to his characters’ actions, and have others evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 3
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers identify how the negative and positive attributes of characters lead to consequences or rewards.
Success is when scholars understand that negative attributes lead to unpleasant consequences, and positive attributes lead to rewards.
Lesson 3
Engage — 1 minute
Build excitement by having scholars think about their favorite movies. In most movies, positive characteristics lead to success, while negative characteristics lead to unpleasant consequences.
Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5-7 minutes
- Read “The Crow and the Pitcher,” on page 17 of Aesop’s Fables, under the ELMO. Think aloud about how the crow’s positive attribute was beneficial.
- Read “The Goose with the Golden Eggs,” on page 67 of Aesop’s Fables.
- Scholars turn and talk about how this character’s attributes contributed to the outcome. Listen in to understand how well scholars understand that positive attributes lead to rewards and negative attributes lead to unpleasant consequences.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes
- Scholars each choose a folklore text from the classroom bins you set up before the unit. Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
- Make sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music at a low volume.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 3-5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
- Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding. Do they identify characters’ traits? Do they understand that negative traits lead to unpleasant consequences, and positive traits lead to rewards? Do they understand that the characters’ actions teach us lessons?
- Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3-5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share their characters’ traits and how these positive or negative attributes led to rewards or consequences.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share how the positive or negative attributes of characters in the stories led to positive or negative consequences, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 4
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers retell folktales and fables by explaining the key events and how they lead up to the outcome of the story.
Success is when scholars can clearly articulate the key events in folktales and explain how they lead to the outcome of the story.
Lesson 4
Engage — 1 minute
Build excitement by telling scholars that just like their favorite authors, they can retell folktales by explaining the key events and how they lead to the outcome of the story.
Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5-7 minutes
- Use Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown, to model retelling the key events and explaining how they lead to the outcome. Explain that being able to retell a story shows that we understand the text and helps us identify the main idea.
- Show scholars the familiar text “The Hare and the Tortoise,” from Aesop’s Fables.
- Scholars turn and talk about the key events in this story and how these events lead to the outcome of the story. Listen in to understand how well scholars articulate the key events. They should identify all of these key elements: the hare boasting, the turtle challenging him to race, the arrogant hare speeding away and then taking a nap, and the steadfast turtle winning the race.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes
- Scholars each choose a folklore text from the classroom bins you set up before the unit. Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
- Make sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music at a low volume.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 3-5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
- Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding. Can they retell the most important events? Are they able to explain how these key events lead to the outcome? Do they hold meaning across the text and bring together the big ideas?
- Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3-5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share the key events they read in their books and how these events led to the outcome of the story.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
Choose a scholar to share the key events she read that led to the outcome of the text, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 5
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers explain what they’ve learned about life from the characters by using key details to prove their thinking.
Success is when scholars use evidence from a folklore story to articulate a lesson they’ve learned from it.
Lesson 5
Engage — 1 minute
Build excitement by explaining that just as we learn lessons from our own lives, the characters in folklore can teach us lessons about life.
Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5-7 minutes
- Read “The Fox and the Goat,” on page 31 of Aesop’s Fables, by Jerry Pinkney. Think aloud about what we learn from the fox’s cleverness and from the goat blindly listening to the fox.
- Place the “Hare and the Tortoise,” from Aesop’s Fables, by Ayano Imai, under the ELMO. Have scholars reread the text silently to themselves.
- Scholars turn and talk about the life lessons they’ve learned from the characters. Listen in to understand how well scholars use key details to explain that the hare teaches readers that pride and arrogance lead to negative consequences, while the tortoise teaches that persistence and determination lead to positive results.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 25 minutes
- Scholars each choose a folklore text from the classroom bins you set up before the unit. Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
- Make sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music at a low volume.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 3-5 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading goal and what’s holding her back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
- Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding. Do they notice how characters teach life lessons? Are they able to use key details from the text to explain the lessons they’ve learned from characters?
- Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3-5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share key details that show the lessons they’ve learned from characters.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model his thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share the life lessons he learned from folklore characters and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
