ES Literacy Shared Text Grade 4: Mythology

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

• Title: “How Daylight Came to the North” (Folklore)
• Main Idea Jot:
  • C steals small ball of light and brings Inuit people daylight. Explains why Inuit people have daylight for only half the year
• Craft and Structure Focus: Text Structure
  • The author structures the text to present a problem: the unending darkness in the far north; and a solution: Crow bringing daylight to the Inuit people.
  • The title itself and the use of “how” emphasize the purpose of the text —to explain how a problem was solved/how daylight came to the north.

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

• Title: “How Daylight Came to the North” (Folklore)
• Question 1: What does paragraph one show about the people of the North?
  • Sample answer: Paragraph one shows that the people of the North face the problem that they have no light and want daylight.
    • “The more they heard of daylight, the more they wanted it.”
    • “They thought it was dark all over the world until an old crow told them about daylight and how he had seen it on his long journeys.”
• Question 2: What is the role of the Crow in the story?
  • Sample answer: Crow’s role in the story is to bring sunlight to the Inuit people.
    • “He [Crow] grasped the string on the ball of daylight and flew into the sky… Finally he reached the land of the Inuit again when he let go of the string … Light went into every home and the darkness left the sky.”
    • The people never forgot it was Crow who brought them the gift of daylight and they take care never to hurt him.

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

• Title: “How the Sea Became Salty” (Folklore)
• Main Idea Jot:
  • Greedy M steals salt grinder and can’t stop salt. His greed leads to his death. Greed leads to punishment.
  • Explains why sea is salty

• Craft and Structure Focus: Word Choice
  • Discuss how the author uses specific descriptive words to highlight the characteristics of the merchant as well as the qualities of the salt grinder.
  • The merchant marveled that this small grinder never needed to be refilled and his heart ached to own it.
  • At banquets, he would bring out the kingdom’s treasure, a magic salt grinder.

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

• Title: “How the Sea Became Salty” (Folklore)
• Question 1: What is the main idea of “How the Sea Became Salty”?
  • Sample answer: “How the Sea Became Salty” shows how the merchant’s greediness with the salt grinder leads to his demise and why the sea is now salty.
    • “The grinder kept grinding as the ship sank under the weight of the salt… the merchant’s greed resulted in his death.”
    • “As far as we know, down on the bottom of the sea, the grinder is still grinding. And that’s why the sea is now very salty.”
• Question 2: Why does the author describe the magic salt grinder as a treasure?
  • Sample answer: The author describes the magic salt grinder as a treasure to show how valuable/important the salt grinder is.
    • “Now this simple wooden salt grinder looked and acted like any other salt grinder, with one exception: it never had to be refilled.” (paragraph 2)
    •  “In those days, salt was not plentiful. You couldn’t get it from the sea, because the sea wasn’t salty… As a result, it was very expensive.” (paragraph 2)

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

• Title: “Fire, Water, Truth, and Falsehood” (Folkore)
• Main Idea Jot:
  • F, W, T, Fls — T suggested to divide cattle equally, Fls. wanted unequal share, tried to overtake others
  • Teaches Fls. is powerful, but only when T is not insisted upon
• Craft and Structure Focus: Personification
  • Identify and discuss the way the author personifies the characters Fire, Water, Truth, and Falsehood and how these purposeful choices contribute to the main idea.
  • Discuss how personification illuminates the attributes of each of the characters.

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

• Title: “Fire, Water, Truth, and Falsehood” (Folkore)
• Question 1: How does Falsehood trick Water?
  • Sample answer: Falsehood tricks Water by convincing him to defeat Fire.
    • “Water flowed over Fire, bubbling and steaming until Fire was gone.” (paragraph 4)
    • “Then, Falsehood convinces Truth to go up the mountain with him where the water cannot flow.” (paragraph 6)
• Question 2: What lesson is learned from this folktale?
  • Sample answer: The power of falsehood will prevail unless truth presents itself.
    • “I have seen that Falsehood is very powerful. But it can only rule where Truth has stopped struggling to be heard.”
    • Falsehood turned to Truth and said in a loud voice, “I am more powerful than you! You will be my servant. I am your master. All the cattle belong to me!” Truth rose up and spoke out, “I will not be your servant!”

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

• Title: “How Coyote Stole Fire” (Folklore)
• Main Idea Jot:
  • People have no fire. C snatched fire from FB, Fb chased C turning tail white, C’s friends help him
  • He showed people how to get fire out of wood
• Craft and Structure Focus: Text Structure
  • Discuss how the structure of the text shows the author’s moves to highlight how Coyote’s friends help him get fire to the people. (paragraphs 6-8)

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

• Title: “How Coyote Stole Fire” (Folklore)
• Question 1: What is the main idea of paragraphs 3-8?
  • Sample answer: The main idea of paragraphs 3-8 is that several beings work together to help Coyote steal fire.
    • “But Coyote’s friends had gathered at the mountain’s foot, in case they were needed… Squirrel saw the fire falling and caught it, putting it on her back…”
    • “Squirrel flung the fire onto wood and wood swallowed it.”
• Question 2: What is squirrel’s role in the story?
  • Sample answer: Squirrel helps Coyote transport fire to the people.
    • “Squirrel saw the fire falling, and caught it, putting it on her back and fleeing away through the treetops.”
    • “As the Beings came after him again, Squirrel flung the fire onto Wood.”

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

• Title: “Why Wisdom is Everywhere” (Folkore)
• Main Idea Jot:
  • N gave greedy A wisdom to share, but A did not share
  • A thought he had all the wisdom, caused him to lose the wisdom he had ○ Explains why no one person has all the wisdom and why it is better when shared
• Craft and Structure Focus: Author’s Purpose
  • Identify and discuss the way the author teaches the reader about the origins and nature of wisdom —Anansi’s breaking of the pot shows that one person cannot hold all the wisdom.

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

• Title: “Why Wisdom is Everywhere” (Folkore)
• Question 1: What was the author’s purpose for writing this text?
  • Sample answer: The author’s purpose is to teach how and why wisdom came to all people in the world, as well as to show that wisdom belongs to everyone.
    • “That is why to this day, no one person has all the world’s wisdom.” (paragraph 6)
    • “People everywhere share small pieces of it whenever they exchange ideas.” (paragraph 6)
• Question 2: How do Anansi’s actions in paragraph 5 connect to the main idea?
  • Sample answer: Because Anansi throws down the pot of wisdom causing it to break into many pieces, he unintentionally spreads wisdom to many people.
    • “Anansi heard this sensible advice but shouted in a rage… Anansi threw down the pot of wisdom in a fit of temper and disgust.” (paragraph 6)
    • “Pieces of wisdom flew in all directions…People everywhere share small pieces of it whenever they exchange ideas.”

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

• Title: “Red Ant, Black Ant” (Folklore)
• Main Idea Jot:
  • Q was concerned that humans wouldn’t be able to store food so he changed into an ant and found seeds. Q gave humans seeds to plant
  • Explains the discovery of agriculture— when humans learned they could plant seeds and grow crops
• Craft and Structure Focus: Author’s Purpose
  • Discuss the author’s purpose for writing the text. This text provides an opportunity to show scholars how to use the thinking job for folktale flexibly and to truly think about what is happening in the text.

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

• Title: “Red Ant, Black Ant” (Folklore)
• Question 1: What natural event does this text explain?
  • Sample answer: “Red Ant, Black Ant” describes the process of farming.
    • Quetzalcoatl showed the humans seeds and instructed them to plant them in the ground and look after them carefully.
    • He was pleased to see that by the end of summer, the seeds had grown into tall plants bearing the first ears of corn!
• Question 2: Why does the author describe the seeds as “piles of golden treasure”? (paragraph 7)
  • Sample answer: The author describes the seeds as piles of golden treasure to show that the seeds are as valuable as diamonds or gold.
    • “The seeds were the perfect answer to Quetzalcoatl’s problems.” (paragraph 8).
    • The ant collected food from the Mountain of Riches. Quetzalcoatl followed him to see what the treasure was at the Mountain of Riches. The treasure was seeds.

• Shared Text Selections:
  • Folklore: “How Daylight Came to the North”
  • Folklore: “How the Sea Became Salty”
  • Folklore: “Fire, Water, Truth, and Falsehood” by Heather Forest from
    Wisdom Tales from Around the World
  • Folklore: “How Coyote Stole Fire”
  • Folklore: “Why Wisdom is Everywhere” by Heather Forest from Wisdom Tales from Around the World
  • Folklore: “Red Ant, Black Ant” retold by Saviour Pirotta from Around the World in 80 Tales