Lesson 4

Fables

Grade Level:

4^th Grade

Objectives:

·         The students will investigate the conventions of fables and the elements of a fable, including morals and animals with human characteristics.

·         The students will write their own morals to gain experience with the genre of fables.

·         The students will illustrate the cover of a fable, depicting the main characters, which they will create.

Materials Needed:

·         Pencils

·         Paper

Resources:

·         Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair

·         Fables by Arnold Lobel

Procedure:

·         Introduce the new topic of genres, particularly fables, introducing some of the elements of fables.

·         Discuss some fables that the students are familiar with.

·         Read a fable as a class from Fables by Arnold Lobel.

·         Discuss the characters of the fable and have the students describe them in detail.

·         Introduce the assignment of drawing a cover for a fable.

·         Using the book Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair, demonstrate and have the students follow along as you draw some examples of anthropomorphized animals.

·         Have the students write their own fable with a moral or have them come up with some characters and a moral that could be in a fable.

·         Have the students create a cover for their fable.

·         Using the book Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair, demonstrate a few more animals and allow the students to follow along. These should be more specialized to the types of animals the students will be drawing for their covers.

Assessment:

·         In-class Dialog: Talk with the students to gauge their understanding of fables. (Pre-Assessment)

·         Written Response: Have the students write down their list of characters for their fable, the moral of their fable, and a summary of their fable. Check the students work to see that they understand the elements of a fable. (Formative)

·         Observation: Walk amongst the students as they work on their covers to make sure that they are following the conventions of a fable and provide help where needed. (Formative)

·         Final Artwork: Collect the students’ cover illustrations and provide feedback. (Summative)

Vocabulary:

·         Moral

·         Anthropomorphism

·         Setting

·         Genre