A foxConnecting Reading and Writing: Traditional Stories

Goals:

  • Read and respond to fables
  • Understand the characteristics of fables

A fable is a traditional story that is often used to teach a moral lesson (e.g. a lesson about how we should treat other people).

Fables have some common characteristics:

  • The main characters are often animals
  • The animals act and talk like people
  • There is often a clear moral lesson at the end of the story.

Read the story A Lesson of Tit for Tat – a fable from Somalia.
Then read The Fox and the Stork – a fable told by Aesop.

As you read, look for the characteristics of a fable in the two stories.

Think about the two stories and answer the following questions:
How are these two stories similar? How are they different?
Do you think the lessons in these fables still hold true for people today? Explain your thinking.

Share your thinking with a family member.

Other Opportunities:

  • Read other fables as told by Aesop. Share your favourite story with a family member.

Note: Online articles and stories can be challenging to read. If your child is logged into their WRDSB Google Account, they can use the Read and Write for Google Chrome plugin to have online text read to them.