Story Writing: Animal Folktales Level of Proficiency: Intermediate ...

Level of Proficiency: Intermediate
Story Writing: Animal Folktales
TEKS Addressed: 1a; 4a, b; 6a, b, c; 8a, c, d; 9a, b; 11a, b, d; 12e, f, g, i, k;
13a, ce, f, g;14a, b, c; 15a, c, d, e, h; 16b, c, d, e, f, g; 17a, b, c, d, e, f; 18a, b, c,
d, e, f, g,h, i.
Materials / Resources: copies of folktales about animals (available in many
anthologies or on the Internet) or Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, “Laying Out
the Legend” and animal handouts, factual information about animals, overhead
and transparencies.
Lesson:
Before
Ask students what a folktale is. Record answers and discuss. Write the
word “pourquoi” on the board and ask students to guess what it is.
(Spanish, French and Italian speakers should guess “why” or “because.”)
Explain that some folktales are called “pourquoi” stories because they
explain why something is the way it. Ask students how many have heard
a story that explains why cats and dogs are enemies, or why the
oppossum’s tail is bald, or why the elephant has a long trunk. Encourage
them to provide examples of stories they have heard from their cultures.
Explain that the pourquoi tale is common in cultures in all parts of the
world.
Have students read a folktale about animals. Some simple ones are “Why
the Donkey had Long Ears” or “Why Dogs and Cats Fight.” Use one of
Rudyard Kipling’s for students who are more proficient.
Display the “Laying Out the Legend” handout. Complete it as a class,
asking students to identify the animal in the story, the habitat (or setting),
the characteristic targeted, the problem/conflict and the resolution/
conclusion. Be sure students understand what each category means.
During
Divide the students in groups of three or four. Give each group a handout with
an animal on it that has title / habitiat / affective and physical characteristics
boxes. Do an example with the class using an animal none of the groups has.
For example, show the elephant. Ask the students what the elephant’s habitat
is, or where elephants live. Record their responses. Ask the students what an
elephant’s physical characteristics are, or what an elephant looks like. The
students should use words like big, gray, wrinkled skin, long trunk, tusks, big
ears, etc. Help students with new vocabulary (tusks, trunk). Extend students’
vocabulary by asking questions like, “What are some other words we can use
for big?” Add huge, gigantic, enormous, etc, and explain these would be more
interesting words to use when writing. Ask students what an elephant’s
affective characteristics are, or in other words, what kind of a personality does

an elephant have? Some answers might include loyal, has a long memory,
and faithful. Model selecting one characteristic, such as a long trunk, and
thinking about how the elephant got his trunk. Did he get his nose stuck in a
tight place? Did his parents pull his nose as punishment, and it stretched?
Was he too lazy to get up to get food, so decided to stretch his nose to reach
farther? Write the title: “How the Elephant Got Its Long Trunk.”
In groups, students do the same process with the animal they have. Be sure
they have dictionaries and thesuaruses to help with vocabulary. Encourage
them to draw on prior knowledge and stories from their cultures to contribute.
Circulate and review students’ ideas as they work.
When all groups have the handouts completed, display the “Laying Out the
Legend” handout and model prewriting the story about the elephant below.
Give students the “Laying Out the Legend” handout, and have each group
complete the handouts for their animals.
Model using the information on the handout to write the story about the
elephant. Remind students folktales often start with “Once upon a time…”
“Many years ago…” “A long , long time ago in a far away place…” (You may
need to review how we use “ago” - this sometimes confuses ELLs because
the structure is different in other languages.)
Many years ago in a faraway place in Africa, an elephant named
Pepito Nuñez lived with his family. In those days, elephants had
very short noses. They had no hands and fingers, so it was difficult
to grab food. Elephants eat all the time, so Pepito and his family
were always walking around to get food. Pepito was very lazy,
and got tired of getting up and walking around to eat. He
decided to think of a better way. He saw how the giraffe with the
long neck was able to get food from very high trees. He got an idea!
He would stretch his neck like the giraffe. He found two trees that
were close together and put his head between them. He stepped
back and tried to stretch his neck, but it hurt! Worse, his head got
stuck. He had to yell for his mother to come and explain why his
head was between two trees. She got him out and sent him to bed
with no dinner.
Pepito decided to try something different. He found a little hole in
the ground where some tree roots were. It was just the right
size to put his nose in. Everyday he went to the hole, put his
nose in, and pulled for a little while. After many months, he
noticed his nose was growing longer. He exercised it, and
practiced picking things up with it. After a few years, his nose
had grown into a trunk like elephants have today, and he was
able to grab food without walking around so much. The other
elephants saw Pepito and thought he had a good idea, so they
stretched their noses too. Since then, elephants have had long
trunks.

Point out how you included and extended the information in the prewriting
handout to write the story (indicated in bold). Have students in their small
groups develop their stories.
Have students edit and revise as needed, and present their stories to the
class.
Have students select an animal and develop a pourquoi story independently,
using the process modeled and done in small groups.
After
Introduce idioms, similes and metaphors about animals. Sly as a fox, quiet as
a mouse, quick as a rabbit, stubborn as a mule, slow as a turtle, “when the
cat’s away, the mice will play,” “an elephant never forgets” are some
examples common in English.
Find pourquoi tales to read aloud to the class such as Anansi stories from
Africa, or coyote folktales from Mexico and Native America.

Scrapbook Matrix
Directions: Brainstorm objects, peoplem places actions, and feelings you
find in the work. Write down your answers below.
Objects and People
Places
Actions
Feelings

Sample list of ideas for scrapbook
“Ex -Basketball Player” by Joh Updike
Rejection letter from college teams
Newspaper article of Flick’s games
Love letters or fan mail from girls
Flic’s report card
Luncheonette menu
Yearbook entries
Letter from a college friend
Advertsisements from the garge with specials
Garage price list
Post cards
Interior monologue on the night of the big game
Resume for Flick
Gas station repair bills
Timeline of Flick’s life
High school reunion invitation
Desription or plan of town
Journal entries from an away game
Letter to a friend describing a game
WWII memiors from a a friend or relative
Sample of Flick’s writing from school
High school picture
Trophy or medal
Collage of sports activities
Drawing of pinball machine
Drawing of basketball uniform
Advertisement for tools
Basketball card with statistics for Flick