I need volunteers who can read nice and loud for us. Each volunteer will read a different slide. These slides will explain what we’re going to do today.

Yesterday we read some Aesop’s Fables. Turn to your partners and explain the difference between a THEME and a TOPIC.

THEME: …is a life lesson or the moral of the story. TOPIC: …is what the story is about

Today we are going to watch a few videos of Aesop’s Fables. They’re short.

Then you’re going to work together to read a few of them and practice identifying the theme.

The Cat and the Mice goY

“TALK TO YOUR PARTNERS” What would you say the moral of the story is? THEME

THREE VOLUNTEERS MAY EXPLAIN WHAT THEY SAID THE THEME IS.

What would be a real-life example? Think about the theme from the video. Your real-life example should be something that happened to you that ends up having the same theme.

What would be a real-life example? For instance… Think about how the cat tries to trick the mice into coming out of the hole to eat them. Has someone ever tried to trick you or deceive you? Maybe you were a little suspicious and so you didn’t give in… And then you found out later that you were really glad you didn’t give in…

My Own Real-Life Example This is sort of like what the cat tried to do to the mice. He tried to trick them to come out of the hole so he could eat them. For me, someone came to my door selling AT&T U-Verse television. You could get all these channels and all this stuff and $400 in free gift cards if you signed up. This sounded too easy and too good to be true. I didn’t sign up. I didn’t believe them. Later, a lady from our neighborhood sent an warning everybody that those people didn’t really work for AT&T and NOT to give them your personal information. I was really glad I didn’t give them any money or any of my personal information. Who knows what they would have done with it!

My Own Real-Life Example Do you see how this is the same type of thing as the cat and the mice? My story had nothing to do with a cat or mice, but it’s the same because someone was trying to trick me. Someone tried to make the situation seem too good to be true, but I didn’t fall for it.

Think about a time someone tried to trick you or someone you know. Did you fall for it? Did you look back and wish you hadn’t believed it?

The Crow and the Pitcher SMM

“TALK TO YOUR PARTNERS” What would you say the life lesson of the storyis? THEME

THREE VOLUNTEERS MAY EXPLAIN WHAT THEY SAID THE THEME IS.

The crow didn’t give up. He kept trying. He thought of a creative way to get what he wanted. Now think about a time that you had to be creative about solving a problem.

The Bald Man and the Fly 6gw

“TALK TO YOUR PARTNERS” What would you say the moral of the story is? THEME

THREE VOLUNTEERS MAY EXPLAIN WHAT THEY SAID THE THEME IS.

The fly bit the man on purpose. When the man tried to hit the fly, he didn’t do it on purpose. He did it because something hurt him and it was like a natural reaction to try to stop the hurt. There’s a difference between doing something wrong on accident and doing something wrong just to be mean. Can you think of a real-life example of this?

The Bear and the Two Travelers yE

“TALK TO YOUR PARTNERS” What would you say the life lesson of the story is? THEME

THREE VOLUNTEERS MAY EXPLAIN WHAT THEY SAID THE THEME IS.

The man’s friend abandoned him during the bear attack and left him all alone. A true friend should stick by your side and help you. Now think about a time that you realized you had a true friend… Or maybe a time when you realized that “friend” wasn’t really a friend.

Now it’s time to practice by yourself a little bit. You will receive a handout with four short stories on it. These stories will look very familiar!!! If you paid attention to the videos and to the discussion, this will be pretty easy!

If you don’t have a real-life example for one of the stories, think about something that maybe happened to a friend or to someone you know. You could even think about something that happened in a book or movie that fits in with the story. You could also think of a situation that is realistic, like it COULD happen. That’s ok to write about, too.

You may read your library book. You may work on you’re A-Z questions. You may finish any work you haven’t finished. I’m sorry I can’t really talk to you today 

I have tons of papers to pass back to you all if anyone wants to volunteer to help pass them back. You have to be done with the Aesop handout, though