Does everyone always appreciate kindness? Part of a comprehensive series, Aesop's 136-word fable "The Woodman and the Serpent" tells the story of a snake that is rescued by a farmer and later tries biting the farmer's daughter. Readers create their own endings through the narrative writing activity for the fable that scored a 4.6 on the Flesch-Kincaid scale.

Concepts

plot development, aesop's fables, setting, characters, active reading, narrative essays

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Publish writing from the alternate fable activity on a class blog or school newspaper
• Conduct a writer's workshop and review elements of a successful resolution before assigning the narrative writing activity

Classroom Considerations

• Print copies of the activity or have earbuds available if needed

Pros

• Theme about gratitude is relatable to readers' lives
• 1:01 audio recording differentiates the passage for readers of every level
  

Cons

• Does not provide a rubric for the narrative writing activity

Common Core

W.5.3.a W.6.3.a W.7.3.a W.8.3.a