LESSON FOUR: Expository Writing
LESSON DESCRIPTION
After listening to the fables The Dog and the Hare and The Bat, the Bear, and the Beasts, students discuss and identify causes and effects from each fable. Students write an original fable identifying the causes and effects. After reading The Lion and the Mouse, students write an expository paragraph including cause and effect.
GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
W3C Write an expository paragraph (including cause and effect) with a strong controlling idea and supporting and concluding sentences.
LESSON MATERIALS
§ Source of Literature
o The Dog and the Hare, Aesop Fable
o The Bat, the Bear, and the Beasts, Aesop Fable
o The Lion and the Mouse, Aesop Fable
§ Supplies
o Copies of fables
o Overhead projector
§ Handouts provided
§ Words to know
o expository
o cause and effect
o concluding sentence
Read The Lion and the Mouse and create a prewriting that has a strong controlling idea and specifies at least two causes and two effects. Use the prewriting to write an expository paragraph that shows the causes and effects of the characters’ action in the fable. Use effective writing techniques. Score guide provided.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Brainstorm characteristics of fables. List on the board.
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Strategy
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Characteristics of fables: Short narratives that contain messages and life instructions Almost all characters in fables are non-human Fables also contain morals to show the reader that there are consequences to actions (cause and effect) Aesop is the most famous of all the Greek fabulist (a person who writes fables) and almost all fables are attributed to him. Not much is actually known about Aesop’s life, but most sources say he was a slave born during the 6th century, BC. |
2. Use transparencies of The Dog and the Hare and The Bat, the Bear, and the Beasts to familiarize students with fables. Read each fable aloud. Discuss what a moral is and the why it is used in a fable. Make an inference about the moral. Share the original moral of the fable. Ask students to make inferences to identify cause and effect examples.
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Questions for Students |
What is a moral? What are hidden meanings in text and why are they used? What is personification? What is a cause? Give examples. What is an effect? Give examples. |
3. Review the characteristics of a fable. As a group, students write a fable and then discuss the characters, the problem, causes and effects that would create a problem and a moral.
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4. Students are given a specified time limit to produce an informal writing. Each writing should be an original fable and must include a moral. Students underline at least one example of a cause and effect in the original fable. If possible, allow time for sharing.