Fables with Quarter 2 Standards Focus

Students have been doing a lot of writing this week! We have read several Fables, then for each one we have written a Response to Literature focusing in on character traits. It is so wonderful watching the students grow as writers. All essays were uploaded into Thinkquest for classmates to read as well.
Here are a few examples.
It is hard to believe these students are only 11 years old, I often times feel I am working with High School level students.

The Fox and the Crow

Dr. Lynch-Thorpe  
Page: Quarter Two work

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• Kathryn B
  Response to Lit on the Fox and the Crow
          Do you like cheeses? In the story The Fox and the Crow by Aesop, we learn about a tricky fox and an oblivious crow. The theme of the story is to not let flattery fool you if you don’t want to pay the price. The story is a good life lesson because it teaches you that you need to be careful in case someone is trying to trick you.
           The main character in the story is the Fox. A word to describe him is sneaky! For example, the fox says, “good morning you fabulous bird!” the Fox says this because; he is trying to fool the fox by telling him how wonderful he is. Another word for Fox is hungry. “I could use some breakfast right about now”, Fox says this because he sees Crow’s cheese and wants it! One more word to describe Fox is tricky! “A bird with your good looks must have a voice to match” Fox is trying to trick her into singing so that Crow would drop the cheese. Overall, I think Fox is a sneaky creature. I think he is a little bit mean to Crow but I understand because he is really hungry and he “can’t live on sunshine and fresh air.”
          Another character in the story is crow. Crow is forgetful. “Listening to all the flattery, the crow forgot all her suspicion of the fox.” This shows that he forgets things easily. Crow is also not a very good singer. Fox says, “I hope I never have to hear it again.” This says that crow is not a very good singer. Overall I think that Crow isn’t the smartest bird around. I think he could be a little bit more careful.
          In conclusion, the fable, The Fox and the Crow by Aesop is interesting because it tells you who is speaking next to the words they are saying. I think it is interesting because it tells such a good lesson in such a small story. I think it is funny how persistent fox is. He must really want that cheese! I think that Aesop did a great job with this short story.
  
  Jan. 03, 2012
  
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• Sarah Y
  Response to Literature: The Fox and the Crow
          Do you have a favorite food? In the funny story The Fox and the Crow, by Aesop, there’s a fox that really likes cheese. When he spots a crow perched on the branch of a tree gobbling down some delicious looking cheese, his mouth begins to water and so he devises a clever plan to steal the cheese. In the end, you learn the theme of the story: “If you let flattery go to your head, you’ll pay the price”. The story was a fable because it thought an important life lesson.
  The main character was the fox. Throughout the story he expressed the characteristics tricky, sly, hungry, and persistent. At the beginning of the story the fox showed that he was hungry when he thought, “cheese. Mmm. A nice big yellow chunk of cheese. I would love that cheese. I deserve that cheese.” This showed how much the fox really loved cheese.
•         After that the fox decided he needed to get the cheese. He was tricky and sly when he said, “A bird with your good looks must have a voice to match. Oh, if only I could hear you sing just one song. Then I would know you were truly the greatest bird on Earth.” The bird sang and the cheese fell out of his mouth so the fox could grab it. This showed that the fox was able to trick the crow with his clever ways. Last but not least the fox expressed that he was persistent throughout his whole plan trying to get the cheese. This was when he said, “Good morning you fabulous bird.” He was trying to trick the crow into saying something, but the crow only ignored him, so he tried again with, “What beautiful beady eyes you have. And you certainly look great in black feathers. I’ve seen a lot of birds in my time, but you outbird them all. A bird with your good looks must have a voice to match. Oh if only I could hear you sing just one song. Then I would know you were truly the greatest bird on Earth.
  
  Jan. 03, 2012
  
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• Alejandro L
  Response to Literature: The Fox and the Crow
          Are you a fan of crows, foxes, or even cheese? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will love the fable The Fox and the Crow. In this story, you learn about a fox that tries to trick a crow into giving his cheese to the fox. The theme of this wonderful story is to not believe all complement that you are given. This story is funny because you have a fox trying to trick a crow that is on a tree.
          One of the main characters (animals) is fox. I would describe him as a trickster because, “I have seen a lot of birds in my time, but you out bird them all.” The second character trait I would use is persistent because he would not give up. To back up my last statement, the evidence I would use to describe this is, “The Crow looked at him suspiciously… said nothing.” Besides those character traits, final character trait I would use is clever. To back it up, the fox did this, “Good morning… A bird with good looks should have a voice to match.” Those are the character traits the fox has.
         To conclude this amazing essay, The Fox and the Crow is a hilarious story about a fox, a crow, and a piece of cheese. I would recommend this story to anybody who likes reading.