Contents of Short

Better to be free and hungry, than to be a well-fed slave.
Don't criticise something just because you can't have it yourself.
Don't trust people who flatter you. They want something from you.
If you plot against others, they will do the same to you.
A bully will make any excuse to get their own way.
Even the strongest need help from the weak.
Don't pretend to be something you are not. It will lead to trouble.
People who try to trick you can be tricked themselves.
Pride comes before a fall.
Being proud and boastful can make you vulnerable.
Allowing others to be injured,while you do nothing,can put you at risk too.
Some people are just mean. Don't take the way that they behave to heart.
Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes you are safer with what you have.
If you lie to people, then no one will believe you when you tell the truth.
Moral cards - print on card and cut into strips.
These morals correspond to the fables in Aesop's Fables, and are in the same order as appear in the book. The last moral is the odd one out, belonging to 'The Boy Who cried Wolf'.
*To make this a shorter session, reduce the number of groups and fables.

Week 1 Monday Comprehension 1/Spoken Language 1/Word Reading 1

Example of developing dialogue between Wolf and Lamb

Week 1 Tuesday Composition 1/Spoken Language 2

Dialogue Sheet

Week 1 Tuesday Composition 1/Spoken Language 2

Dialogue Punctuation

"Hey, look out there, Lamb. You're muddying up the water. You're making it too dirty to drink," complained Wolf.

"How can I be muddying up your water? I am standing downstream from you," answered Lamb.

Wolf said, "Well...anyway...last year you said my father was a fathead."

Week 1 Wednesday Grammar 1

Teacher Support Sheet- dialogue rules example

Hug the direct speech with speech marks:

"Don't eat me lion," called Mouse.

Add a reporting clause to say who is speaking:

"Don't eat me lion,"called Mouse.

Begin direct speech with a capital letter:

"Don't eat me lion," called Mouse.

Separate dialogue from reporting clauses with a comma:

"Don't eat me lion," called Mouse.

Mouse called,"Don't eat me lion."

Don't use a comma for speech ending in ?and !:

"Don't eat me lion!" shouted Mouse.

"Why not?" asked Lion.

Start a new line for each change of speaker:

"Don't eat me lion!" shouted Mouse.

"Why not?" asked Lion.

"I can help you," Mouse explained.

Continue an interrupted dialogue sentence with a lower case letter:

"I can help you," Mouse explained, "when you least expect it."

Collect chn's existing knowledge about speech punctuation and add the remaining using teacher-judgement, in language which is accessible to them. Display for chn to refer to. Examples of dialogue, with the rules applied, help to make them clear.

The rules above have been listed in order of difficulty/development of usage and may be used to create layered targets or in prioritising the rules, e.g.

1-3 must be followed (Y3 & Y4)

4-5 should be followed (Y4)

6-7 could be followed

(Rules adapted from Sue Palmer's The Punctuation Book)

The blue text links directly to Y3/4 Curriculum specified in Appendix 2. You may choose to extend some chn further.

Week 1 Wednesday Grammar 1

Opening to Rosen's:

Town Mouse and Country Mouse

Country Mouse encountered Town Mouse in a field on the edge of town. "Nice to see you, Town Mouse," said Country Mouse. "Why don't you come over to my place sometime for a visit?"

A few days later, Town Mouse trotted over to Country Mouse's house but after a few days, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Listen, Country Mouse," he said, "you live like an ant."

Questions to Discuss

...Town Mouse trotted over to Country Mouse's house...

Why does the author use the word trotted? What does it tell you about the way that Town Mouse travelled and how he felt?

What do you think living 'like an ant' might mean? What can you tell about the type of person Town Mouse is to say such a thing?

How did you read the word 'encountered'? What root word helped you?

Week 1 Thursday Comprehension 2/Spoken Language 3/Word Reading 2

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Town Mouse decided one day that he would visit his cousin who lived way out in the countryside. Country Mouse greeted him warmly and sat him down to a great feast of corn and hazelnuts and berries. "Help yourself, she said. "You've come a long way and must be very hungry."

Town Mouse didn't much like this plain country food. He did not want to upset Country Mouse so he nibbled a little bit here and a little bit there and said how nice it was.

After lunch Country Mouse proudly showed Town Mouse over the fields and woods around her home. Town Mouse thought it very dull and ordinary but he did not say so. Instead, he talked all the while about how much fun it was to live in town, how exciting it was, and how you could eat any food you wanted. As he talked Country Mouse listened, thinking how wonderful it must be to live in the town.

All night long as they slept in her snug little nest in the hedgerow, Country Mouse dreamed of life in the big town.

Next morning, Town Mouse was still bragging about how much better it was to live in the Town. "You should come home with me," he said. "I'll show you things you never even dreamed of." Country Mouse HAD dreamed of them and she wanted to find out if her dreams were true.

"I'll come," she said, and off they went to town that very day.

At first it was even better than Country Mouse had dreamed. Town Mouse clearly lived in great style, exactly as he had said. When they arrived at Town Mouse's house, lunch had just finished and there were plenty of leftovers on the table: any amount of scrumptious cheese and yummy cakes and succulent jellies. "Help yourself," said Town Mouse.

Country Mouse, thinking that she had come to Mouse Heaven said, "This is the life for me."

Just as she said this, the house cat sprang up onto the table and came skittering after them. In and out of the dishes they went, the cat close behind. Town Mouse cried, "Follow me!" They ran for their lives. They only just made it too, darting down the table cloth and running helter-skelter across the carpet towards the mouse house in the skirting boards.

It was some time before even Town Mouse dared to venture out of the hole again. Still Country Mouse did not want to leave. She was terrified. "It will be fine now,” said Town Mouse. "The cat has gone." Country Mouse followed Town Mouse across the carpet, hoping against hope that he was right, that the cat would not be waiting to pounce on them again.

The cat didn't come back...but the dog did. He came bounding after them, hackles up, barking his head off. He sent them both scampering back to the hole for safety. He frightened them so much that neither dared to come out again until the following morning.

"That's it," said Country Mouse. “I'm off. You may have all the goodies a mouse could ever want in your town house, but I'm off back to the country for the quiet life."

BETTER TO BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU NEED THAN RISK EVERYTHING FOR MORE.

Retold by Michael Morpurgo

(from 'The Orchard Book of Aesop's Fables', Orchard Books, 2004)

Week 1 Thursday Comprehension 2/Spoken Language 3/Word Reading 2

Reading Task Card A

Read Town Mouse and Country Mouse with your group
Read the questions below and discuss them with your group
Take turns to speak clearly and listen carefully

Where did the mice meet?

Why did Town Mouse not like staying with Country mouse?

...it was a daily, delicious feast.

What do you notice about these words?

They waited, breathless under the floorboards.

Find these words in the fable. Why are the mice breathless?

I can't take the strain of all this ducking and diving.

What do you think ducking and diving might mean?

What does Country Mouse think of Town Mouse's home at the end of the fable?

Explain how you know.

Week 1 Thursday Comprehension 2/Spoken Language 3/Word Reading 2

Reading Task Card B

Read Town Mouse and Country Mouse with your group
Read the questions below and discuss them with your group
Take turns to speak clearly and listen carefully

Why did Town Mouse not like staying with Country mouse?

...it was a daily, delicious feast.

What do you notice about these words? Find where they are in the fable. Why does the author use them?

They waited, breathless under the floorboards.

Find these words in the fable. Give two reasons why the mice are breathless.

I can't take the strain of all this ducking and diving.

What do you think ducking and diving might mean?

How does Country Mouse's opinion of Town Mouse's home change during the fable?

EXTENSION TASK:

Now read the opening of a different version of this fable below. Which version do you prefer? Give reasons for your choice.

Town Mouse decided one day that he would visit his cousin who lived way out in the countryside. Country Mouse greeted him warmly and sat him down to a great feast of corn and hazelnuts and berries. "Help yourself,” she said. "You've come a long way and must be very hungry."

Town Mouse didn't much like this plain country food. He did not want to upset Country Mouse so he nibbled a little bit here and a little bit there and said how nice it was.

After lunch Country Mouse proudly showed Town Mouse over the fields and woods around her home. Town Mouse thought it very dull and ordinary but he did not say so. Instead, he talked all the while about how much fun it was to live in town, how exciting it was, and how you could eat any food you wanted. As he talked, Country Mouse listened, thinking how wonderful it must be to live in the town.

Week 1 Thursday Comprehension 2/Spoken Language 3/Word Reading 2

Reading Task Card C

Read The Town Mouse and The Country Mousesilently
Read the questions below and discuss them with your group
Take turns to speak clearly and listen carefully

...he nibbled a little bit here and a little bit there...

Find where these words appear in the text. Why does the author choose the word nibble? What does it tell the reader?

Do you think Country Mouse knows that Town Mouse doesn't like her home?

Explain why?

Country Mouse HAD dreamed of them...

Find where these words appear in the text. Why is HAD in capital letters?

Find three adjectives (describing words) which make the Town Mouse's food sound tempting. Why doesn't the author just use the word tasty each time?

...running helter-skelter across the carpet...

Find where these words appear in the text. What do you think running helter-skelter might mean? You may need to look up the words in a dictionary to help you.

Scan the text for powerful words for movement and underline them. What effect is created by using these words?

How does Country Mouse's opinion of Town Mouse's home change during the fable?

Town Mouse does not like the Country Mouse's home. Do you think the author agrees? Look for words that give you clues to what the author thinks.

EXTENSION TASK:

Now read the Rosen version of this fable.

Which version do you prefer? Give reasons for your choice.

Week 1 Thursday Comprehension 2/Spoken Language 3/Word Reading 2

A Knock-Knock Joke

Week 1 Friday Grammar 2

Two-speaker jokes – some examples

Week 1 Friday Grammar 2

Teacher Support sheet- teaching dialogue punctuation when interrupted by a reporting clause.

Original Joke

Q: What time is it when an elephant sits on the fence?
A: Time to fix the fence!

Read joke aloud to listen to the rhythm and meaning of the joke.

Assign dialogue to 2 characters

Cow: What time is it when an elephant sits on the fence?
Chicken: Time to fix the fence!

Annotate to addreporting clauses

What time is it when an elephant sits on the fence? asked cow.
Time to fix the fence! replied Chicken with a grin.

Experiment with different places to interrupt the dialogue - it must still make sense and flow. Verbal rehearsal will support this process.

What time is it/ when an elephant sits on the fence? asked cow.

What time/ is it when an elephant sits on the fence? asked cow.

Choose the best placeand slot in the reporting clause. Reread to check.

What time is itasked cow when an elephant sits on the fence?

Finally add punctuation, referring to rules.

"What time is it," asked Cow, "when an elephant sits on the fence?"

"Time to fix the fence," replied Chicken, with a grin.

Ensure chn understand why "when an elephant..." does not start with a capital letter (still part of the same dialogue sentence).

Week 1 Friday Grammar 2

Single Clause Sentences

The cat stretched.

The cat chased the mouse.

The cat licked her lips.

The mousewas terrified.

The hole was near.

The cat dived at the mouse.

The mouse leapt into the hole.

Week 2 Monday Grammar 3/Spoken Language 4

Joining Clauses

Fox smelt something delicious. / Fox looked up at the grapes.
He wanted to eat the grapes. / He couldn't reach them.
He could keep on trying to reach them. / He could give up trying.
Fox gave up. / He trotted off.

Week 2 Monday Grammar 3/Spoken Language 4

Joining Clauses- Instructions

Resources

Joining Clausessheet

Scissors

A partner

Instructions

Cut out each of the sentences, carefully.
Take turns to read each sentence aloud.
Put the sentences in order.
Look at the 1st pair of sentences.
Talk about which conjunction will join them best.Choose from the conjunctions below.
Cut out that conjunction and put it between the 2 simple sentences.
Read your new longer compound sentence. Check it makes sense.
Do this each time to make 4 extended sentences.
Now reread all the sentences together. How do they sound?
Copy the sentences into you book/ photograph them.

------

and / but
so / or

Week 2 Monday Grammar 3/Spoken Language 4

Linking Clauses using Conjunctions -Text

Fox and Grapes

A delicious smell stopped Fox in his tracks. Fox looked up. He saw some juicy grapes. His stomach rumbled. He was hungry.

He wanted to eat the grapes. He couldn't reach them. He stood up on his hind legs. He could reach a little higher. The grapes were just too high.He could keep struggling to reach them. He could give up.

Fox gave up. He trotted off. He thought they were probably sour grapes anyway.

Week 2 Monday Grammar 3/Spoken Language 4

Linking Clauses using Conjunctions -Instructions

Resources

Joining simple sentences in a fable sheet

A partner

Instructions

Read the fable aloud.
Choose a pair of sentences to join.
Say the 2 sentences together, trying out the sound of different conjunctions.
Choose the best conjunction and write it onto the text.
Change the punctuation.
Join some more simple sentences in this way.
Now reread the whole fable again. What effect have your changes made to how it sounds?