Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: 3rd

Central Focus: For students to understand what makes a
Fables
fable a fable: moral or lesson
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from
diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or
moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in
Date submitted: 11/18/15
the text.
Date taught: 11/5/15
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations,
or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the
sequence of events
Daily Lesson Objective: Students should be able to identify the aspects of a fable and come up
with a moral or lesson that can come from reading it.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
Finding and evaluating information Vocabulary):
Collaborating
Fable, Moral/lesson, character trait
Prior Knowledge: Students must have some background knowledge about character traits and
what those mean for a story as well as what a lesson or moral is or could be.
Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student

3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

I want you to think back to yesterday when you learned
about the elements of a fable. Who can tell me what those
elements are? What is a moral or a lesson? What is a
character trait? Today we are going to read a listen to a few
fables and try and decide what the moral or lesson of the
story is.
Today I am going to teach you how to find the moral or lesson
of a fable and determine what character traits are in the story
that lead to the moral itself.
I will read an Aesops fable to the class, the lobster and the
crab, and reflect throughout on key words or points that could
lead to the moral. The moral of this story is that sometimes
facing our fears is worth the risk; I will try and prompt the
students to get me close to this outcome by asking what was
the crabs reaction; what was the lobsters reaction; what was
going on in the story? And saying what I think it might mean
while asking their opinion. I will then create a chart on the
board with the moral on one side and character traits on the
other. Once we have generated the correct moral I will write it
up and put up and talk through two character traits for the
crab and lobster. My traits will be scared and confident.

Time

4. Guided Practice

5. Independent
Practice

6. Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/skills:

7. Closure

With the chart on the board that has character traits on one
side and the moral on the other, students will turn and talk to
each other about other possible character traits that lead to
the moral of the fable. I will then choose a few traits that I
heard while walking around and talking that work well with
the fable to share with the class. I will then show a few
Aesops fables on the internet to allow students to see a few
other possibilities for what a moral or lesson could be.
From the fables we have watched, The Lion and the Mouse
and The Grasshopper and the Ant students will complete a
chart like the one we completed on the board where they
identify the characters traits and the moral of the story for
each of the fables.
Summative: completing a chart for both of the fables based on the
characters traits that lead to the moral of the story.
Formative: asking questions during the lesson what are the elements
that make up a fable? What are similar words that could take scared,
happy, mad, sad etc. to the next level and sound better? How does this
moral relate to something that has happened in your life? What could we
do to follow the moral of the story?
Now that we know what a fable is and that it involves a moral,
I want you to see if you can find a moral to the stories that
you read at home. Are they fables, or can every book have a
lesson or moral that can be interpreted in different ways?

8. Assessment
Results of
all
objectives/skills:
Targeted Students
Modifications/Accommodations: For those
that finish early, they can help those who
are having trouble coming up with morals or
character traits.

Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations: For struggling
students I will talk with them one on one to ask
supporting questions to help them see what the
character said or did and how that could lead to a
certain outcome, like working hard so you can play
later.

Materials/Technology:
(Include any instructional materials (e.g., worksheets, assessments PowerPoint/Smart Board slides, etc.) needed to implement the lesson at
the end of the lesson plan.)
Computer to access Aesops fables online, paper, pencils

References:
Reflection on lesson: I think I should have chosen a fable with a more obvious moral than facing
our fears is worth the risk. Even at the third grade level, they dont take many risks that could
help them connect to the story what was really going on. I had high hopes for them that I could
help them figure it out, but it still went over their heads. The video fables were fun for them to

watch and had morals that they knew or could experience in their daily lives even in third grade.
At first they were confused as to what character traits were, but once we talked and generated a
few ideas they could come up with traits; while most were easy, like scared, or upset, one child
came up with fearless which I was particularly excited about and then encouraged them to come
up with words like that when they created their individual charts.