6

©T

he M

ailb

ox®

Nam

e

Ana

nsi a

nd th

e T

alki

ng M

elon

Cha

ract

er s

tudy

, sto

ry r

ecal

l

No

te t

o t

he

teac

her

: U

se w

ith “

Ove

rhea

rd in

the

Mel

on P

atch

” on

pag

e 2

.

“Why

did

yo

u br

ing

me

a m

elon

?”

“Did

you

sa

y th

at,

Ele

phan

t? D

id

you

say

that

, H

ippo

?”

“Ele

phan

t w

ill b

e co

min

g ba

ck s

oon.

It is

tim

e to

go.

”

“You

don

’t ha

ve o

ne li

ke

this

. Thi

s m

elon

ta

lks.

”

“Who

sai

d th

at?

Did

yo

u sa

y th

at,

Ele

phan

t?”

“We

talk

all

the

time.

The

tr

oubl

e is

, you

ne

ver

liste

n.”

“I’m

not

the

one

who

talk

s to

mel

ons!

”“I

did

n’t

know

mel

ons

coul

d ta

lk.”

“Say

w

hate

ver

you

like.

I on

ly w

ant

to h

ear

you

talk

.”

Ove

rhea

rd in

th

e M

elo

n P

atch

Rea

d th

e qu

ote

on e

ach

mel

on.

Dec

ide

whi

ch c

hara

cter

sai

d th

e qu

ote

and

cut o

ut th

e ch

arac

ter’s

pic

ture

.

Pla

ce a

dro

p of

glu

e on

the

dot a

nd th

en g

lue

the

pict

ure

into

pla

ce.

Col

or th

e pa

ge.

“I’m

not

go

ing

to li

sten

to

a w

ord

you

say!

”

Bo

nu

s: W

rite

one

mor

e qu

ote

from

the

book

. Be

sure

to u

se q

uota

tion

mar

ks!

TalkingMelons?

JustineA talking melon is as

ridiculous as agraceful ostrich.

Creative writing

Going Bananas Over Writing Writing a sequel to Anansi and the Talking Melon is sure to bring lots of “a-peel” to creative writing! To set the scene, reread the end of the book to students. Next, ask student volunteers to make predictions about the situations that could occur with Elephant and a talking banana. To focus students’ thinking, pose questions such as “Would Elephant tell anyone else about the banana, or would he decide to keep it to himself?” and “Would Anansi ever be revealed as the voice behind the fruit?” As a prewriting activity, give one copy of the graphic organizer on page 7 to each child. Instruct her to fill in the page with her ideas for a sequel. Then have her refer to the page as she writes a sequel to the book. Showcase the stories by mounting each one on a banana bunch–shaped cutout and stapling it to a bulletin board titled “Anansi and the Talking Banana.”

A talking melon is as ridiculous as a cuddly rhino.A talking melon is as ridiculous as a graceful ostrich.A talking melon is as ridiculous as a speedy tortoise.

Similes

Talking Melons? Plant the seeds of simile writing with these humorous melon booklets! Provide two eight-inch orange construction paper squares and three eight-inch white construction paper squares for each child. Direct the child to stack her squares so that the orange pieces are on the outside. Give the child a 71⁄2" circle template and have her trace it onto her top orange piece. Next, help her staple the pieces together as shown. Then have her cut out the resulting shape and set her booklet aside. Explain to students that a simile is a phrase that compares two things using the words like or as. Reread the section in Anansi and the Talking Melon that describes Elephant’s meeting with Hippo and Warthog on the road. Point out that the author uses a simile when she compares the idea of a talking melon to a skinny hippo and then to a handsome warthog. Next, write “A talking melon is as ridiculous as...” on the board. Ask students to name the three nonspeaking characters in the book (Ostrich, Rhino, and Turtle), and list each one on the board. Explain to each student that on each white page of her booklet, she will write a humorous simile for a different nonspeaking character. Then have her illustrate her book, write her name on the front, and title it “Talking Melons?” Be sure to set aside time to share, as students are sure to enjoy hearing each other’s humorous similes!

5©The Mailbox®

Dear Anansi,

Sincerely.Elephant

Spider Descriptions 1. has eight legs 2. can speak, talks to other

animals 3. may live in human homes

and eat insect pests

AnansiBoth

Real Spiders

Letter writing

Dear Anansi Anansi manages to anger each of the other characters with his melon prank. Hippo turns red, Warthog shakes all over, and poor Elephant is so upset that he vows never to listen to melons again! This letter-writing activity has students giving Anansi advice on being a better friend. Lead students in a discussion of Anansi’s actions and their effects on the other characters. Ask questions such as “What did Anansi do that made Hippo and Warthog angry?” and “Why was Elephant upset?” Next, ask students to imagine that Elephant has decided to write Anansi a letter. Further explain that Elephant wants to give Anansi some tips on how to be a good freind and neighbor so he can avoid making the other animals angry in the future. Have students brainstorm some tips and list each one on the board. Then give each child a sheet of paper and have him pretend to be Elephant as he writes a letter to Anansi. Bind the completed letters into a booklet titled “Advice for Anansi.”

Distinguishing reality from fiction

That’s Some Spider! Anansi certainly isn’t an ordinary spider. But how much does he have in common with ordinary spiders? Use this fact-or-fiction activity to help students find out! On the board, write the spider descriptions listed below. Explain to students that one of them strictly describes Anansi, one strictly describes real spiders, and one describes both Anansi and real spiders. Ask a different student to read each description aloud, and then have remaining students vote on the type it is. Guide them to conclude that first one describes both, the second one describes Anansi, and the third one describes real spiders. Next, provide nonfiction spider books as well as a copy of Anansi and the Talking Melon. Then give each child two sticky notes. On each note, have him write one thing about Anansi, one thing about real spiders, or one thing about both. In the meantime, draw a Venn diagram on the board and label it as shown. When the sticky notes are completed, invite each child, in turn, to read his notes aloud and then place them on the appropriate circle in the diagram.

4©The Mailbox®

3©The Mailbox®

Character study

For a Closer Look

Students spin a little character analysis at this “spider-ifc” center! In

advance, cut a class supply of four-inch black construction paper circles.

In addition, cut eight 1" x 6" black construction paper strips for each

child. Display the paper pieces at a center, along with wiggle eyes, glue,

white crayons or chalk, and a copy of the book.

Direct each child to write a different word or phrase that describes

Anansi on each of his strips. Next, have him glue the strips onto the

bottom of the circle to form a

spider as shown. After the child

labels the spider, have him add

wiggle eyes or construction

paper eyes to his spider. For

an eye-catching display, mount

the completed spiders on a

bulletin board titled “Take a

Look at This Trickster!”

Anansi

little

greedy

sly

trickster

eight-legged

black

witty

clever

Story retelling

Anansi in Action Anansi’s witty comments and clever actions make

this a perfect book for students to retell with puppets.

Divide students into groups of five and assign

one main character to each group member.

Provide assorted craft materials—such as

craft sticks, felt, and craft foam—and have

each student make a stick puppet that

represents his character.

Next, have the group work

together to write a script that

retells Anansi and the Talking

Melon. Direct the group to use

its puppets to practice acting

out the script. Then allow time

for each group to perform its

script for the class. If desired,

make arrangements with

other teachers for each

group to visit a neighboring

classroom and perform

the story.

Anansi and the Talking Melon

Name______________________________________________ Anansi and the Talking Melon

Characters, story details

Overheard in the Melon Patch

Read the quote on each melon.

Decide which character said the quote and cut out the character’s picture.

Place a drop of glue on the dot and then glue the picture into place.

Color the page.

"Why did

you bring me

a melon?"

Bonus Box: Write one more quote from the book. Be

sure to use quotation marks!

Sarah

Anansi the spider is at it again! After being

trapped inside one of Elephant’s ripe, juicy melons,

he gets bored and decides to trick Elephant into

believing that the melon can talk. This irresistible

combination of predictability, clever dialogue,

and colorful, comical illustrations will have young

readers giggling in anticipation of Anansi’s next

unexpected move!

Character study, story recall

Overheard in the Melon Patch

Who said that? Matching characters with quotes gives students

the opportunity to practice their story recall skills! After sharing

Anansi and the Talking Melon aloud, ask a student to choose one

quote from the story. Write the quote on the board, pointing out

the capitalization and punctuation in the sentence. Then have other

students guess who the speaker is. Repeat this step with several

other quotes.

To extend the lesson, give each student a copy of page 6 and

provide time for her to complete it.

2

©The Mailbox®

Retold by Eric A. Kimmel

Illustrated by Janet Stevens

10

Note to the teacher: Use after reading Anansi and the Talking Melon retold by Eric A. Kimmel.

Name

Anansi and the Talking Melon

Forming opinionsIn the Melon Patch

orange = I agree.green = I disagree.

Read each statement.Color the melons by the code. Explain your answers on the lines.

Anansi is lucky to get out of the melon.

__________________________________________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________

Color Code

____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________

Anansi should not eat the melon.

Elephant is smart to bring the melon to the king._______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

The king should be angry with the animals.

Elephant will believe the bananas can talk.__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

__________________________________________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

Anansi’s trick on the animals is mean.

©The Mailbox®

Fluency Feedback A talking melon is something to get excited about! Reread phrases from the story where characters express surprise or excitement. Then ask students to note what you did with your voice or gestures to add expression to your reading. Next, give students a chance to practice reading with expression. Divide your class into groups of four. Have a group gather around a tape recorder with a blank tape inside. Ask each child, in turn, to choose a page from the story to read aloud into the tape recorder. Then rewind the tape and have the group listen to the reading. Ask each group member to give the reader constructive feedback on his reading. Then erase the tape and continue with the next reader. After the activity, ask each student to consider how his reading sounded and to think about the feedback he received. Then have him write down a goal to improve his reading fluency. reading with fluency

Going to See the King After sharing Anansi’s tale several times, read aloud a favorite version of Henny Penny, in which another group of animals is on its way to see the king. Ask your students to think about how this tale compares to Anansi and the Talking Melon. Then, on a sheet of chart paper, draw a large, simple castle with two towers. Ask students to first think of ways the stories are alike. Write these in the center of the castle. Then have them note the differences in the stories on the two towers. coMparing and contrasting

spider, elephant, hippo

talking melon

going to see the king

tricks are played

hen, duck, fox

sky is falling

Anansiand the

Talking Melon

Henny Penny

9©The Mailbox®

A Patch of Predictions The antics of Anansi will have readers wondering what

will happen next, so focus students on making predictions

with this activity. Before reading, tell youngsters that good

readers make predictions about the story’s action based

on evidence in the story and on their own knowledge

and experiences. Pair students; then give each pair a

large orange construction paper oval. Have students

create two-column charts on their ovals and label

them with the headings shown.

As you read the story aloud, periodically

stop and ask students to make predictions about

what will happen next. Have them record their

predictions in the first column on their charts;

then have them write supporting evidence in

the second column. After the story, have

pairs share their predictions and evidence

with the class. Then pass out white pencils

and invite students to draw squiggly lines

on their ovals to make them resemble

melons. Add some touches of green

paper for vines and leaves; then

display the melons with the

title “A Patch of Predictions.”

Making predictions

Anansi and the Talking MelonRetold by Eric A. Kimmel • Illustrated by Janet Stevens

Holiday House, 1994 • Grades ps–3 • 32 pages

ISBN 0-8234-1167-2

Elephant is convinced he has a talking melon, and his animal

friends are joining him to take the melon to the king. Little

do they know that Anansi the Spider is stuck inside, and he’s

the one doing the talking! His clever ruse takes readers on a

humorous adventure in this classic example of a trickster tale.

Predictions

• Anansi will eat a melon.

• Anansi will talk again.

• Elephant will run away.

Evidence

• The melons seem to call out, “Come

eat us!”

• Anansi speaks when Hippo says,

“That’s as ridiculous as…”

• He is frustrated with the talking

melon, so he won’t want to talk to

the bananas.

8©The Mailbox®

©The Mailbox®

7

Graphic Organizer

Use with “Going Bananas Over Writing” on page 5.

Beginning

_________________________

_________________________

____________________________

Characters

__________________

________________________

____________________

Event 3

______________ .

______________ .

_______________ .

______________ .

________________ .

_____________ .

___________ .

Event 1

Event 2

_____________

_______________

________________

_________________

_______________

______________ .______________ ._______________ .______________ .________________ .

_____________ .

___________ .

Ending

___________________

__________________

_________________

__________________

____________________

_______________________

PacketPreview