· Web viewPAIRED-TEXT LESSON EXEMPLAR. Edith Nesbit – A Powerful Friend. Jean de La Fontaine – The Cat and the Rat. Learning Objective: The goal of this four-day exemplar

2012 Common Core State Standards Summer Institute

PAIRED-TEXT LESSON EXEMPLAR

Edith Nesbit – A Powerful Friend Jean de La Fontaine – The Cat and the Rat

Learning Objective: The goal of this four-day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they’ve been practicing on a regular basis. This lesson utilizes paired texts:

Edith Nesbit’s short story entitled A Powerful Friend. Jean de La Fontaine’s poem, The Cat and the Rat.

This paired-text lesson will provide opportunities for students to absorb deep lessons from Edith Nesbit’s short story across two days. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will identify the reason and characteristics of the main character’s friendship with the elephant and what the author means by “a powerful friend.” During the last two days of the lesson, students will engage in deep reading, writing, and discussion about the second paired text, The Cat and the Rat. Students draw from information found in both texts as well as their observations about the literary elements to write a comparison paper.

Reading Task: Students will silently read the passage in question on a given day—first independently and then following along with the text as the teacher and/or skillful students read aloud. Students will then reread specific passages in response to a set of concise, text-dependent questions that compel them to examine the meaning and structure of Edith Nesbit’s short story. Therefore, rereading is deliberately built into the instructional unit. This serves three purposes:

helping less fluent readers access a more complex text than they could independently modeling for all students the necessity and process of returning to the text in order to absorb

all it has to offer. reinforcing how to use evidence from text to support a position, claim, or opinion.

[NOTE: Depending on the difficulties of a given text and the teacher’s knowledge of the fluency abilities of students, the order of the student silent read and the teacher reading aloud with students following might be reversed. What is important is to allow all students to interact with challenging text on their own as frequently and independently as possible.]

Vocabulary Task: Most of the meanings of words in the exemplar text can be discovered by students from careful reading of the context in which they appear. Teachers can use discussions to model and reinforce how to learn vocabulary from either or both contextual clues and morphemic word analysis, and students must be held accountable for engaging in this practice. Where there is limited access to meaning in context or it is judged not at all possible, underlined words are defined briefly for students to the right of the text in a separate column whenever the original text is reproduced. There is a longer discussion of these words in the “Vocabulary” section of the lesson. In addition, in subsequent close readings of passages of the text, high value academic (‘Tier Two’) words have been bolded to draw attention to them. Given how crucial vocabulary knowledge is for academic and career success, it is essential that these high value words be discussed and lingered over during the instructional sequence.

[NOTE: At times, the process described above is all the support these defined words need. At other times, particularly with abstract words, teachers will need to spend more time explaining and discussing them.]

Discussion Task: Students will discuss the exemplar text in depth with their teacher and their classmates, performing activities that result in a close reading of Nesbit’s short story. The goal is to foster student confidence when encountering complex text and to reinforce the skills they have

1


acquired regarding how to build and extend their understanding of a text. A general principle is to always reread the passage that provides evidence for the question under discussion. This gives students another encounter with the text, helping them develop fluency and reinforcing their use of text evidence.

Writing Task: Students will respond to a series of text-dependent questions and then write an informal explanatory essay. Teachers might afford students the opportunity to revise their essays after participating in classroom discussion or even rewrite their explanation after receiving teacher feedback, allowing them to refashion both their understanding of the text and their expression of that understanding.

Text Selection: Each of the paired texts is from public domain, and they both share some common literary elements: characters (cat, mouse/rat), a problem for the characters to overcome, theme (survival, cooperation/alliances), and moral. The first text, A Powerful Friend, written by Edith Nesbit is a short story that ends with a warning and advice, similar to the moral in a fable. The second text, The Cat and the Rat, written by Jean de La Fontaine is a poem that contains a fable and ends with a moral.

Outline of Lesson Plan: This lesson is designed for instruction and reflection across four days; however, it can be delivered across 3-5 days to meet the learning needs of the students in the classroom. Reasons for extending the time needed for instruction include taking more time to unpack the rich array of ideas from text. This provides opportunity for instruction to look more closely at academic vocabulary, facilitating more interactive discussion about text information, or even working at greater length with writing tasks.

Standards Covered: See the attached chart entitled Common Core State Standards Alignment (Grades 3 and 4)

2


The First Text: A Powerful Friend by Edith Nesbit

Exemplar Text VocabularyMY mother was the best of cats. She washed us kittens all over every morning, and at odd times during the day she would wash little bits of us, say an ear, or a paw, or a tail-tip, and she was very anxious about our education. I am afraid I gave her a great deal of trouble, for I was rather stout and heavy, and did not take a very active or graceful part in the exercises which she thought good for us.

Our gymnasium was the kitchen hearth-rug. There was always a good fire in the grate, and it seemed to me so much better to go to sleep in front of it than to run round after my own tail, or even my mother's, though, of course, that was a great honor.

As for running after the reel of cotton when the cook dropped it, or playing with the tassel of the blind-cord, or pretending that there were mice inside the paper bag which I knew to be empty, I confess that I had no heart or imagination for these diversions.

"Of course, you know best, mother," I used to say; "but it does seem to me a dreadful waste of time. We might be much better employed."

"How better employed?" asked my mother severely.

"Why," I answered, "in eating or sleeping."

At first my mother used to box my ears, and insist on my learning such little accomplishments as she thought necessary for my station in life.

"You see," she would say, "all this playing with tails and reels and balls of yarn is a preparation for the real business of life."

"What is that?" asked my sister.

"Mouse-catching," said my mother very earnestly.

"There are no mice here," I said, stretching myself.

"No, but you will not always be here; and if you practice the little tricks I show you now with the ball of worsted and the tips of our tails, then, when the great hour comes, and a career is open to you, and you see before you the glorious prize—the MOUSE—you will be quick enough and clever enough to satisfy your greatest needs."

"And supposing we don't play with our tails and the balls of yarn?" I said.

"Then," said my mother bitterly, "you may as well lie down for the mice to run over you."

Thus at first she used to try to show me how foolish it was to think of nothing but eating and sleeping; but after a while she turned all her attention to teaching my brother and sister, and they were apt pupils. They despised nothing small enough to be moved

3


by their paws, which could give them an opportunity of practicing. They did not mind making themselves ridiculous—a thing which has been always impossible with me. I have seen Tabby, my sister, in the garden, playing with dead leaves, as excited and pleased as though they had been the birds which she foolishly pretended that they were.

I thought her very silly then, but I lived to wish that I had taken half as much trouble with my lessons as she did with hers. My mother was very pleased with her, especially after she caught the starlings. This was a piece of cleverness which my sister invented and carried through entirely out of her own head. She made friends with one of the cows at the farm near us, and used to go into the cowhouse and jump on the cow's back. Then when the cow was sent out into the field to get her grassy breakfast, my sister used to go with her, riding on her back.

Now birds are always very much on the look-out for cats, and, if they can help it, never allow one of us to come within half-a-dozen yards of them without taking to those silly wings of theirs. I never could see why birds should have wings—so unnecessary.

But birds are not afraid of cows, for cows are very poor sportsmen, and never care to kill and eat anything.

Now the back of a cow is the last place where you would think of looking for a cat; so when the starlings saw the cow coming, they didn't think it worthwhile to use their wings, and when the cow was quite close to the birds—beautiful, fat, delightful birds—my sister used to pick out with her eye the fattest starling, and then leap suddenly from the cow's back on to her prey. She never missed.

"I have never known," said my poor mother with tears of pride in her green eyes—"I have never known a cat do anything so clever."

"It's all your doing, mother dear," said my sister prettily; "if you hadn't taught me so well when I was little, I should never have thought of it." And they kissed each other affectionately.

I showed my claws and growled. My mother shook her tabby head. "O Buff," she said, "if you had only been willing to learn when you were little, you might have been as clever as your sister, instead of being the great anxiety you are to me.”

"And why am I an anxiety?" I said, ruffling up my fur and my tail, for I was very angry.

"Because you are clumsy," she said, "and not particularly handsome; and when a cat is clumsy and not particularly handsome, they sometimes——"

"What?" I said, turning pale to the ends of my ears.

"Buff, they sometimes --” But I quickly covered my ears with my paws before I could hear the words she was whispering.

4

silly or foolish

to give away or get rid of


Judge of my own next day when they came into the kitchen and took me up and put me into a basket! I knew all about the different ways to dispose of unwanted animals. These tales of horror are told at twilight time in all cat nurseries, and I began to hope that I should be so fortunate as to escape such a fate.

It was very uncomfortable in the basket. They carried me upside-down part of the way, and it was draughty and hard. When they took off the lid of the basket, I found myself under the shade of a huge moving mountain, that seemed about to fall and crush me. It was an elephant.

I found that the people where my mother lived had given me to the cook, who had given me to her cousin, who was engaged to be married to a young man whose brother-in-law was the elephant's keeper, and so I found myself in the elephant's house.

There was no milk for me—no heads and tails of fish—no scraps of meat—no delicious unforeseen morsels of butter.

The elephant was very kind to me. He had once had a friend exactly like me, he explained, but had unfortunately walked upon him, and now I had come to fill the vacant place in his large heart.

I resolved at once that he should not walk upon me; but in order to ensure this, I was compelled to enter upon a more active existence than I had ever known.

When I asked what I was expected to eat, he said—

"Mice, I suppose; or you can have some of my rolls if you like. You might like them at first, but you will soon get tired of them."

But I couldn't eat rolls. I was never, from a kitten, fond of such things. I got very hungry. Again and again the mice rushed through the straw, and I, heavily, helplessly, in my unpracticed way, rushed after them. At first the elephant laughed heartily at my in expert ness ; but when he saw how hungry and wretched I was, he said—

"They won't give you any milk, and if they find you don't catch the mice they will take you away from me. Now you are a nice little cat, and I don't want to part with you. We must try and arrange something."

Then the great thought of my life came to me.

"You walked on the other cat," I said.

"What?" he trumpeted in a voice of thunder.

"I beg your pardon," I said hastily; "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"—and, indeed, I could not have imagined that an elephant would have been so thin-skinned—"but a great idea has come to me. Why shouldn't you walk on mice—not too hard, but just so that I could eat them afterwards?"

"Well," said the elephant, showing his long tusks in a smile, "you are not very

5

in = notexpert = skillfulness = quality of


handsome, and you are not very brisk; but you certainly have brains, my dear."

He dropped his great foot as he spoke. When he lifted it, there lay a mouse. I had an excellent supper; and before the week's end I heard the keeper say, "This cat has certainly done the trick. She has kept the mice down. We must keep her."

They have kept me. They even go so far as to allow me to moisten my mice with milk.

There is no moral to this story, except that you should do as you are told, and learn everything you can while you are young. It is true that I get on very well without having done so, but then you may not have my good luck. It is not every cat who can get an elephant to catch her mice for her.

6


Day One: Instructional Exemplar for Nesbit’s A Powerful FriendSummary of Activities 1. Teacher introduces the day’s passage with minimal commentary and students read it independently. 2. Teacher or a skillful reader then reads the passage out loud to the class as students follow along in the text. Teachers can reverse numbers 1 and 2 if

they feel students need the support of hearing the text read aloud first. 3. Teacher asks the class to discuss the first set of text-dependent questions and perform complex targeted tasks that relate directly to the passage, with

answers in the form of discussion comments, notes, annotations to the text, or more formal responses as appropriate.

Text Passage under Discussion Instructional Commentary/Guiding Questions For Teachers/Proficient Responses

MY mother was the best of cats. She washed us kittens all over every morning, and at odd times during the day she would wash little bits of us, say an ear, or a paw, or a tail-tip, and she was very anxious about our education. I am afraid I gave her a great deal of trouble, for I was rather stout and heavy, and did not take a very active or graceful part in the exercises which she thought good for us.

Our gymnasium was the kitchen hearth-rug. There was always a good fire in the grate, and it seemed to me so much better to go to sleep in front of it than to run round after my own tail, or even my mother's, though, of course, that was a great honor.

As for running after the reel of cotton when the cook dropped it, or playing with the tassel of the blind-cord, or pretending that there were mice inside the paper bag which I knew to be empty, I confess that I had no heart or imagination for these diversions.

[read the intervening paragraphs]

"Of course, you know best, mother," I used to say; "but it does seem to me a dreadful waste of time. We might be much better employed."

"How better employed?" asked my mother severely.

"Why," I answered, "in eating or sleeping."

At first my mother used to box my ears, and insist on my learning such little accomplishments as she thought necessary for my station in life.

1. Introduce the passage and students read independently.Briefly mention to students that this is a very old story with some old-fashioned words. Other than providing brief definitions for the underlined words in text that students will not likely be able to define from context, avoid giving any background context or instructional guidance at the outset of the lesson. Next, have students read the text silently. This forces students to rely exclusively on the text for their comprehension of Nesbit’s story, cultivating independence and creating a culture of close reading. It is necessary for students to initially grapple with rich texts like Nesbit’s without the aid of prefatory material, extensive notes, or even teacher explanations.

2. Read the passage out loud to the class as students follow along in the text.

Asking students to listen to this short story exposes students a second time to the meaning of the author’s language before they begin their own close reading of the passage. Speaking clearly and carefully will allow students to follow Nesbit’s story, and reading out loud with students following along improves fluency while offering all students access to this complex text. Accurate and skillful modeling of the reading also provides students who may be dysfluent with accurate pronunciations and syntactic patterns of English.

7



"You see," she would say, "all this playing with tails and reels and balls of yarn is a preparation for the real business of life."

"What is that?" asked my sister.

"Mouse-catching," said my mother very earnestly.

"There are no mice here," I said, stretching myself.

"No, but you will not always be here; and if you practice the little tricks I show you now with the ball of yarn and the tips of our tails, then, when the great hour comes, and a career is open to you, and you see before you the glorious prize—the MOUSE—you will be quick enough and clever enough to satisfy your greatest needs."

"And supposing we don't play with our tails and the balls of yarn?" I said.

"Then," said my mother bitterly, "you may as well lie down for the mice to run over you."

Thus at first she used to try to show me how foolish it was to think of nothing but eating and sleeping; but after a while she turned all her attention to teaching my brother and sister, and they were apt pupils. They despised nothing small enough to be moved by their paws, which could give them an opportunity of practicing. They did not mind making themselves ridiculous—a thing which has been always impossible with me. I have seen Tabby, my sister, in the garden, playing with dead leaves, as excited and pleased as though they had been the birds which she foolishly pretended that they were.

I thought her very silly then, but I lived to wish that I had taken half as much trouble with my lessons as she did with hers. My mother was very pleased with her, especially after she caught the starlings. This was a piece of cleverness which my sister invented and carried through entirely out of her own head. She made friends with one of the cows at the farm near us, and used to go into the cowhouse and jump on the cow's back. Then when the cow was sent out into the field to get her grassy breakfast, my sister used to go with her, riding on her back.

Now birds are always very much on the look-out for cats, and, if they can help it, never allow one of us to come within half-a-dozen yards of them without taking to those silly wings of theirs. I never could see why birds should have wings—so unnecessary.

But birds are not afraid of cows, for cows are very poor sportsmen, and never care to kill and eat anything.

Now the back of a cow is the last place where you would think of looking for a cat;

silly or foolish

3. Ask the class to answer a small set of text-dependent guided questions and perform targeted tasks about the passage, with answers in the form of notes, annotations to the text, or more formal responses as appropriate.

As students move through these questions and reread Nesbit’s story, be sure to check for and reinforce their understanding of academic vocabulary in the corresponding text (which will be boldfaced the first time it appears in the text). At times, the questions themselves may focus on academic vocabulary.

(Q1) The story begins with the statement, “My mother was the best of cats.” What happens in the story that shows this IS or IS NOT true?

The story narrator and main character, Buff, describes her mother as actively involved in both their grooming and education. Mother’s instruction focused on survival skills: primarily, developing the kittens’ coordination and speed in catching mice to eat. During discussion, some students may counter these positive descriptions of Mother because of her negative comments directed at Buff: “clumsy, not handsome,” etc.

(Q2) The text states that Buff gave her mother “a great deal of trouble.” How much trouble did Buff give her mother in comparison to her siblings: more, less, or about the same?

Buff did not actively respond to mother’s instruction or try to use her imagination but preferred to eat and sleep, resulting in slower development in coordination and speed in comparison to her siblings. Buff also questioned and argued about the value of what Mother cat was teaching them. Compared to her sister, Tabby, who excelled at life’s practice activities, Buff viewed these learning and practice activities as unimportant and silly. All of this caused anxiety for Mother cat.

(Q3) What words or phrases in the text show that Mother cat was anxious about her kittens’ learning of their survival skills? Mother cat did “insist on my learning” and took time to carefully explain reasons to prepare for the “real business of life.” She warned them of the consequences and alternatives. Mother had “tears of pride”

8



"I have never known," said my poor mother with tears of pride in her green eyes—"I have never known a cat do anything so clever."

"It's all your doing, mother dear," said my sister prettily; "if you hadn't taught me so well when I was little, I should never have thought of it." And they kissed each other affectionately.

I showed my claws and growled. My mother shook her tabby head. "O Buff," she said, "if you had only been willing to learn when you were little, you might have been as clever as your sister, instead of being the great anxiety you are to me.”

"And why am I an anxiety?" I said, ruffling up my fur and my tail, for I was very angry.

"Because you are clumsy," she said, "and not particularly handsome; and when a cat is clumsy and not particularly handsome, they sometimes——"

"What?" I said, turning pale to the ends of my ears.

"Buff, they sometimes --” But I quickly covered my ears with my paws before I could hear the words that whispered from her mouth.

Judge of my own next day when they came into the kitchen and took me up and put me into a basket! I knew all about the different ways to dispose of unwanted animals. These tales of horror are told at twilight time in all cat nurseries, and I began to hope that I should be so fortunate as to escape such a fate.

It was very uncomfortable in the basket. They carried me upside-down part of the way, and it was draughty and hard. When they took off the lid of the basket, I found myself under the shade of a huge moving mountain, that seemed about to fall and crush me. It was an elephant.

I found that the people where my mother lived had given me to the cook, who had given me to her cousin, who was engaged to be married to a young man whose brother-in-law was the elephant's keeper, and so I found myself in the elephant's house.


The elephant was very kind to me. He had once had a friend exactly like me, he explained, but had unfortunately walked upon him, and now I had come to fill the vacant place in his large heart.

I resolved at once that he should not walk upon me; but in order to ensure this, I

To give away or get rid of

(Q4) According to the text, how prepared for life was Buff?

Physically, Buff was not prepared to live independently. She did not move quickly enough to catch a mouse on her own so she was not able to feed herself; however, to compensate for her lack of speed, Buff used her mind to devise a feasible plan that capitalized on the elephant’s great size and friendship with the elephant.

(Q5) At what point in the story was Buff at greatest risk?

Students may focus on several points of risk throughout the story: Buff was placed in the basket to be taken away from her mother; Buff was placed in the elephant’s stall, in danger of being stepped on; Buff had no food available to eat at her new home. Whatever their position during discussion, students will need to relate specific information from text as their evidence to support their position.

(Q6) How would you describe the relationship between the Buff and the elephant?

Students will draw from information throughout the text to identify specific characteristics describing the relationship between the cat and the elephant.

Both the cat and the elephant had a mutual understanding and were dependent upon one another. While the elephant had compassion for the cat regarding his need to find a source of food, he also needed a friend. Each animal shared what they had to offer to the other; the elephant helped the cat find food, and the cat provided company for the elephant. This cooperative agreement met the survival needs of the cat and the emotional needs of the elephant.

Q7) From the elephant keeper’s perspective, what were the advantages or disadvantages of keeping Buff? What advantages or disadvantages did Buff experience from this reputation? Was this reputation based on reality?

The elephant keeper thought that Buff was an excellent catcher of mice. “This cat has certainly done the trick. She has kept the mice down. We must keep her.” This reputation was positive and gained

9



"Mice, I suppose; or you can have some of my rolls if you like. You might like them at first, but you will soon get tired of them."

But I couldn't eat rolls. I was never, from a kitten, fond of such things. I got very hungry. Again and again the mice rushed through the straw, and I, heavily, helplessly, in my unpracticed way, rushed after them. At first the elephant laughed heartily at my inexpertness; but when he saw how hungry and wretched I was, he said—

"They won't give you any milk, and if they find you don't catch the mice they will take you away from me. Now you are a nice little cat, and I don't want to part with you. We must try and arrange something."

Then the great thought of my life came to me.

"You walked on the other cat," I said.

"What?" he trumpeted in a voice of thunder.


"I beg your pardon," I said hastily; "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"—and, indeed, I could not have imagined that an elephant would have been so thin-skinned—"but a great idea has come to me. Why shouldn't you walk on mice—not too hard, but just so that I could eat them afterwards?"

"Well," said the elephant, showing his long tusks in a smile, "you are not very handsome, and you are not very brisk; but you certainly have brains, my dear."

He dropped his great foot as he spoke. When he lifted it, there lay a mouse. I had an excellent supper; and before the week's end I heard the keeper say, "This cat has certainly done the trick. She has kept the mice down. We must keep her."

They have kept me. They even go so far as to allow me to moisten my mice with milk.

There is no moral to this story, except that you should do as you are told, and learn everything you can while you are young. It is true that I get on very well without having done so, but then you may not have my good luck. It is not every cat who can get an elephant to catch her mice for her.

Q8) Which character was the “powerful friend” – the cat, the elephant, or both? What information in text leads you to think that?

Students will draw from information throughout the text to identify the “powerful friend.” In reference to the elephant, power is symbolized by his great size, “his large heart,” and his important role in helping the cat locate food to survive by stepping on the mice. Buff would then eat the mice. On the contrary, some students may conclude that the cat could possibly be considered “a powerful friend;”the cat had “powerful” brains to figure out a solution that was beneficial for both of them. For all of the reasons previously mentioned, some students may take the position that both animals were the powerful friend.

(Q9) What important lessons had Buff learned by the end of the story?

Students will draw from information throughout the text to support their viewpoint. They will point out that the cat learned the wisdom of Mother’s advice. Buff lived to regret her previous perspective, wishing that “I had taken half as much trouble with my lessons as she (my sister) did with hers.” Also, the cat learned the importance of protecting herself because the text states that she “resolved at once” and “was compelled to enter upon a more active existence than I had ever known.” Finally, Buff learned to problem-solve using her intellect, compensating for her physical clumsiness.

10

in = notexpert = skillfulness = quality of


Day Two: Explanatory Writing Assignment for Nesbit’s A Powerful Friend

Directions for Teachers and Students / Guidance for TeachersThis text selection, A Powerful Friend, ends with words of warning:

“You should do as you are told, and learn everything you can while you are young. It is true that I get on very well without having done so, but then you may not have my good luck.”

Using your answers from class questions and discussion, explain in writing the “good luck” to which the main character was referring. Be sure to clearly cite evidence from the text for your written response.

A proficient answer should contain several of the following items as text evidence: The cat was sent to the elephant keeper: “I found that the people where my mother lived had given me to the cook, who had given me

to her cousin, who was engaged to be married to a young man whose brother-in-law was the elephant’s keeper.” She met and shared a stall with this particular elephant: “The elephant was very kind to me . . . I had come to fill the vacant place in

his large heart.” She developed a relationship with this elephant: “Now you are a nice little cat, and I don’t want to part with you.” The cat had the cooperation of the elephant to step on mice: “Showing his long tusks in a smile, ‘You certainly have brains, my

dear.’ He dropped his great foot . . . when he lifted it, there lay a mouse . . . and before the week’s end (infers elephant’s continued cooperation over time)”

The cat gained a reputation with the elephant keeper: “This cat has certainly done the trick. She has kept the mice down. We must keep her.”

The cat had the cooperation of the elephant to hide their secret from the elephant keeper: “They have kept me . . . It is not every cat who can get an elephant to catch her mice for her.”

Conclude your written response by explaining whether or not the main character would recommend others to rely on “good luck” for their future. Cite text evidence to support your position.

EXAMPLES OF NON-TEXT DEPENDENT QUESIONS

Have you ever seen two different types of animals become friends? What do cats eat? Do you know how long does it take for a baby kitten to grow into an adult cat?

11


EXAMPLES OF TEXT-DEPENDENT BUT TRIVIAL QUESTIONS

What did Mother cat do to take care of her baby kittens? What did Buff want to do instead of playing? What did Mother cat say was a cat’s job? Why was Buff’s sister sitting on the cow’s back?

Day Three: Instructional Exemplar for Paired Text, Fontaine’s The Cat and the Rat

Directions for Teachers and Students / Guidance for TeachersThe title of this poem is the Cat and the Rat, written by John de La Fontaine. The goal of pairing Nesbit’s short story with Fontaine’s poem in a series of lessons is to give students an opportunity to learn how to:

compare and contrast various literary elements across two texts. apply content area knowledge and vocabulary during the process of reading, discussion, and writing.

Paired Text Selection: This second text, The Cat and the Rat, was written by Jean de La Fontaine in the 1600’s. This poem contains a fable and ends with a moral.

Outline of Lesson Plan: This portion of the series of lessons is designed for instruction and reflection across two days.

Standards Covered: See the attached chart entitled Common Core State Standards Alignment (Grades 3 and 4)

Day 3: Read the poem in its entirety. Have students discuss and/or write about the meaning made from the text.

Day 4: Revisit the poem, asking a series of text-dependent questions and then concluding with writing tasks that require students to compare/contrast information across paired texts.

12


13



Four creatures, wont to prowl, - Sly Grab-and-Snatch, the cat, Grave Evil-bode, the owl, Thief Nibble-stitch, the rat, And Madam Weasel, prim and fine, - Inhabited a rotten pine. A man their home discover'd there And set, one night, a cunning snare. The cat, a noted early-riser, Went forth, at break of day, To hunt her usual prey. Not much the wiser For morning's feeble ray, The noose did suddenly surprise her. Waked by her strangling cry, Grey Nibble-stitch drew nigh: As full of joy was he As of despair was she, For in the noose he saw His foe of mortal paw. 'Dear friend,' said Mrs. Grab-and-Snatch, 'Do, pray, this cursed cord detach. I've always known your skill, And often your good-will; Now help me from this worst of snares, In which I fell at unawares. 'Tis by a sacred right, You, sole of all your race, By special love and grace, Have been my favourite - The darling of my eyes. 'Twas order'd by celestial cares, No doubt; I thank the blessed skies, That, going out to say my prayers, As cats devout each morning do,

1. Introduce the poem and students read independently.Briefly mention to students that this is a very old poem with some old-fashioned words and phrases. Other than providing brief definitions for the underlined words in text that students will not likely be able to define from context, avoid giving any background context or instructional guidance at the outset of the lesson. Next, have students read the text silently. This forces students to rely exclusively on the text for their comprehension of Fontaine’s poem, cultivating independence and creating a culture of close reading. It is necessary for students to initially grapple with rich texts like Fontaine’s poem without the aid of prefatory material, extensive notes, or even teacher explanations; however, since the language of this poem is complex, it may be beneficial for students to read it aloud with a partner for this first reading.

2. Read the poem out loud to the class as students follow along in the text.

Asking students to listen to this poem exposes students a second time to the meaning of the author’s language before they begin their own close reading of the passage. Speaking clearly and carefully will allow students to follow Fontaine’s poem, and reading out loud with students following along improves fluency while offering all students access to this complex text. Accurate and skillful modeling of the reading also provides students who may be dysfluent with accurate pronunciations and syntactic patterns of English.

3. Ask the class to answer a small set of text-dependent guided questions and perform targeted tasks about the poem, with answers in the form of notes, annotations to the text, or more formal responses as appropriate.

As students move through these questions and reread Fontaine’s poem, be sure to check for and reinforce their understanding of academic vocabulary in the corresponding text (which will be boldfaced the first time it appears in the text). At times, the questions themselves may focus on academic vocabulary.

14


15


This net has made me pray to you. Come, fall to work upon the cord.' Replied the rat, 'And what reward Shall pay me, if I dare?' 'Why,' said the cat, 'I swear To be your firm ally: Henceforth, eternally, These powerful claws are yours, Which safe your life insures. I'll guard from quadruped and fowl; I'll eat the weasel and the owl.' 'Ah,' cried the rat, 'you fool! I'm quite too wise to be your tool.' He said, and sought his snug retreat, Close at the rotten pine-tree's feet. Where plump he did the weasel meet; Whom shunning by a happy dodge, He climb'd the hollow trunk to lodge; And there the savage owl he saw. Necessity became his law, And down he went, the rope to gnaw. Strand after strand in two he bit, And freed, at last, the hypocrite. That moment came the man in sight; The new allies took hasty flight.

A good while after that, Our liberated cat Espied her favourite rat, Quite out of reach, and on his guard. 'My friend,' said she, 'I take your shyness hard; Your caution wrongs my gratitude; Approach, and greet your staunch ally. Do you suppose, dear rat, that I Forget the solemn oath I mew'd?'

(Q1) How would you describe the relationship between the main characters in the poem?

Students will identify two main characters: the cat and the rat. The owl and weasel are minor characters. Student responses will include words from the poem describing the rat as the cat’s “usual prey” and the cat as the rat’s “foe.” Under normal circumstances, both animals are natural enemies; however, the rat’s encounter with larger enemies (owl, weasel, man who set the trap) instantly transforms his relationship with the cat, becoming “new allies.” As quickly as their alliance began, it ended. This interruption in their chase shows the fickleness/inconsistency of their relationship.

(Q2) What event in the poem caused the rat to become “full of joy” and the cat “of despair?” Explain why this impacted their emotions.

The first event in the story within the poem was cat’s pursuit of his morning meal: the rat. (“The cat, a noted early-riser, went forth to hunt her usual prey.”) During the chase, a sudden change of circumstances caused the rat to have hope: the cat was roped in a trap. (“for in the noose he saw his foe of mortal paw.”) This was the event in the poem that caused a change of emotion for both the cat and the rat. Now, the rat was free from the cat’s pursuit and, instead, the cat was caught in a “cunning snare.” The cat was in a hopeless situation, causing her despair.

(Q3) What words or phrases in the poem describe an ecosystem? Aa community? The food chain? Include in your responses any science terms that you have learned.

The concepts of ecosystem, community, and food chain are embedded in the poem. The setting is a tree ecosystem, “a rotten pine.” The community consists of three different mammals and one fowl/bird who “wont to prowl,” looking for a food source. The cat “went forth, at break of day, to hunt her usual prey.” Once ensnared by the trap, the cat promised that if the rat helped her escape, she would always seek different prey, “I’ll eat the weasel and the owl.” Later, the rat ran into these two predators: “he did the weasel meet; whom shunning by a happy dodge, he climbed the hollow trunk to lodge; and there the savage owl he saw.” The rat escaped and found refuge from these two

16


17


'Do I forget,' the rat replied, 'To what your nature is allied?To thankfulness, or even pity, Can cats be ever bound by treaty?'

Alliance from necessityIs safe just while it has to be.

(Q4) What words or phrases in the text exhibit flattery? How effective of a strategy was the use of flattery?

Students will point out that the cat used flattery as a strategy to manipulate the rat while the cat was ensnared in the trap: “Dear friend . . I’ve always known your skill, and often your good-will . . . T’is by a sacred right, You, sole of all your race, by special love and grace, have been my favorite – the darling of my eyes. T’was ordered by celestial cares, no doubt; I thank the blessed skies . . . this net has made me pray to you.” Initially, this first manipulation did not work; however, once the rat encountered the weasel and the owl, it appears that the rat might have believed the cat’s promise to eat these two animals. (“I’ll eat the weasel and the owl.”) Possibly with the hope of decreasing the enemy population from three to one, the rat chewed a hole in the net so that the cat could escape. The cat’s strategy of using flattery was effective because the rat set the cat free.

(Q5) Which main character had the most wisdom: the cat or the rat? What text evidence shows that this is true?

Students will select specific words or phrases from the text that refer to various actions, motives, and traits of the main characters. The poem describes the cat as “not much the wiser.” While at a physical disadvantage inside the net trap, the cat shows that he is sly by using both flattery and promises to manipulate the rat, not necessarily the same as wisdom. In contrast, the rat tells the cat, “I’m quite too wise to be your tool.” But after encountering even larger predators, the rat changes his mind about believing the cat’s promises and decides to help her: “necessity became his law.” Nevertheless, the text refers to the cat as “the hypocrite,” inferring that the cat made promises she either did not keep or had no intensions of keeping. This outcome reveals that the rat may not have been as wise as he originally had hoped. Ultimately, the rat shows wisdom in keeping his distance from the cat as he challenges her trustworthiness by stating, “Do I forget to what your nature is allied? Can cats be ever bound by treaty?”

(Q6) The moral at the end of the poem states, “Alliance from necessity is safe just while it has to be.” At what point in the poem was the alliance necessary? For which character in the story is this most true? Use information from text to support your answer. While the brief alliance was beneficial to both cat and rat while it lasted, the animal at most risk throughout the poem was the rat. He was safe from the cat as long as “his foe of mortal paw” was in the net trap but, at the same time, he was not safe from his larger predators, “the quadruped and fowl,” or the weasel and owl. The rat was prey to all three -- cat, weasel, and owl.

18


Day Four: Instructional Exemplar for Paired Text, Fontaine’s The Cat and the Rat

Directions for Teachers and Students / Guidance for TeachersThe title of this poem is the Cat and the Rat, written by John de La Fontaine. The goal of pairing Nesbit’s short story with Fontaine’s poem in a series of lessons is to give students an opportunity to learn how to:

apply newly learned vocabulary and concepts from the second text (i.e., alliance) to compare with the first text. compare and contrast various literary elements across two texts. apply content area knowledge during the process of reading, discussion, and writing. engage in explanatory writing in response to reading A Cat and the Rat. engage in comparative writing across the two paired texts. engage in creative writing: a story containing a fable (extended writing opportunity).

Writing Prompt for Cat and the Rat: The moral at the end of Fontaine’s poem states, “Alliance from necessity is safe just while it has to be.”

Explain why this moral is appropriate for the poem, The Cat and the Rat. Use information from the text and class discussion.

Paired Writing Prompt for both A Powerful Friend and Cat and the Rat: Describe the similarities and differences between the alliance in the poem (with the cat and the rat) and the alliance in the story

(with Buff and the elephant). Use information from both texts and class discussions to explain your answer. Which moral do you think contains the most important lesson or truth – the poem or the story? Use information from both texts

and class discussions to explain and support your position. Draft a short story or poem and include a moral to go with it. Make sure that the short story or poem includes:

- antagonist (villain)- protagonist (hero)- a problem that requires one or more main character to take action.- events that demonstrate the point of the lesson or warning in the moral.

Use the graphic organizer for support in organizing your ideas as you construct your draft.Use the writing rubric for support as your work on revising your draft.

19

Documents

· Web viewPAIRED-TEXT LESSON EXEMPLAR. Edith Nesbit – A Powerful Friend. Jean de La Fontaine – The Cat and the Rat. Learning Objective: The goal of this four-day exemplar