Lesson flow
Chewing chorus
Teach the six words. Tap two rulers together for clash. Then teach the class one flat, slow line, "The donkey chewed." Tell pupils it comes three times, and that they will say it when it does.
Read with the chorus
Read aloud in Grade 3. In Grades 4 and 5, partners read, one as the Shepherd and one as the Donkey. Everyone says "The donkey chewed." at each place it comes. Stop after "will he make me carry two sets of baskets?" and ask: "Why is he asking that now? What will the old man say?" Read to the end.
What changes?
Draw two columns, The Shepherd and The Donkey, under the heading If the enemy comes. Pairs fill in what would change for each. The Shepherd says "They will catch us both!" and he is afraid. The Donkey would still carry baskets. Ask: "Who has something to lose? Who does not?"
Three voices
Groups of three read it as a play: a Narrator, a Shepherd who gets faster and more frightened, and a Donkey who never hurries. Pupils perform to the next group. The listeners say whether the Donkey kept chewing slowly to the end.
Over the hill
The story stops with the Donkey still chewing. Pairs write two sentences to finish it: "Then the enemy came over the hill. The Shepherd ___. The Donkey ___." Hear four or five and ask: "Whose day has changed? Whose has not?" End by reading the moral. Ask what load means here: the baskets on his back, and the work that never stops.
STORY OVERVIEW
- Title and Moral: The Ass and the Old Shepherd - "When masters change, the poor often carry the same load."
- Plot Summary: An old shepherd hears an enemy coming and begs his donkey to run. The Donkey asks whether the enemy would make him carry two sets of baskets, and when the answer is no, he goes on chewing.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Retell the talk between the Shepherd and the Donkey in order.
- Explain why the Donkey will not run.
- Compare what the enemy's coming means for the Shepherd and for the Donkey.
WORDS TO TEACH FIRST
- graze: eat grass in a field.
- meadow: a field of grass.
- clash: a loud sound of metal hitting metal.
- enemy: the side you are fighting against.
- master: the person an animal works for.
- suppose: think that something is likely.
TEXT QUESTIONS
- What frightens the Shepherd? Sample answer: He hears a sound from beyond the hill: "Shouts! The clash of swords! The enemy was coming!"
- What does the Donkey want to know before he will move? Sample answer: He asks, "If the enemy catches me, will he make me carry two sets of baskets?" He wants to know if his life would get any worse.
- What does the Donkey mean by "what does it matter to me who my master is?" Sample answer: He will carry baskets for whoever owns him, so a new master would not change his life.
EXIT TICKET
Pupils write one sentence that uses the word baskets to explain why the Donkey goes on chewing.
SUPPORT AND STRETCH
- Support: Read the Easier version with the pupil, who reads "Run, run, run!" while you read the Donkey. The pupil draws the Donkey with one load under Old master and one load under New master, then says why he will not run.
- On level: Complete the What changes? chart and answer the exit ticket.
- Stretch: The Shepherd is old and frightened and has no answer for the Donkey. Pupils write what he could say to change the Donkey's mind, then explain whether it would work, using the Donkey's own words.
ENGLISH LEARNERS
Show run and chew with a quick mime, then pupils copy each as you call it out. Give this frame for the chart: The Shepherd is afraid of ___, but the Donkey will still ___.
Answer key
Comprehension
- He was grazing in the meadow and chewing.
- There were shouts and the clash of swords.
- He wanted him to run away from the enemy with him.
- He asked if the enemy would make him carry two sets of baskets.
- He is still chewing: "The donkey chewed."
Vocabulary
- C
- E
- A
- F
- D
- B
Writing Task
A good answer says that the Shepherd fears being caught, and that the Donkey does not mind because he will carry baskets for any master.
Original text available on the story page.