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Library / The Lion and the Dolphin

Lesson plan

The Lion and the Dolphin

Grades
2–4
Time
45 min
Reading level
1
PDFPrint the worksheetRead the story

Lesson flow

5 min

Tape the Shore

Run a line of tape across the floor. Label one side Land and the other Sea. Ask, "What can a lion do on this side that a dolphin cannot? What can a dolphin do on that side that a lion cannot?" Teach the five words.

5 min

Read to the Pact

Read the story aloud for Grades 2 and 3, and have Grade 4 read with a partner. Stop at "there at the edge of the foam." Two pupils shake hands across the tape as the lion and the dolphin. Ask, "What does each friend expect from the other?"

10 min

Pause at the Roar

Read to "Come and help me!" Pause and let pairs predict: can the dolphin help? Pupils say why or why not, using the tape line. Read on to "could not get one fin onto the land" and check their predictions.

10 min

Across the Tape

In pairs, one pupil stands on the Land side as the lion and one on the Sea side as the dolphin. The lion calls, "Dolphin! My friend! Come and help me!" The dolphin rushes to the tape, leaps and thrashes, but no foot may cross it. Pairs swap roles, then say how each one felt.

10 min

Cannot or Will Not?

Write four cases on the board: a friend with a broken leg cannot run with you, a friend walks past when you drop your books, a friend is too short to reach the shelf, a friend will not share a crayon just to be mean. Pairs copy them into two columns headed Cannot and Will not. Ask which pile the dolphin belongs in and which words from the story prove it.

5 min

Say It Better

Read the lion's "Traitor!" and the dolphin's answer again. Pairs say what the lion could have said instead, starting "Thank you for ..." and one pair says it to the class. Ask, "What did the dolphin do that deserved thanks?" Pupils answer with words from the story, such as that he raced "as fast as he could swim."

STORY OVERVIEW

  • Title and Moral: The Lion and the Dolphin - "Do not blame a friend for what they cannot do."
  • Plot Summary: A lion and a dolphin make a pact to be friends, one king of the land and one ruler of the sea. When a wild bull attacks, the dolphin races to help but cannot reach the land, and the lion calls him a traitor.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Retell the pact and what happens when the bull comes.
  • Explain why the dolphin cannot help the lion.
  • Support the moral with what the dolphin does and says.

WORDS TO TEACH FIRST

  • pact: a promise made between two sides.
  • charging: rushing forward to attack.
  • thrashed: moved about wildly.
  • shallow: not deep.
  • traitor: someone who turns against a friend.

TEXT QUESTIONS

  1. Why does the lion want to be friends with the dolphin? Sample answer: He says, "I am king of all the beasts on land, and you rule everything in the sea."
  2. What does the dolphin do when the lion calls? Sample answer: He races "for the shore as fast as he could swim" and comes "as close as the shallow water would let him."
  3. Why is it unfair to call the dolphin a traitor? Sample answer: He tried his hardest, but Nature "gave me no way to live on land," so he could not get to the lion.

EXIT TICKET

On a slip of paper: The lion called the dolphin a traitor, but the dolphin was not a traitor because ____. Pupils finish the sentence and hand in the slip.

SUPPORT AND STRETCH

  • Support: Read the Easier version with a small group. Pupils join in on "Help me, friend!" and then retell the story at the tape line, one pupil as the lion and one as the dolphin.
  • On level: Pairs sort the Cannot and Will not cases, and each pupil finishes the exit ticket.
  • Stretch: The lion wants a friend who rules as he does. Pupils write a paragraph on whether the pact was a good idea from the start, using details from the story.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

Act out "leapt" and "thrashed" at the tape line, and use a tray of water to show "shallow." Give this frame: "The dolphin can ____, but he cannot ____." Pupils say it while standing on the Sea side.

Answer key

Comprehension

  1. He is roaming the shore when the dolphin's head rises out of the waves.
  2. They make a pact to be the best of friends.
  3. A wild bull comes charging at him.
  4. He gets as close as the shallow water will let him, but he cannot get one fin onto the land.
  5. He says to blame Nature, who made him king of the sea but gave him no way to live on land.

Vocabulary

  1. C
  2. A
  3. B
  4. E
  5. D

Writing Task

A good answer says the dolphin raced to help and explains that he cannot live on land, so he is not a traitor.

Original text available on the story page.