Lesson flow
Share the Heap
Give each group of three a heap of 12 counters, beans or paper squares and say, "You hunted together. Share it out." Most groups will make three piles of four. Ask how they checked it was fair. Then say plainly, "In this story the Lion eats the Donkey. It happens in one line, and we will not act it out or draw it. The Donkey was fair. The Lion is the one who broke the deal."
Heap Words
Use the counters to show "heap," "divide," "measure" and "scrap." Narrow your eyes at the class for "narrowed," and make one big jump on the spot for "bound."
Read to the Bow
Read the story aloud for Grade 3. Partners in Grades 4 and 5 take turns reading. Everyone stops at "you two choose first." Pupils write one line predicting what the Lion will do. Read the next paragraph to the whole class yourself in a calm voice with no roaring, then go straight on to the Fox.
Share It Like the Fox
Groups push their counters into one huge heap and keep a single counter to the side as the tiny scrap, as the Fox does. Draw a table on the board with one column for each animal and fill it in from the story: "three piles, all the same size" and "stepped back to check" for the Donkey, "did not stop to measure" and "one tiny scrap" for the Fox.
Clever or Afraid?
Debate the question, "Was the Fox clever, or was he afraid?" Pupils stand on one side of the room or the other, and each speaker must use a detail from the story. Make it clear that the Fox's share is not fair, and that he does it to stay safe beside a bully.
Learned from the Donkey
Read the last line aloud. Pairs finish, "The Fox learned ____ by watching ____." Ask, "Did he need to make the same mistake himself to learn it?" Link the answer to the moral.
STORY OVERVIEW
- Title and Moral: The Lion the Fox and the Ass - "Learn from the mistakes of others, not just your own."
- Plot Summary: A lion, a fox and a donkey agree to hunt together and share what they catch. When the donkey makes three equal piles the lion eats him, so the fox gives the lion nearly everything and says he learned it from watching the donkey.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Compare how the Donkey and the Fox share out the food.
- Explain what the Fox learned by watching what happened to the Donkey.
- Support the moral with the Fox's words at the end of the story.
WORDS TO TEACH FIRST
- heap: a big, untidy pile.
- narrowed: got thinner, as eyes do when someone is angry.
- bound: a big, powerful jump.
- scrap: a very small piece.
- divide: to split something into parts.
- measure: to find out how big or how much something is.
TEXT QUESTIONS
- What deal do the three animals make? Sample answer: They shake on it, say "We will hunt as one," and promise to share what they catch.
- How does the Donkey share the food? Sample answer: He makes "three piles, all the same size," checks them, and asks the other two to choose first.
- How does the Fox know what to do? Sample answer: He says, "I learned it from the donkey," by "watching what happened to him." So he gives the Lion nearly everything.
EXIT TICKET
Pupils write, "The Fox learned ____ by watching ____." Then they write yes or no to "Was his way of sharing fair?" with one reason.
SUPPORT AND STRETCH
- Support: Read the Easier version with a small group and tell them first that it says the Lion "ate the donkey up." Pupils make three equal piles of counters for the Donkey and one big pile and one small bit for the Fox, then finish, "The Fox saw ____, so he ____."
- On level: Pupils complete the Donkey and Fox table and finish the exit ticket.
- Stretch: Pupils write two or three sentences on why the Lion says "You are perfect to the last crumb!" and what that shows about the Lion.
ENGLISH LEARNERS
Show "three piles," "one huge heap" and "one tiny scrap" with counters and have pupils say each phrase as they build it. Give this frame: "The Donkey made ____. The Fox made ____." Pupils point to their counters as they speak.
Answer key
Comprehension
- They agreed to hunt as one and to share what they caught.
- He made three piles, all the same size, and asked the other two to choose first.
- He did not stop to measure. He pushed every last bit into one huge heap for the Lion and kept one tiny scrap.
- He said, "You are perfect to the last crumb!"
- He said he learned it from the Donkey, by watching what happened to him.
Vocabulary
- C
- D
- A
- B
- F
- E
Writing Task
A good answer shows the Fox remembering what he has just seen and deciding to keep himself safe. It uses at least one detail from the story, such as the three piles or the one tiny scrap.
Original text available on the story page.