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Library / The Oxen and the Butchers

Lesson plan

The Oxen and the Butchers

Grades
3–5
Time
45 min
Reading level
1
PDFPrint the worksheetRead the story

Lesson flow

5 min

Say it first

Before reading, say calmly: "The oxen in this story talk about the butchers who kill them for meat. No ox is killed while we read. The whole story is one meeting in a field." Do not ask what anyone eats, and do not show pictures of butchers' shops. Some families farm, some work with meat and some never eat beef, and this lesson stays with the oxen's choice. Teach the five words.

10 min

Read and fall quiet

Read the story aloud; in Grades 4 and 5, pupils read it in pairs. Everyone rubs a pencil on the desk for "scrape, scrape, scrape". As the very old ox comes through the crowd, walk slowly between the desks and tap shoulders one by one, and each pupil stops. Stop after "and who comes next?" Pupils predict his answer, then read to the end.

10 min

If they stay, if they go

Pupils draw two columns headed "If the butchers stay" and "If the butchers go". They sort the old ox's words: "skilled hands" and "they are quick" go in the first column. "Clumsy men who do not know the work", "twice as bad" and "men would still want their beef" go in the second.

15 min

Meeting in the field

Run a class debate with pupils in role as oxen. One side says "Sharpen your horns!" and the other side says "Stop and think." Each speaker stands, begins "Listen to me" and gives one reason using a line from the story. Remind pupils that the oxen's anger is fair, because "not one ox was safe". Keep the debate on what the oxen should do. Take a vote by moving to one side of the room, then read the moral aloud.

5 min

Exit ticket

Pupils look at their two columns and write the exit ticket on their own.

STORY OVERVIEW

  • Title and Moral: The Oxen and the Butchers - "Do not rush to swap one trouble for a worse one."
  • Plot Summary: The oxen meet in a field and sharpen their horns to get rid of the butchers for good. A very old ox stops them, saying clumsy men would come next and that men would still want their beef.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Retell the meeting in the field in order.
  • Identify the two reasons the old ox gives for stopping.
  • Support an opinion about the oxen's plan with a line from the story.

WORDS TO TEACH FIRST

  • bellowed: shouted in a deep, loud voice.
  • scrape: to rub something hard against something rough.
  • ploughed: turned over the soil in a field.
  • skilled: good at a job after lots of practice.
  • clumsy: not careful, and likely to make mistakes with your hands.

TEXT QUESTIONS

  1. Why did the oxen meet in the field? Sample answer: They wanted to get rid of the butchers for good, because "not one ox was safe".
  2. Why do you think the oxen fell quiet for the old ox? Sample answer: He was very old and "had ploughed more fields than any of them could count", so they listened to what he knew.
  3. What two reasons did the old ox give for stopping? Sample answer: He said "Clumsy men who do not know the work" would come next, "and that would be twice as bad". He also said "men would still want their beef."

EXIT TICKET

Printed or on the board: Finish the sentence. "The old ox told the oxen to stop and think because ..."

SUPPORT AND STRETCH

  • Support: Read the Easier version with these pupils and scrape together at each "Scrape, scrape, scrape!" Give them the two columns with one line already placed, and ask them to place "men who do not know the job" and "men would still want beef".
  • On level: Finish the two columns, give one reason in the debate, and write the exit ticket.
  • Stretch: The scraping has stopped. Write what the oxen could do next, and use the old ox's words in your answer.

ENGLISH LEARNERS

Act out "skilled" by sharpening a pencil neatly and "clumsy" by fumbling and dropping it. Give the frame "If the butchers go, ___ will come next, and that would be ___." Pupils say it to a partner before the debate.

Answer key

Comprehension

  1. For years the butchers had been coming for them, and not one ox was safe.
  2. They met in the field and sharpened their horns on the rocks.
  3. He came slowly through the crowd, he had ploughed more fields than any of them could count, and he had to stop twice to get his breath.
  4. He said they have skilled hands.
  5. He said clumsy men who do not know the work would come next.

Vocabulary

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

Writing Task

A good answer says whether the ox has changed its mind and gives a reason from the old ox, such as the clumsy men who would come next.

Original text available on the story page.