Lesson flow
Seed to Net Hook
Draw a tiny seed at one end of the board and a big net at the other. Ask, "How could this seed turn into this net?" Take two or three guesses and leave the drawing up.
Read and Warn
Read the story aloud for Grades 2 and 3; Grade 4 reads it in pairs. Pupils put their heads on one side like the swallow when she speaks. Pause after "They had found a fat worm." Ask, "What will happen to the seed now? What might happen to the birds?" Pupils tell a partner their guess.
Twist the Cord
Pairs tear a sheet of scrap paper into long strips and twist each strip tight, as the men twist the hemp. Each pair tries to pull a flat strip apart and then a twisted one, and says which was harder. Then they tie two twisted cords together with a knot, as the men did.
Human Story Chain
Six pupils each write one of these words large on scrap paper: seed, hemp, cut, cord, nets, caught. They stand at the front in a mixed-up row, and the class tells them where to stand to put the words in order. Walk along the line and ask, "Could the birds still stop it here?" Pupils see that the only easy place to stop it was at the seed.
What Did I Tell You?
Hold a quick debate. Should the swallow have said, "What did I tell you?" One side of the room says yes and the other says no, and each pupil gives a reason from the story. Write the moral on the board and finish by pointing at the seed in your drawing.
STORY OVERVIEW
- Title and Moral: The Swallow and the Other Birds - "Stop a small danger before it grows into a big one."
- Plot Summary: A swallow warns the other birds to pick up the hemp seed a farmer is sowing, but they do not look up. The hemp grows and is made into nets, and many of the birds are caught in that same field.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Retell in order how the hemp seed becomes a net.
- Identify the warning the swallow gives and what the other birds do.
- Explain how a small seed became a big danger, using the moral.
WORDS TO TEACH FIRST
- sowing: putting seeds in the ground to grow.
- hemp: a tall plant used to make cord.
- cord: thin, strong rope.
- knotted: tied together.
- tangled: caught up and twisted together.
- hedge: a row of bushes growing close together.
TEXT QUESTIONS
- What does the swallow tell the other birds to do? Sample answer: She tells them, "Pick up every seed, every single one, or you will be sorry."
- Why do the birds not listen? Sample answer: They are busy eating: "the birds did not even look up. They had found a fat worm."
- How does the hemp end up catching the birds? Sample answer: It grows, men cut it and twist it into cord, and they knot the cord into nets that are spread across the field.
EXIT TICKET
Write the two missing steps, then finish the sentence. "seed, ___, ___, nets. The birds should have ___."
SUPPORT AND STRETCH
- Support: Read the Easier version with a small group, saying "The birds did not look up" together each time it comes, then put four pictures of the story in order.
- On level: Complete the Human Story Chain and the exit ticket.
- Stretch: Rewrite the swallow's warning so that the birds would look up, and explain why your words would work better.
ENGLISH LEARNERS
Give the frame: "First the seed ___. Then ___." Act out sowing with a hand throwing seed to the left and the right, and twisted with a strip of paper.
Answer key
Comprehension
- He is walking slowly up the field, throwing seed to the left and the right.
- She says to pick up every seed, every single one, or they will be sorry.
- They do not even look up, because they have found a fat worm.
- They twist it into cord and knot the cord into nets.
- The nets are spread across the same field, and many of the birds are caught.
Vocabulary
- C
- D
- F
- E
- B
- A
Writing Task
A good answer tells the birds that the seed will grow into hemp and then nets, and that picking it up now will stop the danger.
Original text available on the story page.