From Aesop to Lobel: Fabulous fables

Teaching Pre K-8, Nov/Dec 1999 by Avery, Nanette L

First graders learn the fine art of writing fables, complete with animal characters and a moral lesson at the end

My first grade class had just completed several months of writing personal narratives and I could see a positive growth in their writing skills. They were becoming more comfortable with writing and taking more time to develop their ideas. It was, I thought, the ideal time to introduce fiction writing.

Careful choices. With this in mind, I began integrating literature-based writing into our writing process. Because the students were very young and had short attention spans, I had to choose the literature carefully. The literature I finally selected to read was fables.

Prior to reading the fables, I told the children a little bit about the authors and gave a short explanation about the composition of a fable. We also discussed the idea that a fable conveys a universal or moral truth. In addition to being interested in the "moral," the students were especially pleased to learn that these short tales typically use animals as the main characters.

I decided to use two different books - the original fables and a modern version. That way, the students would have a broader view of the genre. I began with the great classical tales of Aesop. In Aesop's Fables, the words are rather difficult and the sentence structure takes on a more complex form compared with the stories the children generally hear.

In spite of the flowery language, at the end of each fable the children were all trying to guess the moral of the story. Students who were more advanced in language development were often on target with the moral Aesop had intended. I decided not to tell the class the "correct" precept since I felt that each child had the right to come up with his or her own reason for the fable.

Familiar animals. My next selection of fables came from the Caldecott Award book, Fables, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel (HarperCollins, 1980). In contrast to Aesop's fables, Lobel's stories celebrate animals which the children are familiar with. In addition, Lobel's illustrations are brilliantly colored and fanciful in the way the animals are characterized.

I found that by reading these books aloud, I was able to model good fiction. As a result, the children were successful in their own attempts to write a fable. It was clear to me that this folk tale genre had provided the class with a concise structure and enjoyable motivation for their pieces.

The students were eager to try their hand at writing. Earlier in the school year, they had enjoyed writing personal narratives, which included themselves, family and friends. Now a combination of literature and the writing process had given them new options.

The students selected their own style of paper to match the "mood" of their pieces. Their choices ranged from colorful lineless paper to plain white paper with black lines. Illustrations were optional, but most children chose to adorn their work with a picture. They enjoyed the idea of complementing their work as a "real author" does.

Once the students were familiar with conferencing, it became a natural part of the writing process. They accepted conferencing for what it was - a time for young writers to listen to each other and offer advice. Some students began conferencing at the onset of a story. Others began their fables by mapping their ideas on paper, either as a cluster or a list. The only stipulation I put upon the students was that they include a "moral."

It was evident that the children brought prior knowledge to their stories. Some students were more sophisticated than others. For example, Emily wrote about a princess who rubs a magic crown to prove her royalty. Presumably, she had been exposed to fairy tales and magic lamps (e.g., the story of Aladdin), which she very easily adapted to meet the needs of her fable.

The use of fables has been an excellent form of literature for this young age group. The children delighted in trying to determine the moral in each fable they heard, while their own stories became almost a game. Including a "lesson" was an invitation to a new and fun way to be creative.

Beginning with the modeling of a specific genre, the students' own perceptions were soon translated into individual stories. Their attempt to manipulate their language in order to support a logical "moral" at the end of their fable was a positive experience for both readers and writers.

Nanette L. Avery is presently teaching first grade at Gordon Schools in Miami, FL.