Year 4 Week 13 Writing – Short stories with a moral

Monday - Describe a character.

Watch the video, ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019g9x5

What happens in the story? What is the setting? What are

the characters like? How are they different?

Task: Complete the character profile for each character

below:

Words to describe characters: Calm, wicked, self-assured, friendly, aggressive, gentle, lazy, hard-

working, confident, unsure, shy, competitive, sarcastic, egotistic, anxious, timid, kind, unkind,

determined.

Hare

Words to describe his personality:

What is he thinking? How is he

feeling?

What does he look like? Describe his

appearance. (Draw or write words)

Tortoise

Words to describe his personality:

What is he thinking? How is he

feeling?

What does he look like? Describe his

appearance. (Draw or write words)

Describe how these personality traits affect each character’s actions. (What does each

character do?)

Hare Tortoise

Tuesday - Understand the features of fables.

What are fables?

Fables are short, simple, traditional tales with a moral or

lesson. They were told thousands of years ago by storytellers

in countries like Greece and Persia. Characters are usually

animals who behaved as humans. They often have special

qualities, such as being clever. The fox is usually cunning, the

mouse frail and the lion, powerful. The fictional stories are

often humorous.

Read the fable below:

The Monkey and the Dolphin

A monkey fell from a ship and was rescued by a dolphin. The

dolphin asked if he lived nearby. The monkey lied and said that he

did. “Do you know Seriphos?” asked the dolphin. The monkey,

thinking Seriphos was a person’s name, boasted it was his best

friend. As Seriphos was a town, the dolphin knew the monkey was

lying, so he dived, leaving him to swim to shore.

What do you think is the moral of the story? (What is the lesson to

be learned?) _____________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Let’s look more closely at the features of this type of story.

The Monkey and the Dolphin

A monkey fell from a ship and was rescued by a

dolphin. The dolphin asked if he lived nearby. The

monkey lied and said that he did. “Do you know

Seriphos?” asked the dolphin. The monkey, thinking

Seriphos was a person’s name, boasted it was his

best friend. As Seriphos was a town, the dolphin knew

the monkey was lying, so he dived, leaving him to

swim to shore.

Simple opening

introduces

characters.

Usually animal

characters who

behave like

humans.

Dialogue and

description.

Foolish character Wise character

The Hare and the Tortoise

There once was a speedy Hare

who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of

hearing him boast, the Tortoise challenged him to

a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

The Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He

looked back at the tortoise and cried out, "How do you expect to

win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"

The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep,

thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."

The Tortoise walked and walked, never ever stopping until he came

to the finish line.

The animals who were watching cheered so loudly

for Tortoise that they woke up the Hare. The Hare stretched,

yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise had

already crossed the finish line.

Which proves, slow and steady wins the race.

Simple opening

introduces

characters.

Usually animal

characters who

behave like humans.

Dialogue and

description.

Wise character

Foolish character

Moral/lesson of story

Task: Look at the fable below. List the features. For each feature,

write the words or the part of the text which shows this.

Here’s an example of what you should do (Taken from The Monkey

and the Dolphin):

Simple opening - A monkey fell from a ship and was rescued by a

dolphin.

Dialogue and description – “Do you know Seriphos?” asked the

dolphin.

Usually animal characters who behave like humans - The monkey

lied. The dolphin was clever and wise.

Foolish character – Monkey

Wise character – Dolphin

Moral of the story – Don’t tell lies

Read the story:

The Fox and the Crane

There was a fox who just loved to make fun of other people. One day

he invited a crane to dinner.

“I have made some delicious soup especially for you,” he said. But

when they went to the table, the crane saw that the soup was in a

very shallow dish and she could not drink a single drop with her long,

pointed bill. The fox laughed when she tried.

“So you don’t like my soup, all the more for me!” And so fox lapped

up every last drop.

The crane was so upset, she made up her mind to get back at the fox.

“Do come to dinner with me. I know you like soup so I have made

some especially for you,” she said. The fox licked his lips, thinking

how stupid the crane was. But when he came up to the crane’s table,

he saw that she had put the soup in a jug with a long, thin neck and

his tongue could never reach it.

“Tit for tat!” snapped the crane. The fox went home hungry with his

tail between his legs.

List the features. For each feature, write the words or the part of

the text which shows this (as shown in the example above).

Extension: Go to the website below and listen to one or more fables. Identify

the features that you hear, whilst listening.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/english-ks1--ks2-aesops-fables-

index/z73s6v4

Wednesday - Predict what will happen next in a story and think of

what the moral should be.

Read the fable below. Only the first part of the story is given. Use

prediction and inference to tell what will happen next.

The Lion and the Mouse

A lion was dozing in the shade after a large meal, when a mouse ran

across his tummy. The lion felt something tickling him so he put out

his paw and picked up the little mouse, who squeaked in terror.

“Oh, please don’t eat me, I’ll make such a very small mouthful. Let

me go, and one day, I’ll do you a good turn,” said the mouse.

“You! What could you ever do for me?” the lion laughed.

What do we know about the story so far?

There’s a lion and a mouse. The mouse woke up the lion. The lion

caught the mouse. The mouse was afraid the lion would eat him.

What might happen next?

We know that in every fable, there must be a lesson or moral. Let’s

think of some possible endings and morals.

What happens? Lesson or moral

The lion eats the mouse. Don’t deal with dangerous people or things (or don’t go to dangerous places).

Lion lets mouse go and never sees him again.

It’s good to be kind.

Lion eats mouse and then all the mice in the forest come and capture the lion, roasting him over the fire.

You should be kind and have mercy on others (or unkindness is repaid with unkindness).

Lion lets mouse go, and the mouse helps the lion one day.

If you are kind to others, they will be kind to you.

What will happen next? Write down some ideas.

Let’s read the whole story now. How close was your prediction?

The Lion and the Mouse

A lion was dozing in the shade after a large meal, when a mouse ran across

his tummy. The lion felt something tickling him so he put out his paw and

picked up the little mouse, who squeaked in terror.

“Oh, please don’t eat me, I’ll make such a very small mouthful. Let me go,

and one day, I’ll do you a good turn,” said the mouse. “You! What could you

ever do for me?” the lion laughed.

But he wasn’t hungry so he let the mouse go. Some weeks later the mouse

heard the lion roaring with pain. The fierce lion had been caught by hunters

and was tied up with rope. When the mouse saw this, he started chewing the

rope with his sharp little teeth. When the lion was free, the mouse looked up

at him.

“There, you see! You’d be in big trouble if it weren’t for me!” he said. Even

though he was small, the mouse could still save the lion’s life. The lion

walked slowly away without a sound.

The type of lesson or moral you want to teach will help determine what your ending will

be like. The moral in this story is that if you are kind to others, they will pay you back with

kindness. Could there be more than one moral in the story?

Task: Read the following story and think of what the moral might be.

Then answer the questions underneath.

Thursday - Use dialogue and direct speech.

Read the following story:

The Wolf and the Lamb

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping water at a spring on a hillside,

when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to

drink a little lower down. "There's my supper," he thought, "if only I

can find some excuse to seize it." Then he called out to the Lamb,

"How dare you muddy the water from which I am drinking!"

"No, master, no," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I

cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this

time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb. "I am only six months old."

"I don't care!" snarled the Wolf. "If it was not you it was your

father." And with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate

her all up. But before she died she gasped out:

"Any excuse will serve a tyrant!"

Let’s look at some dialogue and how we can improve it:

Look at how we can add punctuation to some dialogue between

the wolf and lamb:

There are some golden rules for putting direct speech into a

sentence. They include:

Hug the direct speech with speech marks: "Don't eat me lion," called Mouse. Add a reporting clause to say who is speaking: "Don't eat me lion," called Mouse. Begin direct speech with a capital letter: "Don't eat me lion," called Mouse.

Separate dialogue from reporting clauses with a comma: "Don't eat me lion," called Mouse. Mouse called, "Don't eat me lion."

Don't use a comma for speech ending in ? and !: "Don't eat me lion!" shouted Mouse.

"Why not?" asked Lion. Start a new line for each change of speaker: "Don't eat me lion!" shouted Mouse.

"Why not?" asked Lion. "I can help you," Mouse explained. Continue an interrupted dialogue sentence with a lower case letter: "I can help you," Mouse explained, "when you least expect it."

Task: Using the examples and golden rules of direct speech,

punctuate the sentences below. You can do this on paper. The first

two have been partly done for you. Words to use instead of ‘said’

are: shouted, exclaimed, bellowed, cried, asked, replied, answered.

You might know some more.

1.

“You will never beat me!” shouted Hare.

“I will try my very best,” _________________________.

2.

“Get out of the way!” ________________________________.

____________________________________ cried the second goat.

3.

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Friday - Write a letter from the point of view of a character.

Look at the sentences below. Can you add conjunctions to some of

them to improve them? Write your new sentences on paper.

A delicious smell stopped Fox in his tracks. Fox looked up. He saw

some juicy grapes. His stomach rumbled. He was hungry.

Re-read your sentences. What effect have your changes made to

how the passage sounds now?

Read the synopsis of The Fox and the Crow below.

The Fox and the Crow

Synopsis

The Crow is sitting in a tree with a piece of cheese in its beak. The passing Fox

would like to eat the cheese and tries to persuade - and then trick - Crow to

bring the cheese down or drop it. The Crow does not fall for this, so the Fox

tries flattery instead. He tells the crow how lovely his feathers are and how

fine-looking his head. Then, Fox says how much he would like to hear Crow

sing. Tricked by the flattery, Crow opens his beak to sing, dropping the

cheese to the ground, where Fox gobbles it up.

Alternatively, listen to the story on BBC radio:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/english-ks1--ks2-

aesops-fables-the-fox-and-the-crow/zrc3nrd

Highlighting conjunctions for time and cause Conjunctions are colour-coded for type.

A letter from Crow to his son

Dear Young Crow,

I am writing to tell you about something that happened to me today. It really

taught me a lesson.

I was flying past a window before I had breakfast. I spotted a hunk of golden

cheese sitting on a windowsill. My mouth watered because it looked so delicious.

I swooped down and I snatched it quickly.

I flew up into a tree so that no one could stop me eating it. I was about to wolf

it down when a voice distracted me. It was Fox. I know I should have been more

suspicious as I know what a cunning fellow he is. While I sat above him in the

tree, he begged me to sing to him! It sounded a silly request but I couldn't help

myself as he was so complimentary.

I opened my beak so I could sing. The cheese fell straight into Fox's paws. I

felt so embarrassed because he had tricked me.

So now dearest Young Crow, learn from my mistake and don't trust a flatterer,

Yours,

Dad xx

How had the fox tricked the crow? What do you think the moral of the story is?

Task: Re-read the story of The Lion and the Mouse. Then write a letter from Lion to his daughter explaining what happened and how he was saved. You may use the letter writing template to help if you would like.

The Lion and the Mouse A lion was dozing in the shade after a large meal, when a mouse ran across his tummy. The lion felt something tickling him so he put out his paw and picked up the little mouse, who squeaked in terror. “Oh, please don’t eat me, I’ll make such a very small mouthful. Let me go, and one day, I’ll do you a good turn,” said the mouse. “You! What could you ever do for me?” the lion laughed. But he wasn’t hungry so he let the mouse go. Some weeks later the mouse heard the lion roaring with pain. The fierce lion had been caught by hunters and was tied up with rope. When the mouse saw this, he started chewing the rope with his sharp little teeth. When the lion was free, the mouse looked up at him. “There, you see! You’d be in big trouble if it weren’t for me!” he said. Even though he was small, the mouse could still save the lion’s life. The lion walked slowly away without a sound.

Letter Writing Template

Dear Young Lion,

I am writing to tell you about something that happened to

me today. It really taught me a lesson.

This morning, a mouse ran over my tail while...

I was going to eat him because...

He begged me to stop as...

This made me laugh because...

I was looking for my dinner when...

I was trapped without hope until...

He began to nibble on the ropes once...

When the ropes were cut,...

So now dearest Young Lion, learn from my mistake and

remember that even the strongest lion might need help

from a tiny mouse.

Yours,

End of Year 4 Week 13 Writing

Opening with a

subordinate clause

expressing time.

Year 4 Week 13 Writing Answer Sheet

Monday

Hare Tortoise

Words to describe his Words to describe his Personality: Answers will vary but may include - confident, self-assured, egotistic, unkind, wicked, lazy, unsteady, sarcastic, boastful

Words to describe his Words to describe his Personality: Answers will vary but may include - shy, anxious, unsure, timid, kind, gentle, hard-working, determined, steady

What is he thinking? How is he feeling? Answers will vary but may include - I will win this easily. This is too easy. I have time for a nap, since tortoise is so slow. Tortoise doesn’t have a chance. I’m much better than him. Happy, cheerful, sadness at end.

What is he thinking? How is he feeling? Answers will vary but may include – I don’t have a chance. I’m too slow. I can’t make it. I’m useless. I want to beat hare. He’s so mean. I’m going to try my best. I can win if I try hard. I must keep going. Worry, happiness at the end.

Answers will vary. Grey with white tummy, big eyes, long legs, whiskers, big ears.

Answers will vary. Green body, hard shell, short legs, long neck

Describe how these personality traits affect each character’s actions. (What does each

character do?)

Hare Tortoise Thought he was so good that nobody could beat him. Thought Tortoise was so slow and worried that he wouldn’t finish the race or would take a long time to finish. He was so lazy and over-confident that he didn’t think that Tortoise could ever beat him.

He was worried about racing Hare but also very determined and hard-working. Although he was shy, timid and unsure of himself, he still tried his best to win.

Tuesday

The Monkey and the Dolphin – What is the moral of the story?

Don’t lie to others.

The Fox and the Crane

Simple opening - There was a fox who just loved to make fun of

other people. One day he invited a crane to dinner.

Dialogue and description – “I have made some delicious soup

especially for you,” he said. “So you don’t like my soup, all the more

for me!”

“Do come to dinner with me. I know you like soup so I have made

some especially for you,” she said. “Tit for tat!” snapped the crane.

Usually animal characters who behave like humans - Loved to make

fun of other people. Unkind to them.

Foolish character – Fox

Wise character – Crane

Moral of the story – Don’t make fun of others. Be kind to others.

Wednesday

What will happen next in the story?

Answers will vary.

Likely the first moral most applies to this story. But the second one

could as well. We know that the grapes were probably not sour

because they said there was a ‘delicious smell’ above him. If they

were sour, they wouldn’t smell delicious. He could have kept trying

or found food elsewhere. If he had tried more he might have been

successful. Fox didn’t really think the grapes were sour. He was just

angry because he couldn’t reach them.

Thursday

1. “You will never beat me!” shouted Hare.

“I will try my very best,” _________________________.

Answers will vary.

2. “Get out of the way!” ________________________________.

____________________________________ cried the second goat.

Answers will vary for first part. For second part:

“No! I was here first!” cried the second goat.

3. Answers will vary.

Friday

(Letters may vary)

Dear Young Lion,

I am writing to tell you about something that happened to me

today. It really taught me a lesson.

This morning, a mouse ran over my tail while I was sleeping. I was

going to eat him because he woke me up. He begged me to stop as

he was tiny and not much of a meal. Then he said he would repay

me one day. This made me laugh because I thought, “whatever

could a tiny mouse do for me?”

I was looking for my dinner when I got caught in a hunter’s net. I

was trapped without hope until the tiny mouse came along. He

began to nibble on the ropes with his sharp little teeth! When the

ropes were cut, I was free and made my escape!

So now dearest Young Lion, learn from my mistake and remember

that even the strongest lion might need help from a tiny mouse.

Yours,

Dad xx