leVelS 30–50 n–u Folktale Leaf Monster€¦ · Various traditions cast Coyote as a clever,...

SummaryEsmeralda invites Coyote to her wedding on the condition that he not play tricks for an entire day. Coyote fails to keep this promise. He lets chickens loose and steals the beekeeper’s honey on his way to delivering Esmeralda’s wedding shoes. After eating the honey, and getting much of it on his fur, everything sticks to Coyote: grass, leaves, dirt, and twigs. Then a bee stings him. To the villagers, he looks like a leaf-covered, howling monster, and they run away. When they realize the mistake, the villagers laugh and forgive Coyote. He admits his mischief has been irresponsible and agrees to help fix the damage he’s done. Esmeralda decides Coyote should come to the wedding to keep everyone laughing.

ObjectivesFluencyStudents will:• Buildfluencythroughecho-reading,choral-reading,andrepeatedreading

• Readwithdramaticexpression• Readellipses

cOmprehenSiOnStudents will:• Analyzecharacter/storyelements• Compareandcontrast• Evaluateauthor’spurposeandpointofview

• Identifycauseandeffect• Makeinferences

GenreStudents will:• Identifyandanalyzefeaturesoffolktales(trickstertales)

VOcabulary and WOrd StudyStudents will:• Buildvocabulary:commotion,

intricate, magnum opus• Findsynonyms• Drawvocabularywords• Makewordassociations• Usecontextclues

character educatiOnStudentswilllearnabout:• Responsibility• Respect

Leaf Monsterteacher’s Guide

Reader’s Theater™for Fluency and comprehension

leVelS 30–50 n–u

Folktale

characters levelsJuan Carlos N/30Esteban (EHS-tuh-bahn) P/38Coyote Q/40Orlando S/44Antonio T/44Esmeralda U/50

62006-TG-LeafMonster.indd 1 1/3/11 3:13:46 PM

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build background•Leadadiscussionabouttricks,pranks,

and practical jokes. Ask students to share a trick someone played on them or a trick they played. Tell them to share if the trick was fun for everyone or caused hurt feelings.

• Writethewordcoyote on the chalkboard, and ask students what they know about this animal. Ask why a real coyote might seem sneaky or tricky. See Background Information on page 3.

introduce the Script•Givestudentscopiesofthescriptand

explain that they are going to read a Spanish American folktale. Explain that this story comes from the southwestern United States, where Spanish and Native American cultures mix.

•Explainthatthisstoryisaspecialtypeof folktale, called a trickster tale. Say that many cultures around the world have trickster tales, with different people and animals as tricksters. Encourage students to share trickster tales they have read.

•UsetheLearningAboutGenresidebarto help teach characteristics of folktales. Ask students to list the characteristics of trickster tales with you.

•Readthetitleandbackcoverblurbwith students. Ask them to predict what might happen in the story.

See page 8 for English-Language Learner and Striving Reader Support.

introduce Vocabulary• Introducetheglossarywords.Pointto

the word commotion in the glossary. Readthewordandaskstudentstorepeatit.Readthedefinitiontogether.Use a dictionary or thesaurus, and read definitions and synonyms such as fuss, confusion, and noisy disturbance. Readthelastsentenceonpage3ofthescript. Insert the synonyms for the word commotion to help clarify its meaning.

•Askstudentstocreateoralsentencesusing the word commotion to describe events that happened at school—for example: When our school won the district reading challenge, there was a great commotion in the audience.

Day One

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• Animals talk and act like people• Main character is clever, plays tricks• Trickster sometimes teaches,

sometimes learns lesson• Story may explain natural event

learning about Genre: Folktales (trickster tales)

Copyright©2006BenchmarkEducationCompany,LLC.Allrightsreserved.Nopartoftheguidemaybereproducedortransmittedinwholeorinpartinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyinformationretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

ISBN:978-1-4108-6200-6


• Introducethewordintricate, asking students to read the glossary definition with you. Use the text on page 6 to help illustrate the meaning of the word. If possible, show students examples of intricate stitchwork.

•Askstudentstopointtothephrasemagnum opus in the glossary and read the definition. Explain to the studentsthatthisisaLatinphrase.Explain that since you do not read Latin,youwouldhavetousecontexttofigureoutthemeaning.Readthissentence on page 6: “These shoes are my masterpiece, my magnum opus!” Share how the word masterpiece helps you understand the meaning. A magnum opus is a special thing that an artist creates—a masterpiece. Ask students to say what a magnum opus would be for another type of artist, such as a painter.


model Fluent readingAsk students to listen and follow along with you as you read the script aloud to model fluency and expression.

background information

Trickster Tales

A trickster tale is a special type of folktale told by many cultures to explain natural phenomena and teach lessons (the trickster might teach a lesson through witty, practical jokes, or learn a lesson when a joke backfires). The main characters can be clever humans, but they can also be animals who talk and behave like humans. Famous tricksters include: Anansi the Spider (African cultures), the Hodja (Turkish, Russian,MiddleEastern),Raven(NativeAmerican), and Coyote (Native and Spanish American).

Coyote Tricksters

Real-lifecoyotesarenotfussyeaters,and,long ago, their habit of stealing food earned them the mistrust of Native Americans, who made them tricksters in their tales.

Coyote stories are the most widely known Native American trickster tales, especially among tribes of the American Southwest. Various traditions cast Coyote as a clever, greedy, and devious character whose pranks cause trouble for others.

In most tales, Coyote escapes unpunished, but in some stories, the trickster must face the consequences of his actions. Coyote tales have entertained and informed people for hundreds of years. His antics combine mischief with creativity, make people laugh, and often teach useful lessons.

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build Fluency: echo-read•Readthescriptaloud,andaskstudents

to echo-read, or repeat, the lines after you. Help students with the pronunciation of Spanish names: Juan Carlos, Orlando, Antonio, Esmeralda, and Esteban.

•Pointoutthestagedirectionsonpage8.Explain that Coyote reads one line quietly and another loudly to show he is thinking and then talking to Antonio. Demonstrate how to read these lines, and ask students to echo them.

•Explainthatseveralofthecharacterschange during the story because of things that happen. Tell students they will want to read these characters’ parts differently to communicate these changes. For example, share that at the beginning of the story Coyote is bored. Demonstrate reading Coyote’s part on page 2 in a bored voice.

•Askstudentstoecho-readotherplacesin the story where Coyote’s voice would change. For example, when he frees the chickens, he is excited and talks louder and faster.

•Pointouttheellipsisonpage3.Explain how to identify an ellipsis, and say that it is used to show a pause. Echo-read the sentence on page 3 that contains the ellipsis. Demonstrate how you would pause, and allow students to practice this. Encourage students to find other ellipses in the script, and practice reading the sentences with pauses.

build comprehensionEnsure students understand the ideas in the story, as well as character development, by involving them in discussion.

•What elements of this story make it a trickster tale? What tricks does the main character, Coyote, play on the other characters? Read page 8 again and tell me what trick Coyote plays on this page. (identify and analyze features of trickster tales)

•Which characters change and which don’t during the story? How is character change important in the story? (analyze character)

•What is the story problem? How is it solved? (analyze story elements)

•Why did the Coyote play tricks on the villagers? (recall details; make inferences)

•What happened that caused Antonio to give the shoes to Coyote? (identify cause and effect)

•What did the author want readers to learn from this trickster tale? (make inferences; evaluate author’s purpose and point of view)

•What did Coyote say he would do that showed he was responsible? (recall details)


Day Two


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assign roles•Usethereadinglevelsprovidedonthe

front of this guide to help you assign roles that support or challenge each student appropriately.

•Thisscriptcontainssixparts.Ifyouhave more than six students in the group, you may want more than one student to share the part of Coyote. Alternatively, you might create a non-speaking support role, such as a prop manager.

•Becausethepartsinthisscriptallinteract with one another, you may need to ask a classroom helper to read a part (or read it yourself ) if your group of students is small.

•Createanarratortoassistwiththescene transitions.

build VocabularyMakesurestudentsfullyunderstandtheglossary terms. The Vocabulary in Action suggestions on the inside back cover of the script provide further ideas for building students’ understanding.

Fluency assessment rubric• TheReader’sTheaterOverview

contains an assessment rubric you can use to quickly assess each student. Use the rubric at different times during the lesson to assess different skills. For example, you may want to select students to assess their understanding of characterization during the comprehension discussion. Alternatively, you may wish to use their performance to assess how appropriately they develop their characters.

•Discusstheassessmentrubricwithstudents so that they know what you expect of them.

character tips for Voice and expression

Coyote bored (at first), fun-loving, excitable, sneaky, apologetic (at the end)

Esmeralda smart, kind, friendly, cheerful, excited, forgiving (at the end)

Juan Carlos simple, foolish, frustrated (with Coyote), agitated, forgivingOrlando simple, foolish, frustrated (with Coyote), forgiving

Antonio overly proud, loud, foolish, gullible

Esteban tired, hardworking, proud, relieved (at the end)


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build Fluency Skills: read with dramatic expression•model: Explain that it is important to

read the character’s lines the way the character would say them. Use Esteban as an example. Say: Esteban is carrying a huge barrel of honey, and it is heavy. Listen as I read these lines (in a tired, exhausted voice). “Goodness, this barrel of honey is heavy! My poor aching back!”

•Guide: Ask students to look at Antonio’s lines on pages 6 and 7. Discuss what kind of character Antonio is. (He is very proud, he is dramatic, he feels he is an artist, he thinks the shoes he has just created are hisfinestmasterpiece.)Guidestudentsto try reading Antonio’s part in a way that depicts this prideful and boastful character (exaggerated, vain, and boisterous).

•apply: Ask students to select another character and think about what that character says and what he or she is like. Tell them to practice reading their lines using different voices. Ask them to read the lines to a partner, and then discuss the voice that best portrays the character.

choral-read for Fluency Involve students in a choral-reading of the script to reinforce the fluency skill of reading with dramatic expression. Remindthemtousedramaticexpressionto bring each character’s mood or personality to life.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Discusstheexpectationsyouhavefor

student behavior during the rehearsal. Use the suggestions provided here and intheReader’sTheaterOverview.

•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudentstorehearsetheirscript.Monitorstudentsas they rehearse, and tell them you will be listening to how they develop the characters through their reading.

• Offersuggestionsforexpression,voice,and characterization as you monitor students’ work. See the chart on page 5 for tips on voice and expression. Use specific comments, rather than general ones, directed at the character, not the student. For example: Esmeralda, you need to sound more excited. After all, this is your wedding day.

• Usethistimetoobserveparticularstudentsandassessforbehavior.Remindstudents of the assessment rubric and let them know you will be assessing them as you monitor the rehearsal.


Day Three

When part of the audience, students should:• demonstrate active listening;• stay silent during a performance;• give appropriate comments to performers

that provide positive feedback;• use the names of the characters when

giving feedback, rather than names of the performers.

expectations for rehearsing


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perform the ScriptInvite students to present the script to an audience. The audience might be members of their class, students from other classes, school staff members, and/or parents.

assess Students’ Fluency•Usetheassessmentrubricto

complete your assessment of students’ fluency.

•HavestudentsfilloutaSelf-AssessmentResponseForm.

•Taketimetobrieflyconferencewitheach student to provide feedback on his or her reading and behavior.

repeated reading: rehearse the Script•Usesmall-grouptimeforstudent

rehearsal. Do not interrupt this second rehearsal, but simply observe students as they read.

•Usetheassessmentrubrictomonitorstudents’ rehearsal behaviors and reading fluency.

Staging and performance SuggestionsDecide on a stage area, how students will be positioned, and whether props or movements will be added. See staging tipsintheReader’sTheaterOverview.Here are some other ideas:

placement/mOVement

•Readersstandinlinewithbacksto audience until they are in scene; decide with students when they should leave scene; ask them to mark their scripts for entries/exits

•Coyotestepsforwardforasidessuchas lines about freeing chickens; steps back to “hide” in shoe shop.

•Studentsholdscriptsinlefthand,useright hand to gesture, for example: Coyote pantomimes freeing chickens

•Allcharactersendupfacingfront

prOpS/cOStumeS

•Big,funnyshoesforEsmeralda

•Bigplastictubforhoneybarrel

•CardboardboxforCoyotetrap

•Propmanagerorcharacterthatisn’tbusy tapes leaves onto Coyote

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Day Four Day Five


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Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving ReadersSupport for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers

build background and make connections (day One)•Showstudentsphotographsof

farming villages from the U.S. Southwest. Explain that the village in the script might be similar to these.Labelitemsinthephotographsthat students may encounter in the script. Compare the illustrations from Leaf Monster to the rural village photographs.

• Invitestudentstosayhowthevillagesin the photographs are similar to or different from the community theylivein.InviteELLstudentstocompare the photographs to towns from their families’ native countries.

•Shareanonfictionbookaboutbeeswith the students. Show them pictures ofbeekeepersandbeekeeping.Pointout the equipment beekeepers use. Show students the illustrations of Esteban from the script. Ask students to say what in the illustrations shows Esteban is a beekeeper.

develop Vocabulary and language (day One)•Usetheillustrationsfromthescript

to discuss the story characters with ELLstudents.Makesurestudentscanidentify the names of the different characters and what the characters do in the story.

•Say:Esmeralda is the daughter of the beekeeper. Esmeralda is standing next to her father (point to illustration, page 2). Esmeralda is wearing a wedding dress. Esmeralda will be married tonight. Antonio is here (point to illustration, page 7). Antonio is the shoemaker. Antonio is proud of the shoes he made.

•Writesomeofthefollowingwordsthat students will encounter in the script on self-stick notes: cactus, coyote, hide, pigs, chicken, cage, village, barrel, leaves, bee, lick, shoes.Readthewordsto the students. Ask them to match each word on a self-stick note to an illustration. Encourage students to describe each item as they label the illustration.InviteELLstudentstoshare the words from their native languages for the pictured items.

•Toappreciatetrickstertales,studentsneed to understand the concept of trickery. Explain that a trick is a kind of joke that a person plays on somebody else. A trick usually involves fooling somebody, and it’s meant to be funny.

Giveanexampleofasimpletrick.Pretendtopullapennyfromyourear.Say: I can play this trick. Maybe I will fool you. I cannot pull a penny from my ear. But I can pretend. Ask students if they can tell about other tricks.


Support for nglish anguage earners and Striving ReadersSupport for nglish anguage earners and Striving Readers•Explainthatthecharacterthatplays

tricks is called a trickster. Ask students tonamethetricksterinthestory.Readthe first lines of the script on page 2 and point out that Coyote is thinking about playing tricks to “liven things up,” or make things more fun. Help students identify a trick that Coyote plays in the story (e.g., he pretends to likeAntonio’sshoesonpage8toavoidbeing captured).

build comprehension (day two)Engage students in discussion about the script, starting with simple literal questions and progressing to more difficult ones. As students discuss the questions, ask them to point to places in the script that best answer the questions. Suggested questions:

•Who are the characters in the story? (recall details; analyze story elements)

•What is the setting of the story? (recall details; analyze story elements)

•What tricks did Coyote play in the story? (recall details)

•How did the villagers feel about the tricks? (analyze character)

•Why did Coyote put down the shoes? (recall details)

•Why did the village people forgive Coyote? (analyze character)

•Did Coyote learn his lesson? Will Coyote play more tricks? (analyze character; make predictions)

•Why did Coyote not want more honey? (make inferences)

read and perform (days two–three)•Provideextrapracticereadingthe

script as a group before students read their individual parts to ensure they are familiar and comfortable with the language and vocabulary.

•Youmaywanttoassigntwostudentsto a role so they can read the part together. This will help support their reading.

•Besuretousethereadinglevelsprovided on the cover of this teacher’s guide to help you assign the roles.

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Literacy Extensions

Word StudydraW VOcabulary WOrdS

•Reviewthethreeglossarywords:commotion, intricate, and magnum opus. Invite students to explain in their own words what each word means.

•Modelcreatingasketchofoneofthe words. For example, sketch an artist painting a picture, with an arrow pointing to the picture. Show the students your sketch, and ask them to guess what word you have illustrated. Then model writing a caption that explains the sketch using the vocabulary word you depicted. For example: The artist’s picture was his magnum opus. It was his greatest masterpiece.

•Askstudentstosketchapicturethatdepicts one of the other two glossary words. If they need help, guide them to name things that are intricate and things that cause a commotion.

When they finish, invite other students to guess what vocabulary word is illustrated. Then ask students to create captions using the glossary word to explain their sketch.

•Createapicturedictionaryusingthestudents’ illustrations.

WOrd aSSOciatiOnS

•Writethewordsgrim, liven, uproar, and linger on the chalkboard.

•Readaloudthesentencethatcontainsthe word grim on page 3: “Ah, poor Esmeralda—she’s going to be stuck with a bunch of grim, frowning guests at her wedding.”

Modelhowtousecontexttounderstand the meaning of the word grim in this paragraph, and then explain the meaning of the word using everyday language. Say: When I read the sentence, I see the words grim and frowning before the word guests. Frowning guests would look sad or unhappy, so I think this is what grim means.

•Guidethestudentstousecontextto guess the meanings of the words liven (page 2), uproar (page 3), and linger (page 7), by reading the sentences that contain the words and discussing nearby words that help them understand the meanings.

Provideexamplesofusingthesewordsin real-life situations (for example: The students were in an uproar when the bus driver forgot to come to drive us to the field trip; I wanted to linger at recess and enjoy the spring air, but the bell rang and I had to go inside.)

•Provideanopportunityforstudentsto describe times when: a) things were grim, b) people around them were in an uproar, c) they wanted to linger, or d) things were dull and something happened to liven things up. Invite them to work individually or in pairs to write sentences describing these situations.


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reader responseAsk students to reflect on their reader’s theater experience by writing or drawing in their journals. Students could:

• reflectontheirintonationandexpressive reading and decide how it might be improved;

• reflectonthestrategiestheyusedtofigure out difficult words;

•describeanddrawthetypeofsettheymight build if they wanted to turn their performance into a play;

•makepersonalconnectionsbyrecording times when they learned a lesson after playing a trick on another person, or a time when they did not show respect and act responsibly.

read across texts• Invitestudentstoretellthestoryfrom

the script Leaf Monster. Create a chart on the chalkboard or on chart paper to record students’ suggestions about story elements. If necessary, guide them to understand the different kinds of story elements.

•Readanothertrickstertaletoyourstudents, or provide the opportunity for students to read additional trickster tales independently. Then ask students to compare the story from Leaf Monster to other trickster tales using a graphic organizer similar to the story elements chart.

• Invitestudentstocreateacartoontrickster tale using illustration and speech bubbles for dialogue.

trickster tales

Story elements leaf monster Story: _____________

main character Coyote

tricks freeing animals; pretending to like shoes; looking like monster

story problem Coyote is too tricky.

events frees animals; takes shoes; eats honey; gets stung

solution Coyote learns to be careful with tricks.

moral/lesson/explanation of natural event

take responsibility for tricks


responsibility•Explainthataresponsiblepersonis

someone that other people can count on. Share that responsible people do what they say they are going to do, admit their mistakes, and take actions to make things better when they make a mistake.

•PointoutthatCoyotewasnotbeingresponsible at the beginning of the story. He played tricks that destroyed the villagers’ property and left Esmeralda’s wedding shoes on the side of the road because he wanted honey.

Explain that at the end of the story Coyote was responsible. He agreed to help the villagers collect the animals that were scattered about because of his trickery.

•Askstudentstokeepajournalforone week of the things they do to be responsible members of their families. At the end of the week, invite students to share their lists with the group. After students share their lists, ask them to add ways they could be even more responsible at home.

•Engagestudentsinadiscussionaboutthe responsibilities that students have as members of the school community. Challenge students to share ways they can be responsible school citizens.

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Character Education Connection

respect•Explainthatrespectfulpeopletreatothers

the way they want to be treated. They are considerate of others’ feelings and property.

•Usethefollowingquestionstoleadadiscussion about respect: Was Coyote respectful of the villagers at the beginning of the story? What things did Coyote do that were not respectful? What did Coyote do at the end of the story that showed he was respectful?

demonstrate responsibility/respect•Askstudentstoworkwithpartners

to demonstrate the character traits of responsibilityandrespect.Provideascenario for students to role-play respectful and responsible actions.

For example, say: You and a friend are walking to school on a rainy day. You accidentally bump into another student. This causes the student to drop his backpack and all his books and papers into a mud puddle. Role-play the situation and show how you and your friend can take responsibility for your actions and show that you respect the other student.

• Invitepartnerstosharetheirskitswith the group.

• Iftimeallows,encouragepartnerstomakeup other scenarios that show respect and responsibility.


leVelS 30–50 n–u Folktale Leaf Monster€¦ · Various traditions cast Coyote as a clever,...

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