For their 13th week of poetry Shoesmith 5th and 6th grades learned about fable poetry. This lesson was inspired by the wonderful poetry teaching artist Tim Rey. Fables are short stories that use animals or objects as main characters to convey a moral or teach a valuable lesson. Fables can be satirical and often contain irony. Students were already familiar with such fables such as “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” ‘The Tortoise and the Hare,” and “The Grasshopper and the Ant.” These fables were created by Aesop, a storyteller who lived long ago in ancient Greece.
Together we read the fable poem, “The Dog and the Bear,” by ninth graders Kyla R, Dejah S, and Rachel W. In their poem, a young dog is scared of a bear he sees in the woods for the first time. In the beginning of the poem the dog hides, but slowly with each encounter, he builds up the courage to approach the bear. “He daringly went up to the bear, without even a hair-rising, and said, Hey there, familiar face.” Students came up with different morals they interpreted from the fable poem: Face your fears, don’t judge someone before you get to know them, and be open to experiencing new things.
Below are fables poem written by students using unique characters to teach meaningful lessons.
Ms. Yassky’s 5th Grade
Group 1
Captain Man and his Parrot
by Prentice C. and Aaron G.
One day Captain Man and his parrot have to fight
Dr. Peppermint.
But he was too powerful for Captain
and his parrot.
Captain man noticed that he needed help.
So, he called his friend Kid Danger to
hep him. Together they fight Dr. Peppermint.
The life lesson is sometimes you don’t always
have to work by yourself, because some things
you can’t do by yourself.
The Snake and the Mouse
by Larrion J.
Once there was a lonely snake who
could not find any food.
Soon after, he found food it was
a mouse.
But it seemed like the tiny mouse
had the same problem as him.
So, the snake tried to find food
for the mouse.
A little after this, the snake and mouse
always tool care of each other and had
each others backs.
The lesson is always be kind and maybe
you’ll get something in return.
The Clever Bird
by Thaddeus H.
One day a fox met a bird.
The bird trusted the fox, so
when the fox asked the bird
if he wanted to got to his den,
the bird said yes.
But when they got to the den, the fox
trapped the bird but the bird escaped.
The next day, the bird told the fox
that there was food in the nearby
well. But when the fox went in,
he realized that he was tricked by
the bird.
Lesson: Don’t trust everyone
Ms. Yassky’s 5th Grade
Group 2
Be Smart
Jayden C.
There were once two bears named Greg and Andy.
Greg always got bullied by his brother Andy.
He teased him for being smart and took credit
for everything Greg does.
One day Andy teased Greg again for being smart,
but this time it was different. Andy went into
Greg’s room. Greg got ready for the teasing.
Andy wanted help from Greg, but he said no
and Andy stormed off in a rage.
The next day Andy got a F- on the test
and Greg got the highest score.
Andy realized how smart Greg was and was
sorry for everything.
Peter and the Fox
By Kyleigh F.
Peter lived in a cottage, so perfect and divine.
He was about to go for a walk til’ he heard a sound
that came from inside the cottage.
He turned around and saw a fox.
Peter shrieked with disbelief.
The fox scurried under the couch
and hid for hours.
Peter hit him with a broom, like
he was adjusting a long in a fire.
The fox wouldn’t budge.
Peter sat on a chair on the opposite
side of the room. He then thought
about it and realized that like him,
the fox was scared too.
Peter left some food in a trail out
the door.
The fox left in peace.
Javier and the Lion
By Javier Y.
One day a lion was injured,
so he couldn’t hunt for food.
A boy named Javier called a vet
for help. He had saw injured people
before and didn’t want to see anyone
else get hurt.
When the lion felt better, he hunted
for prey, a deer and gave it to Javier.
Javier cooked it. Then he and the
lion shared the meal.
Lesson: Always help when you can.
Ms. Henry’s 6th Grade
Group 1
Mia and the Bird
By Kelise C.
One day a girl named Mia was walking to her
friend Jack’s house.
While on the walk there, a bird landed on her head.
Mia was scared, but the bird said.”Don’t be afraid.
I am here to help you.”
When she turned around, Mia asked.
“Do you want to be friends?”
The bird said yes.
And they walked to Jack’s house
together.
The Big Dog
by Luke J.
One day there was a small puppy
in its house having fun. Until he heard
a loud knock and a loud voice.
“LET ME IN!’
The small puppy walked to the door
and opened it without a word.
A big dog asked if anyone was at home
except for the puppy.
The puppy replied no, and the big dog
ate him.
Dear readers be careful with who you
let in. Don’t let strangers into your house.
The Frog and the Fly
by Khary N.
A frog sees a fly flying in the sky.
The other frogs said, “Eat it or Beat it.”
But the kind frog didn’t want to eat it.
The fly said “Hey,” to the other frogs,
and they open their mouths
about to eat it.
But then the kind frog said to the other frogs,
“Don’t eat him! I don’t want to be friends anymore.”
And on that day the kind frog and the fly
became friends.
Ms. Henry’s 6th Grade
Group 2
The Misunderstood Old Lady
By Kaniyah H.
There once was an old lady that everyone thought was mean,
especially the Judgful Giraffe. He didn’t trust her and she was
always blue he thought. So, he went around telling everyone
that she threatened him to make him into soup.
When the old lady heard about it, she looked confused
and sad. As she left her house everyone ran, hid, or cried.
The Judgful Giraffe laughed at the sight.
This made the Nice Mouse mad.
The Nice Mouse found the Judgful Giraffe and had a bone
to pick with him about the misunderstood old lady. In the
end after a long talk, the Judgful Giraffe came to a decision
and tells the truth about the old lady.
Lesson: Never judge anyone by their looks
The Tiny Goldfish and The Giant Shark
By Kaleb P.
One day a tiny gold fish was wandering around
the giant ocean and stumbled across a giant shark.
The tiny gold fish gasped and the shark turned
around and swam at full speed at the goldfish.
Then the goldfish swam away unit he could not
see the shark anymore.
The goldfish was swimming around. It had been
a week since he saw the giant shark. The goldfish
stops and someone said, “Please stop swimming
for a moment.”
The goldfish turned around and gasped in disbelief
when he saw the giant shark behind him. Before the
goldfish could swim away, the shark said something
shocking…… “Can we be friends?”
The goldfish was shocked, but agreed.
They became best pals forever.
The Witch In The Wardrobe
By Marysol T.
There was once a old rundown building
with a old rundown wardrobe. In the
wardrobe was a animatronic witch.
One day a little fox encountered the building,
and he opened the wardrobe to the old, broken
witch. It looked real! The little fox ran and ran.
News spread around town.
Nugz the brave hound believed he could defeat
this witch. When he got to the wardrobe, he stood
strong. He opened the door. Once Nugz saw the
witch, he ran and ran.
Rocket the smallest of of the three, checked it out.
Rocket was brave and didn’t care about his strength.
He opened the wardrobe door and looked at the witch.
He laughed and laughed.
“This is not a real witch. Its a broken animatronic.”
