Aesop's Fables

#TheCompleteSeries5lessons

With this Aesop's Fables KS2 Lesson Pack, your Year 5 children will first acquaint themselves with a range of fables, and how they each aim to teach a specific moral. Once familiar with the features of fables, children will be given the opportunity to explore the characters within these tales through role-play. They will then use their knowledge and understanding to plan and write their own fable based on a chosen moral.

Everything you need for a successful week of English lessons is included in this Aesop's Fables KS2 Lesson Pack - detailed plans, engaging slide shows for the teaching input, differentiated worksheets, and a large selection of fables! You can 

#Lesson1FablesandtheirMorals

In this first 'Fables and their Morals' lesson, children will be introduced to, and become familiar with, this genre of writing.

They will find out about Aesop, the Greek slave and storyteller thought to be the origin of many fables. In their independent activities, children will read a range of short fables, discussing and matching morals to each one. In the alternative activity, children are each given a fable to learn the main points of, and then retell it orally to others in their group, discussing the moral of the story with each of their listeners.

The resources for this first lesson include a selection of fables, differentiated worksheets, a set of slides for the teaching input, and a detailed lesson plan.

#Lesson2FeaturesOfFables

With this 'Features of Fables' lesson pack, children will focus on analysing fables to identify the common features of this type of narrative.

In their independent activities, children further analyse both familiar and new fables. Alternatively, they are challenged to create a new version of an original fable by changing some of the aspects of the story, but keeping the original moral the same, and using the structure and features of a fable.

As well as differentiated resources, an easy-to-follow lesson plan and an engaging set of slides are included with this 'Features of Fables' lesson pack.

#Lesson3ExploringFableCharactersthroughRoleplay

This lesson focuses on exploring the fable characters; children will use their inference skills to explore what each character might be thinking and feeling at different points in their story.

Your class is challenged to turn a fable into a role-play, using freeze-frames, thought-tapping, and stream of consciousness to relay a character's thoughts and feelings. In the alternative activity, children use hot-seating to further explore the characters from the fables.

Including a detailed Aesop's Fables lesson plan, an engaging set of slides for the teacher input, and differentiated, printable worksheets and activity ideas, this lesson pack has everything you need for a successful, enjoyable English lesson with your Year 5 class!

#Lesson4PlanningaFablearoundaMoral

In this 'Planning a Fable KS2' lesson, children will use what they have learnt about this type of narrative to begin thinking about ideas for their own fable.

Children will first explore a selection of morals together, discussing their meaning. They will then, as a class, look at how story ideas for a fable based on a specific moral could be generated and developed. In their independent Aesop's fables activities, children will choose a moral, a setting and two characters, and develop ideas for their own fable.

This 'Planning a Fable KS2' lesson pack has everything you need: a detailed plan, a set of informative and engaging slides for the teaching input, and differentiated activity ideas.

#Lesson5WritingaFable

In this final 'Writing a Fable KS2' lesson pack, children will compose and then share their own fables.

As a class, children will first look at and discuss together how notes from the previous lesson can be developed into a finished fable. Then, in their independent activities, children will use their planning sheets and given checklists to write their own fables for a specific moral.

An easy-to-follow lesson plan, a set of slides for the teaching input, and differentiated activity ideas are all included with this 'Writing a Fable KS2' lesson pack.

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

Download a free overview to support your teaching of this scheme of work.

Free Assessment Grid

Download a free, editable assessment grid to support your teaching of this scheme of work.

Curriculum Objectives covered

• continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks
• reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes
• increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions
• recommending books that they have read to their peers, giving reasons for their choices
• drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence

• identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own
• noting and developing initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary
• in writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings in what pupils have read, listened to or seen performed
• selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning
• assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing

• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
• articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
• participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play/improvisations and debates