Fables are a widely known and beloved form of literature and have been around longer than anyone reading this WebQuest. A fable is a tale in which the purpose is to teach the readers a useful lesson. Fables will contain a short but real narrative while converying a hidden meaning through fictatious characters. The true aim of any fable is to teach its reader a lesson as well as contain some form of a moral along the way. Many times these lessons and morals are hidden within the text of the fable and quite often the characters who are used to portray these tales are animals who speak and act like humans.

Though you may have already known what a fable is, you may not realize how many fables you already know by heart or how often you encounter them in your every day lives. Do you remember the story of the ant and the grasshopper? Or the widely known race between the tortoise and the hare? These are two very well known fables which children have been introduced to at a very young age. Yet these are just two and Im sure if you looked back on your literary history you could find many more.

Yet fables are not just reserved for books anymore. Many of the movies you probably watch and love are built upon an old fable as well. Disney has taken such a notion and with it made many hits, such as The Emperor's New Groove. Many filmwriters today use fables to build upon for movie or television show ideas.

emperor

Some of the best known fables are Aesops Fables. It is unknown exactly how many fables Aesop created, hundreds have been discovered. Many people today wonder if Aesop as a person ever even existed. Some believe that it is more likely that Aesop was actually a legendary figure rather than a real person and that the name Aesop was coined and given to any compilation of fables. Fables can be pinpointed back to before 8th Century B.C. and in 6th Century B.C. fables began to come into wide existence.

So though you may remember the tortoise and the hare or The Emperor's New Groove, there are still many more fables to be read and lessons and morals to be learned! So without any further ado... let's get started!

Click on the task link to continue

For this Webquest you will be working together with a partner to complete the task.

Today's task includes:

° Read though any of the selections of Fables provided to you online
You must read at least ten fables

° Analyze the different fables by their main themes or morals. Using the provided chart identify five fables with five different themes and describe the theme/moral given in each one. Then find at least two different morals which these hundreds of fables have in common.

° Make an outline or storymap for your own fable which you will create with your partner. Include a storyboard for each of its pages.

° Finally, create your own fable using what you now know about fables as well as your storyboard. Remember, every fable must include a lesson and a moral!
Also, you must illustrate your story and have it ready to be handed in to be contriibuted to our class collection of fables!

Go to the process link to find out how to begin!

As a team of two you will work together to complete the following tasks. As you work you may want to refer back to the evaluation page to make sure you are completing each activity properly and fully as well as staying on task.

The Process should go as follows:

Step One: Print out the following:
Themes and Morals in Fables
Similarities in Fables

Step Two: Go to the FABLES link and read at least ten different fables, paying close attention
to the theme and moral of each.

Step Three: Based on the fables you just read fill out the
Themes and Morals in Fables Chart

Step Four: Now go back and seach for fables with similar themes or morals. Find at least two
different morals which are common among the vast variety of fables and
fill in the Similarities Among Fables Chart

Step Five: Using the fables websites and what you have learned about fables, construct your own fable
with your partner. Your fable must include both a theme and a moral as well as contain
all other elements of a fable

Step Six: Put your fable in final story draft form and illustrate it

Step Seven: Present fables to the class

Step Eight: All fables will be put together in one big classroom Book of Fables

Step Nine: What did we learn?

The following are the resources which will help you in your journey through the wide world of fables.

Themes and Morals in Fables Chart

Similarities in Fables Chart

A variety of websites where you will find fables:
http://www.aesopfables.com/
http://www.literature.org/authors/aesop/fables/
http://www.umass.edu/aesop/fables.php
http://kidcrosswords.com/kidreader/aesops_fables/aesops_fables_table.htm
(fun, interactive sight!)
http://www.storybookcastle.com/aesop/
(this sight has many animated fables as well as
old and modern versions of fable favorites!)
http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables/index.shtml
http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/index.html
http://www.infoplease.com/t/lit/fantastic-fables/
http://www.bedtime.com/html/sr-fables.html

http://www.fablevision.com/place/library/index.html
(a fun, interactive sight which includes some modern fables)

Rubric

Evaluation

WebQuest Evaluation Form

Assignment	Excellent	Good	Needs Improvement
Themes and Morals in Fables Chart	The student has fully completed the chart, citing all five fables as well as the characters, problem/storyling and theme/moral for each	The student completes most of the chart, missing only one or two of the criteria	The students does not complete the chart or does not ever turn the chart in
Similarities in Fables Chart	The student compares three fables, each of which has at least one similarity in common with another fable listed	The student compares at least two fables and makes connections between them	The student does not list more than two fables and has not made a connection in any way between the two
Outline/Story map/storyboard	The student makes a clear outline or story map for their fable, including all elements such as characters, plot, theme/moral and illustrations	The student makes an outline, map, and/or board but leaves out one key element, such as plot or characters	The student either doesnt do the task or forgets many major details, such as plot, characters, or theme/moral
Fable	Students fable include all the requirements of a fable: a plot, animal characters, a theme/moral as well as fourth grade worthy illustrations	Students fable includes most parts of a fable but may be missing one aspect or the illustrations are not fourth grade effort	Students fable lacks many if not all of the elements of a proper fable and illustrations are either poor effort or none at all

Students final grade for the Fables Unit will be based on a combination of all of these criteria

Home

Introduction

Task

Process

Resources

Conclusion

Credits

Teacher Page