Writing Fables, Part 2 - Planning Story Elements

After reading several fables, my class came up with this definition of a fable: a short narrative with a simple setting, simple characters (who are often animals that act like people), and a moral, or lesson.

Since my students would be required to use animals as characters in their fables, we warmed up with this activity:

The first step in actually planning the fable was to select a moral. We discussed dozens of proverbs, which are age-old lessons, like these:

Students then selected a moral, developed some ideas for the plot, and chose animals that possessed traits necessary to teach the lesson.

Each of my young writers now had a plan and were ready to begin developing their fables.

You are welcome to use these ideas in your classroom. I'd love to hear how they work for you! If you'd like the packaged version, Writing Fables is available in my Teachers pay Teachers store.

Common Core State Standards Addressed: W.3.5, W.4.5, W.5.5