AESOP’S FABLE

WebQuest for Bachillerato(English as a Second Language)

Designed byMª Ascensión Villalba Varona

avillaba@varonas.com

“Elaboración de Materiales Didácticos para la Enseñanza de la Lengua Inglesa”. Dr. James Lawley

Doctorado – UNED- 2006

THE CHALLENGE OF A WEBQUEST…

• This webquest has been designed for students who have already passed the Secondary School or for adults learning English as a Second Language, whose level of English is Intermediate or Upper-Intermediate. The main objective is to motivate the student in speaking English.

• This webquest is based in the Theory of the Constructivist Learning, exactly in the Mediated Learning where the student plays the leading role. Here the mediator is the teacher, the Instrumental Mediation is the Webquest and the Protagonist is the student.

• I have designed this webquest following the model proposed by Bernie Dodge (Eduteka April 2002) and his taxonomy of tasks. Exactly, I have used some of them as follows:

– Collection task: The students will take information from different selected webs and will decide which Aesop fable will select to be read and later analized.

– Journalist Task: The students will investigate about who Aesop is and what the difference is between a fable, a trickster tale, a fairy story and a leyend.

…THE CHALLENGE OF A WEBQUEST

– Consensus and Persuasion Task: The students will have different opinions about the message from the fables. They will have to arrive at a consensus to decide which moral may be suitable for a similar situation in the 21st century. They will persuade the rest of the members of the group about a determined point of view.

– Analitic Task: Students will analyse a fable using a Venn Diagram.

– Self-knowledge Task: They will think about their life and experience looking for a moral example that can be adapted to the moral of the fable.

– Creative Products Task: They will use their creativity to make up a new modern version of selected fable and moral.

I have used this webpage www.phpwebquest.org to create and upload my work. It is extremely easy and I would like to invite other teachers to do it. So we could share all our works.

I have set a link from the webpage of my school www.varonas.com (Nuestros ejercicios Online) to make the access to my students easier.

NOTE: You can also have access to my webquest pressing on the heading of the next slides.

INTRODUCCION• It’s Saint John’s Night, you are sitting around a

bonfire with your friends. You will be immerse in a moral storytelling night! The spirit of Aesop will be recalled and you will continue his work by telling new 21st century fables.

1. Who was Aesop?

2. What is a fable?

3. What’s the difference between: a fable, a fairy tale, trickster tales and a leyend?

4. How have fables and trickster tales been passed down through time and around the world?

5. What kinds of wisdom about human nature and human behavior do we learn from fables, and how is this wisdom relevant today?

• Fables teach us a moral or a lesson. You will have to read fables and understand their morals. You will use your creativity to prepare your oral presentation of an original 21st century version based on an Aesop's fable.

TASK– You will choose one fable. Each fable has a moral. Your task is

to read an Aesop's fable, understand its moral and adapt the fable to your life or experience. You will do it thinking in people you know, such as classmates, collegues, relatives and situations that represent our life and way of living in cities.

– Then you will have to tell to your friends sitting around the bonfire on Saint John’s Night.

– You will have to work in groups of four. Each one will have a different task:

• Reader: You will be in charge of reading three fables to your group and agree which one has the best adaptable moral.

• Writer: You will write all the ideas, characters, place and situation that the rest of the group suggests you. As well as writing the free modern version of your story.

• Coordinator: You will be in charge of monitoring all the work, helping and giving ideas to the writer. If you need some help, do not hesitate to call your teacher.

• Storyteller: You will be in charge of telling the story to the group. Remember that you will be in the place of Aesop. Drama performance will be wellcome! 

PROCESS…• 1.- You will organise in groups of four students. If there is someone who

is not matched, form groups of three and the reader will also do the coordinator role.

• 2.- Firstly, you will do some research about Aesop, what a fable is, and the difference between fables, trickester tales, fairy tales and leyends. To do that you may visit the sites below.

• 3.- The coordinator will choose three fables and the reader will read them to the group. Choose them from the list below. 

• 4.- The writer will write a Venn Diagram with the moral, characters and ideas the rest of the group understand from each fable. Suggested questions to be answered:

– What do these stories have in common? – Why do you think Aesop wrote the stories? – Why do most of the stories have animals as characters?– Who are the characters?– What is the problem and solution of the story?– What is the moral of the fables?

• 5.- Now you will have to set up your story.

– Think about who the characters will be (you, your boss, your teacher, your neightbour, your friends, etc.).

– Think about where your fable will take place (bus, underground, school, house, street)

– Think about a real happening that can have the same moral as the fable you have selected previously.

• 6.- Once you have planned your fable, organize it and write your presentation. The storyteller will practice and become comfortable with it. When ready tell to your friends.

   

…PROCESS

Aesop's Life

Fables and Fairy Tales

Fables and Trickster Tales

Legends

List of Aesop's Fables with moral

Traditional / Modern Fables

Aesop's Fables (Listening)

Fables and Puzzles

EVALUATIONBeginner

Storyteller

MARKS: D

Elementary

Storyteller

MARKS: C

Intermediate

Storyteller

MARKS: B

Advanced

Storyteller

MARKS: A

SCORESCORE

Group

Collaboration

Group members didn’t perform any of the assigned tasks.

Group members performed hardly any of the assigned tasks.

Group members performed and collaborated with almost all the tasks.

All group members fulfilled all the tasks.

B

Grammatical Assesment

Frequent grammar, pronounciation and spelling mistakes.

Many grammatical and pronounciation mistakes.

Few grammatical and pronounciation mistakes.

No grammatical or pronounciation mistakes.

B

Organization The information and order of events is absolutely disorganized.

The information and order of events is partially organised.

The information and order of events is well organised.

The information and order of events is clearly very well organised.

C

Oral Presentation

Not well prepared for the presentation.

Hesitation in the presentation.

Presentation has been performed with little hesitation.

Presentation has been performed with fluency.

B

CONCLUSION

• CONGRATULATIONS!!!

YOU ARE AN EXPERT STORYTELLER!!

• You have learned about Aesop, his time and fables. As you have seen the moral of his fables are universal and timeless. They can be easily adaptable to our times.

• Once you have created a free modern version of a fable, you can do extra activities if you want to continue with this topic:

• You can present a fable using a power point presentation.

• You can present a fable in a poster.• You can write a short play to be performed

next time you meet friends.• You can send your story to my e-mail to be

corrected: avillalba@varonas.com

LESSON PLAN TIMETABLE• 8:00-8:10pm:

– As I had already set all the computers with the webquest link on the “Favourites” tool bar, eight upper-intermediate students sit at the computers and begin with the lesson.

– I explain them what a webquest is because it is the first time they have done it.– We read aloud, one time each, the Introduction, task and process. – I also explain them what a Venn diagram is.

• 8:10-8:15 pm:– They organised themselves with no disturbance. However they needed to be remember several times that

spanish language was not allowed in any single moment.• 8:15-8:30 pm:

– Most of them just had a quick look at Aesop’s life and the rest of the information about fables. They focused mainly in choosing fables and fullfil the task more than looking for information about Aesop and the differences between a fable and a legend as they had already heard about Aesop. They didn’t consider this information relevant for the final task, that is to create a modern Aesop’s fable. They visited and read the fables in English fulfilling the roles assigned to each one.

– No further explanations and questions were required.• 8:30-8:45 pm:

– Group A had already finished writing their fable by 8:40pm., 5 m. before the other group did. (In a standard Bachillerato students group, I think this will take another 5 m.)

• 8:45-8:50 pm:– The storytellers told us their fables (we had only 2 groups.- In a standard bachillerato group of 30 students

15 m. would be required to do this part).• 8:50-9:00 pm:

– For 5 m. they read more information about other fables and Aesop’s life. For the last 5 m., we commented some fales, Aesop’s life and clear up some questions.

– For homework 2 students sent the fables they had told us in the class by e-mail.

MODERN FABLES TRANSCRIPTION FROM STUDENTS (GROUP A):

JORDI AND JUAN

A man called Jordi went out from job and got his home. Suddenly, the telephone rang. It was his friend from Cuenca, Juan.

“Hello Jordi, I´m in Barcelona for business, do you want to come with me to a pub tonight?”

“ Hello, I´m sorry but I´ve got to go to bed because tomorrow I have to get up early in the morning” said Jordi.

Juan went out and spent all his money with his friends.The oil prices increased and Juan had to go work by bus while Jordi

was driving his new sport car.

“IF YOU WANT TO DRIVE YOUR CAR, DON´T WASTE YOUR MONEY!”

MODERN FABLES TRANSCRIPTION FROM STUDENTS (GROUP B):

THE KING OF THE JUNGLE.

Once upon a time there was a little lion called George who was the king of the jungle. George is 18 years old and, as almost of the animals in his age, he like playing football a lot. Every single evening, after doing his homework he plays with the other animals.

Las night, his father, the actual king of the jungle, went to George’s bedroom in order to speak to his son:

- Hi daddy, how are you? – said George- Quite well son – answered the king – I want to tell you something- Tell me …- said George- You know you will be the king of the jungle one day and every single animal in the jungle must

obbey your orders, you must keep the justice in the jungle because it will be your kingdom, from the little ants to the giant elephant will respect your wishes, do you understand it?

- Yes! It will be great! I’m very happy daddy, you can trust me- I trust you little George, I am sure that you will be a good king.- Ey daddy! Why don’t we play football in order to celebrate it? I am very happy to know that I will

be the king.- I would like to play with you but I cannot, I have many thingsw to do.- What? What things are more important than playing with your son even if you want to?- A king has obligations too, if there is a problem in the jungle I must look for a way to solve it- If the most powerful animal in the jungle cannot play with his son whenever he wants you should

look for another king because I prefer being free and play when I want rather than keep ordering to others what to do like you. Good luck king of the jungle.

BETTER BE THE KING OF YOUR LIFE THAN THE KING OF A KINGDOM

CREDITS• Information about Webquest creation:

– Cómo crear una webquest.– Elementary web creation lessons.– How to use the internet in your classroom.– Be a web a web site sleuth ! – What is a webquest?– Elaboración de material didáctico para la World Wide Web.– Make your webquest with phpwebquest.– Cinco Reglas para escribir una fabulosa Webquest.– "Tareonomía del WebQuest": Una Taxonomía de Tareas.

• Webquests about Aesop’s Fables:

– A WebQuest for 4th Grade (Literacy) Designed by Denisse Fritcher. – Aesop's Fables WebQuest by Joanne Bates – Aesop’s Fables. Designed by Connie Williams and Carolyn Smith. Bakers Elementary School – A WebQuest for 3rd Grade (Communication Arts). Designed by Laura Williams – Aesop’s Fable - Designed by Carol Lundeen.

• Books:

– Greenlaw, James C. (2005). “English Language Arts and Reading on the Internet” A Resource for K-12 Teachers. 2nd Ed. Pearson. Merrill Prentice Hall.

– Leask, Marilyn and Pachler, Norbert. (2002) “Learning to Teach Using ICT in the Secondary School”. Routledge-Falmer. London and New York.

– Boswood, Tim. (1997) “New Ways of Using Computers in Language Teaching” . TESOL. USA.– Brewer, G. Anthony.(2003) . “Webquest: The Secret to Guided Empowerment”. Visions Technology in Eduction. USA.– Thoman, Kim. (1998). “Teaching Language Art with the Internet”. Internet lessons plans and classrooms activities. Classroom

Connect CA.