ABOUT THE BOOK
GUIDED READING: G
LEXILE LEVEL: 540L
CHARACTER TRAITS: Resourcefulness Sharing Trustworthiness
REGION: Africa
ISBN: 978-0-874838-01-5
Kindergarten
Lesson Plans and Teacher GuidesLesson Type: Differentiated Learning
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from AfricaWritten by Rob Cleveland
Outcome
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the story through the use of phonics, comprehension, illustration, and dramatization.
Overview
Students will read and explore a folktale from West Africa while utilizing interdisciplinary connections in language arts and social studies, as they sequence information, use pantomime, explore idiomatic expressions, and write.
Materials
General• Book The Clever Monkey
• Map or globe
• Pencil
• Paper
• Scissors
• Crayons or markers
• Selection of mild cheeses
• Crackers
• Plastic knives
• Napkins
• Plates
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
NOTE: Find correlating Common Core Standards at the head of each activity section.
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 2 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
Assessment Tools
• Discussion Questions
• Cat Phonics worksheet
• Copying Sentences worksheet
• Sequencing Pictures worksheet
Table of Contents
Introduction • 3
Discussion Questions • 4
Language Arts • 5
Phonics • 7
Dramatic Arts • 8
Extension Activity • 9
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 3 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
Introducing the Story
Directions: • Each student receives a copy of The Clever Monkey.
• Preview the book together looking at each picture and making predictions.
• Discuss the meaning of the word clever.
• Explain: This is a folktale that started in Africa. Use a map or a globe as a visual aid.
• Africa has a very warm tropical climate.
• Africa has rain forests with lots of trees that create a great home for many animals, including monkeys.
• African people place great importance on storytelling.
• Many of the stories or folktales from Africa involve animals that assume human personalities.
• Some of the stories teach a lesson. Listen carefully so you know what lesson The Clever Monkey teaches.
• Read the story aloud as the students follow along in their own books.
• Pause on each page to ask the children, based on the story and the illustrations, how the animals have assumed human personalities.
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.5: Types of textCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7: IllustrationsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10: Group reading activities with purpose
Introduction
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 4 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
For Assessing Comprehension
• Who are the three characters in the book?
• What did the cats find?
• What were the cats arguing about?
• What did the monkey offer to do?
• Why did the monkey keep eating little bits of the cheese?
• How did the cats feel when they were left with tiny pieces of cheese?
• How did the monkey feel?
• How did the book end?
• Why was the monkey clever?
• What lesson does the story teach?
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1: Details in textCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3: Identify characters, settings, and events
Discussion Questions
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 5 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
Copying Sentences
Materials:• Copying Sentences worksheet
Directions: • Children copy these sentences and read as a group in
unison.
• Students then read these sentences to the teacher or other students.
• The cat sat.
• The cat is fat.
• A cat is on the mat.
• The rat saw the cat.
• I can pat the cat.
Sequencing Pictures
Materials:• Sequencing worksheet
• Scissors
• Pencil
Directions: • Cut out the pictures on this worksheet and place them
in chronological order.
• Write the number 1 under the first picture, 2 under the second picture, 3 under the third picture, 4 under the fourth picture and 5 under the fifth picture.
• Students practice retelling the story to a partner, while using these pictures as a guide.
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10: Group reading activities with purposeCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1A/ F: Uppercase and lowercase letters/complete sentences
Language Arts
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2: Retell stories, key detailsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3: Identify characters, settings, and eventsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7: Illustrations
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 6 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
Illustration
Directions: • Tell students: Cats have always stimulated peoples’
imaginations. There are many stories and superstitions about cats. It seems as if people either like or dislike cats. There is not much middle ground.
• Take a survey to determine how many students like cats and how many dislike cats.
• Teacher asks students to form opinions about both cats’ behavior in the story.
• Discuss each of these expressions below and have students illustrate one of these folk sayings about cats.
• When the cat’s away, the mice will play.
• A cat’s a cat and that’s that.
• Curiosity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought him back.
• The cat loves fish but hates wet feet.
• A cat is a lion to a mouse.
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.6/ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5: Types of text, role of author and illustrator
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 7 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
Cat Phonics (Differentiated Learning)
Materials:• Cat Phonics worksheet
• Scissors, pencil, lined paper
Directions: Group A
• Complete Cat Phonics worksheet
• Cut out the cat, the letter strip, and the slits in the cat’s nose.
• Feed the letter strip into the slits in the cat’s nose.
• Practice with a partner reading the /at/ family words created by pulling the strip through the opening.
Group B• Complete the worksheet as group A.
• Copy all the words on lined paper.
Group C• Complete worksheet as group A and copy words as
group B.
• Complete Copying Sentences Worksheet.
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2A: Rhyming wordsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1F: Produce complete sentencesCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1: Collaborative conversationsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2C: Phonemes
Phonics
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
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Kindergarten
Pantomime
Directions: • Explain to students that pantomime is an important part
of African storytelling. Good storytellers can use body language and facial expressions to help tell a story.
• Look at the illustrations in the book. The animals say so much with the expression on their faces and with the position of their bodies.
• Students are divided into groups of three.
• They practice acting out the story using pantomime only.
• Each group performs for the class.
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7: IllustrationsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1: Collaborative conversations
Dramatic Arts
Clever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
Page 9 of 12Story Cove | Lesson Plans
Kindergarten
Cheese Tasting
Materials:• A selection of mild cheeses
• Crackers
• Plastic knives
• Napkins
• Plates
Directions: • Serve a variety of cheeses to the class and have the
children vote on their favorite cheese.
• Class creates a bar graph to show how well the students liked each cheese.
• Students can cut cheese in half with the plastic knife and pretend to be the monkey as they trim the cheese bit by bit.
• Students compare like objects that differ in size.
• They sort and classify items as “bigger” and “smaller”.
COMMON CORE
STANDARDS
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.2: Comparisons
Extension Activity
KindergartenClever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
KindergartenClever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa
KindergartenClever Monkey: A Folktale from Africa