Ugly Duckling Keynotes:Layout 1.qxd - State Theatre
Ugly Duckling Keynotes:Layout 1.qxd - State Theatre Ugly Duckling Keynotes:Layout 1.qxd - State Theatre
TheTortoiseand theHare“The Tortoise and the Hare,” one ofAesop’s celebrated fables, is the story of ahare who challenges a tortoise to a race.The hare is certain he will have an easyvictory, given that hares are very fast andtortoises move very slowly. Theoverconfident hare takes his time andallows himself to be distracted by thingsgoing on around him. In the meantime,the tortoise, who has kept moving at hisslow and steady pace, eventually passeshim and wins, proving that “slow andsteady wins the race.”This production adds some moderntwists on the ancient story. The hare getsdistracted by talking on his phone andeven watching tv!Act Out the StoryAsk two students to volunteer to be thetortoise and the hare. You will also needsome volunteers to be the distractions forthe hare. Set up a “race track” around yourclassroom and station the distractions atintervals along the route. When the harearrives at a distraction, he or she has toperform an activity, such as a small puzzleor a worksheet. The hare has to finish theactivity before resuming the race. Thetortoise can keep moving the entire timewithout stopping, but has to move slowly.The rest of the students will be the crowd,cheering either the tortoise or the hare.Ask the class who they think is going towin. Why? Who actually wins? If thetortoise won, what could the hare havedone differently to win the race?In the show, the tortoise and the hareremain friends, even after the race is over;the hare even congratulates the tortoise.Make sure that after you complete thisactivity, the winner and loser show theirrespect for one another.6Unpacking the StoryIn “The Tortoise and the Hare,” a boastfuland over-confident hare challenges a slowmoving,humble tortoise to a race. Thetortoise accepts the challenge and, despiteall expectations, he wins the race, thanks tohis focus and perseverance—and the hare’slack of these qualities!The moral of this story is “Slow andsteady wins the race.” With your students,discuss what this means. Use the followingquestions to guide the conversation.• Have you ever tried to do something thatseemed impossible or really hard to do?Why did you want to do it? What madeyou think you could succeed? How didyou accomplish your goal?• Do you have any “hares” in your life:people who tell you you can’t dosomething well, or that you shouldn’teven try? What should you do ifsomeone tells you can’t succeed?• It’s good to have confidence in yourself,but sometimes we think we’re so good atsomething, we don’t have to make anyeffort. Have you ever stopped trying yourbest because you didn’t think youneeded to? What happened?• What are some of the things around youthat can distract you from your work(such as homework or chores)? What aresome things you can you do to get yourattention back on what you’re supposedto be doing?• Do you know what it means whensomeone talks about being a “soreloser”? How do you feel about yourself ifyou lose a race or a game, or don’t getthe highest score on a test? What’s theright way to treat someone when theydon’t come in first? How should youbehave if you don’t win?
Aesop7“The level of our success is limitedonly by our imagination . ”—AesopNot very much is known about the man we know as Aesop; in fact, there’s no definitiveproof that he actually existed. (If there was a real Aesop, no writings by him have survived.)Ancient references to him can be found in the writings of Herodotus,Aristotle, Plutarch, and others. Legend tells it that he lived in ancient Pronounce it:Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. Scholars have suggested a fewEE-sopdifferent locations for his birthplace—possibly Ethiopia—but no oneknows for certain. He was born a slave, and was owned by twodifferent masters before he was granted his freedom. It is also believed that he earned hisfreedom through his wit, intelligence, and gifts as a storyteller. As a freedman he supposedlybecame involved in public affairs and traveled widely—telling his fables along the way.Over the centuries, many tales in many languages have been attributed to Aesop. Often,the stories feature talking animals or objects that solve problems as if they were human. Mostof all, Aesop’s fables are known for having a moral: a lesson to be learned from the story.Because he lived so long ago and at a time when stories were mostly passed down orallyand not written down, it is impossible to know exactly which stories should be credited toAesop and which were simply tales that had been passed down through the ages. Of course,this is true of many folk tales and fairy tales. Even Hans Christian Andersen based many of hisstories on older folk tales.Portrait of Aesop (1639-40) byDiego VelázquezThe Moral of the StoryToday we still refer to many of the lessons in Aesop’s tales. Discuss the meanings of some of these with your students.• United we stand, divided we fall.• Don’t count your chickens beforethey’re hatched.• There are two sides to every story.• Honesty is the best policy.• Wolf in sheep’s clothing• Be careful what you wish for.• Look before you leap.• Think before you speak.“The Tortoise and the Hare” ResourcesProfessor D.L. Alishman at the University of Pittsburgh hascatalogued folktales from around the world by theme. He hasvariations on “The Tortoise and the Hare” from Brazil, Sweden,Tibet, West Africa, Native America, and other cultures.www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0275.htmlThe Tales with Morals website offers biographical informationand links to many of Aesop’s tales.www.taleswithmorals.com/The Tortoise and the Hare: an Aesop Fable, by Janet Stevens.Holiday House, 1984.The Tortoise and the Hare, by Betty Miles. Simon & SchusterBooks for Young Readers, 1998.The Foolish Tortoise, by Richard Buckley, illustrated by EricCarle. Little Simon, 2009.A tortoise, tired of being among the slowest animals,decides to remove his shell, but soon misses all thebenefits his built-in house provides. Pre-K and above.Welcome to the World of Rabbits and Hares, by DianeSwanson. Whitecap Books Ltd., 2000.Fun facts about rabbits and hares, and how to tell thedifference between the two. Pre-K and above.
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TheTortoiseand theHare“The Tortoise and the Hare,” one ofAesop’s celebrated fables, is the story of ahare who challenges a tortoise to a race.The hare is certain he will have an easyvictory, given that hares are very fast andtortoises move very slowly. Theoverconfident hare takes his time andallows himself to be distracted by thingsgoing on around him. In the meantime,the tortoise, who has kept moving at hisslow and steady pace, eventually passeshim and wins, proving that “slow andsteady wins the race.”This production adds some moderntwists on the ancient story. The hare getsdistracted by talking on his phone andeven watching tv!Act Out the StoryAsk two students to volunteer to be thetortoise and the hare. You will also needsome volunteers to be the distractions forthe hare. Set up a “race track” around yourclassroom and station the distractions atintervals along the route. When the harearrives at a distraction, he or she has toperform an activity, such as a small puzzleor a worksheet. The hare has to finish theactivity before resuming the race. Thetortoise can keep moving the entire timewithout stopping, but has to move slowly.The rest of the students will be the crowd,cheering either the tortoise or the hare.Ask the class who they think is going towin. Why? Who actually wins? If thetortoise won, what could the hare havedone differently to win the race?In the show, the tortoise and the hareremain friends, even after the race is over;the hare even congratulates the tortoise.Make sure that after you complete thisactivity, the winner and loser show theirrespect for one another.6Unpacking the StoryIn “The Tortoise and the Hare,” a boastfuland over-confident hare challenges a slowmoving,humble tortoise to a race. Thetortoise accepts the challenge and, despiteall expectations, he wins the race, thanks tohis focus and perseverance—and the hare’slack of these qualities!The moral of this story is “Slow andsteady wins the race.” With your students,discuss what this means. Use the followingquestions to guide the conversation.• Have you ever tried to do something thatseemed impossible or really hard to do?Why did you want to do it? What madeyou think you could succeed? How didyou accomplish your goal?• Do you have any “hares” in your life:people who tell you you can’t dosomething well, or that you shouldn’teven try? What should you do ifsomeone tells you can’t succeed?• It’s good to have confidence in yourself,but sometimes we think we’re so good atsomething, we don’t have to make anyeffort. Have you ever stopped trying yourbest because you didn’t think youneeded to? What happened?• What are some of the things around youthat can distract you from your work(such as homework or chores)? What aresome things you can you do to get yourattention back on what you’re supposedto be doing?• Do you know what it means whensomeone talks about being a “soreloser”? How do you feel about yourself ifyou lose a race or a game, or don’t getthe highest score on a test? What’s theright way to treat someone when theydon’t come in first? How should youbehave if you don’t win?
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