Two Traditional Tales

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

• Ask students to predict what these plays will be about based on the titles, subtitles, and illustrations on pages 24-25 and 27. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading 

• Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 23 and the Thinkand Write box on page 29.

• Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the plays.

Introduce Featured Skill

• Build on the Think and Read prompt by explaining the plays’ featured skill: Compare and Contrast. Encourage students to look for ways that the plays are similar and ways that they are different.

Introduce Vocabulary

• Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading.

Reading and Unpacking the Text

• Storyworks 3 plays provide a perfect opportunity for students to build fluency.
• Perform the plays as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the audio Read-Aloud.
• Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions.

Close-Reading Questions

• Read the introduction from Joe Bruchac, the author. What does this teach you about how the plays are similar? The introduction from Joe Bruchac teaches me which tribes the folktales are from. It teaches me that both nations have a tradition of storytelling and that these stories explain parts of the natural world. (compare and contrast)
• Read Scene 1 in “Possum’s Tail.” What do you learn about Possum in this scene? In this scene, I learned that Possum loves to brag about his tail to all the animals. (character) 
• Read Scene 2. What does Cricket tell Possum he will do to make his tail look even better? To make Possum’s tail look even better, Cricket says he has special medicine. He wraps an old rattlesnake skin around Possum’s tail. He tells Possum not to take it off for seven days and nights. (plot)
• Read Scene 3. What did the rattlesnake skin do to Possum’s tail? The rattlesnake skin made all the hair on Possum’s tail disappear. (cause and effect)
• How do Possum’s feelings about his tail change in Scene 3? At first, Possum is embarrassed because his tail looks ugly. But he feels better after the other animals tell him how he can use his tail. He can use it to hold on to branches, grab food, and teach his children how to hang from trees with it. He grins but he never brags about his tail again. (how a character changes)
• Read Scene 1 in “The Great Ball Game.” Why do the birds and land animals decide to have a ball game? The birds and the land animals decide to have a ball game to decide which group is the best. The losing team must do whatever the winners tell them to do. (summarize)
• Read Scene 2. Why does Bat join the animals’ team? Bat joins the animals’ team because the birds won’t accept him because he’s different. He has fur and teeth instead of feathers. (cause and effect)
• Read Scene 3. What happens just as Crane is about to score and the birds will win the game? Bat flies out of a tree and steals the ball from Crane. Just as the sun sets, Bat scores the winning goal. (plot)
• What does Bat decide the birds must do at the end of the play? How does this affect what happens in nature every fall? Bat decides to tell the birds they must leave the land for half of each year. This affects what happens in nature every fall, because birds fly south for the winter. (main idea)

Critical-Thinking Questions

• What lessons do you think the storyteller wants you to learn from the animal characters in each folktale? The lesson the storyteller wants me to learn from “Possum’s Tail” is that it’s wrong to brag. The lesson the storyteller wants me to learn from “The Great Ball Game” is that it’s all right to be different. (moral, interpreting text)
• Would you like to read more folktales from tribal nations? Why do you feel this way? Use details from the plays in your answer. Answers may vary. Students should include details from the plays in their response. (connecting to text)

Featured Skill: Compare and Contrast

• Distribute or digitally assign the Compare and Contrast Skill Builder.
• Ask students to write a response to the Think and Write prompt on page 29.