Students created as well as performed their own group pieces of fractured fables and fairy tales after reading aesop revised by archy by don marquis.
Lesson Note: ‘…in an era when human impact on the natural world is of pressing concern—we are in the midst of a human-induced mass die-off of flora and fauna,—poetry’s capacity to embody animal perspectives seems increasingly urgent. When animals are not merely spoken of but speak directly to us in poems, what should we humans hear?’-Writer/ Teacher Kathleen Rooney, Animal Planet: The prescient ecopoetics of Don Marquis. Essay for the Poetry Foundation, 2018
Mr. Telles, 9th Grade
Period One
The Lion, The Ass & The Fox
(takes place in an office)
Sophia K., Jonathan S., Zach P., Max M.
a lion
an ass
and a fox
had finished a project and were examing their work
for they had all worked hard to earn such power
the ass was asked to divide their earnings
eh did fairly giving each an equal share
the fox was satisfied but the lion became enraged
with one movement of his paw
he added the ass to their reward
he turned to the fox and demanded that he divide it
the fox wasted no time and put all their earnings
in one pile taking a small amount for himself
claiming very little
the lion laughed
who taught you to divide so fairly he asked
i learned from the ass replied the fox
very carefully backing away
moral: learn from the misfortune of others
The Fox and the Grapes
Abigail R., Emily T., Delphine P., Rudden G.,
A fox one day spied a beautiful
bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a
vine trained along the branches of
a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst
with juice, and the Fox’s mouth watered
as he gazed longingly at them.
The bunch hung from a high branch
and the Fox had to jump for it. The
the first time he jumped he missed it
by a long way so he walked
off a short distance and took a
running leap at it, only to fall short
once more. Agan and again he tried
until he tried one final time. He
leaped with all his might and just
barely managed to snag the grapes.
he stuffed himself, only to
realize that the grapes he believed to
so sweet and so wonderful, were actually
poisoned, and he collapsed, frustrated at
at his blind foolishness.
Mr. Telles, 9th Grade
Period Five
The Little Match Girl
(a treatise on abortion rights)
Kyla G., Valaire N., Aline V., Kael C.,
The little match girl
an orphan to all standards
unfamiliar to the idea of home
she wanders, unwanted, sell her way to survival
holding a match, begging for a chance
begging for someone to listen
‘Begone, you bastard. We don’t want you here
wandering arousing trouble.’
She back away, shy forgotten
persist, she must persist
the night fell upon her
and there she was along, 3 matches left
she lit one candle and was reminded of her home Venezia
a mother she knew not but loved immensely
the wind blew and with it, her memory faded
she lit the second candle and from the grey wind
a colorful feast appeared
her eyes closed and she smiled
her new home had forsaken her, shunned her away
from its considered norms
her eyes opened and the grey mist reappeared
color gone
a tear began to form
she lit her final match
it came to light
and with this light, a final memory appeared
her traditional parties in Venetia
it had been a year since she left her home
and it would just be now that she returned
the light faded and with it her last breath
The Boy Who Cried Wolf-End of The World
Kate G., Isabella J., Mia B., Hope J.
once there was a group of people
now these people were very superstitious
sometimes what they said was illogical
(person 1-it’s because I’m a Sagittarius haha’)
these people lived in a very special place called Earth
the year was 1999
the crazy people were scared that their computers
would break at the turn of the millennium
so they screamed:
‘end of the world’ (person 1 screams)
the rest of the people on earth heard them
but the 2000s came and went nothing happened
now the rest of the world was judging them a bit
so the people cried once more:
(person 1-‘End of the world! December 12, 2012, Mayan Calendar
ends!’)
the world heard them
but 2013 came and nothing happened
the world agreed no to listen to these people anymore
but just as they did that
a big bad wolf named global warming came
it roared so loud the Earth’s temperature started to
rise by 2-3 degrees Celcius
the people screamed
but they were seen as crazy
and the entire Earth was eaten whole
