1. ASManager2.zip Driver
2. K_FLATTR.txt File Contents

K_FLATTR.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

Name: <  >
Class: <  >
Date: <  >


Flattery


How brainy you are (and your writing partners, too)! You have successfully worked through all these files, turning skinny and overstuffed sentences into just right ones. What's more, you've learned how to interpret fables for their morals! Genius!

Do you feel flattered? Ah-Ha! The fox in this next fable is very good at flattery, and tricky too. Find out how he uses flattery.

The Fox and the Crow

One morning a crow got hold of a piece of cheese. "What luck!" she thought, while she flew up on a dead branch to enjoy it.

At that moment a fox was passing the spot, and at the sharp smell of cheese he stopped dead in his tracks, sniffing all around the tree. Then he looked up and spotted the crow with the cheese in her beak.

His mouth watered for the tidbit, but he couldn't climb up and take the cheese away because foxes don't climb trees. Besides, the crow would fly off before he got there. He decided he would have to use his wits to get the cheese for himself. In his friendliest tone, he called out, "Good morning!"

The crow knew better than to answer. If she opened her mouth, she would drop the cheese. Instead, she just sat and listened.

"My dear," the fox went on, "how lovely you are! Your eyes are so bright, and your tail is so perky. Your plumes shine like the morning sun. Tell me, beautiful creature, can you also sing? Now don't be bashful. If your voice matches the rest of your charms, I will say you are the finest bird in these woods."

Up on her branch, the crow was dizzy with joy. Nobody had ever said such wonderful things to her before. She wanted very much to prove that she could also sing, so she opened her beak and out came a loud, squawky caw.

That's all the fox was waiting for. He snapped up the cheese even before it reached the ground!

The End


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Well, the moral of this tale is pretty clear isn't it? Try writing it in more than one way. Given the starter words below, take turns in your writing group coming up with ideas. Write your ideas in the angle brackets.

Beware of <  >.

The person who <  >.

If you <  >.

Foolish flattery can <  >.


Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

====================

Now, if Aesop's careless scribe felt flattered about how long and beautifully fat his sentences were, he might respond by writing sentences like those on the screen below. For his sake, and yours, please streamline his work. Turn these overstuffed sentences into slimmer ones. Combine the ideas in any way you like, trying to use as many different ways of combining as you can. Remember, it's good to have variety in sentence length. Read the scribe's fable, then edit the copy that follows.

Scribe's Fable:

At that moment a fox was passing the spot, and at the sharp smell of cheese he stopped dead in his tracks, sniffing all around the tree. Then he looked up and spotted the crow with the cheese in her beak.

His mouth watered for the tidbit, but he couldn't climb up and take the cheese away because foxes don't climb trees. Besides, the crow would fly off before he got there. He decided he would have to use his wits to get the cheese for himself. In his friendliest tone, he called out, "Good morning!"

Copy to Edit:

At that moment a fox was passing the spot, and at the sharp smell of cheese he stopped dead in his tracks, sniffing all around the tree. Then he looked up and spotted the crow with the cheese in her beak.

His mouth watered for the tidbit, but he couldn't climb up and take the cheese away because foxes don't climb trees. Besides, the crow would fly off before he got there. He decided he would have to use his wits to get the cheese for himself. In his friendliest tone, he called out, "Good morning!"


====================

On the Other Hand

A scribe who was foolishly flattered for his beautiful skinny sentences might rewrite the fable as you see below.

Scribe's Fable:

The crow was up on her branch. She was dizzy with joy. Nobody had ever said such things to her before. These were wonderful things. She wanted very much to prove she could do something else. She wanted to show him she could sing. She opened her beak. A loud caw came out. It was squawky too.

Edit the copy and make the sentences flow.

Copy to Edit:

The crow was up on her branch. She was dizzy with joy. Nobody had ever said such things to her before. These were wonderful things. She wanted very much to prove she could do something else. She wanted to show him she could sing. She opened her beak. A loud caw came out. It was squawky too.


====================

Did you feel sorry for the crow? Or did you feel she got what she deserved? Or something-in-between?

Add to the ending of the story by reporting how you think the crow looked and acted when she lost the cheese. What did she say to herself? What did she say to the fox? Try to make your sentences sleek and svelte (look it up). Work with your writing partners.

Our Ending to "The Fox and the Crow"

<  >

The End

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Now put your edited pieces of the fable together. Scroll back to your edited versions and make a copy of each of them to place at the marker below -- in the right order, of course. Then add your ending!

<  >


If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

====================

end of activity
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