Tales from Beneath the Baobab
Lesson 1: Speaking and Listening
LESSON OBJECTIVE: To tell and re-tell a story in an interesting way.
RESOURCES: Text: The Hyena and the Monkeys, Introducing Fables, a stick. (N.B Weather permitting, part of this lesson can take place under a nearby tree)
Curriculum
Objectives
Speaking and
listening:
To identify the
gist of a story
and evaluate
what they hear
Activity


To read stories
aloud
To gain and
maintain the
interest and
response of
different
audiences

In the classroom
Explain that children are going to entertain the rest of the class by telling a story
from Burkina Faso in Africa.
Work through the IWB presentation Introducing Fables, exploring
o What is your favourite place to listen to a story?
o Why do we tell stories?
o What makes some stories more interesting to listen to than others?
o What is a fable? / What makes it different from other stories?
o What kind of animals do you think would appear in a fable from the
Sahel? Correct any misconceptions about the animals found there.
Under a tree in the school grounds (In a circle)
Explain that The Hyena and the Monkey has been told orally for many
generations. Children close their eyes while you read the story, demonstrating
variations in tone, pauses for dramatic effect and different voices for different
characters.
How did I use my voice to make the story interesting?

Repeat the story reading, with actions. This time children listen for words
which make the story interesting e.g enchanting, deadly. Did you also notice
how I used my body to make the story interesting?

Develop a short success criteria for oral story telling.

Conduct a class re-telling of the story from memory, beginning “The hyena was
very hungry...” and pass around a story stick for children to continue the story.
(volunteer takes the stick when they can remember what comes next)
Encourage children to use interesting words.
Independent Work
Plenary
Project development
In pairs, children use the
class success criteria to
produce and perform an
oral re-telling of the story
The Hyena and The
Monkeys.
Children
perform their
re-telling for the
class.
A class re-telling of this
story could form part
of an assembly on
storytelling in Burkina
Faso.
Example Success Criteria:
o Change the volume of
your voice
o Change the speed of
your voice
o Use different voices for
characters
o Choose interesting
words
o Use clear actions
The other
children
evaluate their
performances
according to the
success criteria.
Children vote
for their
favourite retelling.
Science
Before this lesson,
children could research
the animals which live
in the Sahel. e.g
What is their position
in the food chain?
What is their habitat
like? How is it being
threatened? How does
TREE AID help?
How they have
adapted to their
environment?
Geography/ ICT:
Using ICT research,
Children could produce
a fact file about
Burkina Faso
Unit Overview (Curriculum links/ Objectives)