Misoso

CHALLENGING WORDS

shivered
begrudge
sprawling
starvation
obedience
overtook
prowling
leopard
outshine
aroma

SUMMARY

This is a collection of African "once upon a time" stories for fun. Sometimes the stories tell lessons.

--- Conversation Questions---

(1) / Describe the story.
(Answer) / Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) / Share the part that you liked the best.
(2) / Imagine you are the animal depicted in the story, Kindai and the Ape. How would you feel?
(Answer) / Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) / What would you have done about the baby?
(3) / Suppose you are the Leader would you help the young ape take the baby?
(Answer) / Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) / What would you do?
(4) / Relate if you could help someone get out a thorn. What would you do?
(Answer) / Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) / Have you ever had a thorn?
(5) / Define the word "thorny".
(Answer) / Part of a briar or branch that easily goes into the skin causing pain.
(Follow Up) / Replace thorn with another problem and see if the story still fits.
(6) / What happened to the ape that fell out of the tree?
(Answer) / Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) / Why was it painful?
(7) / What caused the man not to hurl the spear at the ape?
(Answer) / The ape did not try to get away.
(Follow Up) / What noise convinced the man to take out the thorn?
(8) / What did the ape do when the thorn was gone?
(Answer) / He looked at the man with thanks.
(Follow Up) / What did the man do next?
(9) / What did his wife say about saving the ape?
(Answer) / She wanted to know why he saved the ape because apes tear up their village.
(Follow Up) / Would you help some one that might hurt you?
(10) / How did the other apes feel about the man?
(Answer) / They said someone was good.
(Follow Up) / Have you ever helped someone and later they tried to hurt you?
Activities
1. / Write an ad on the billboard. Tell why you need help from the apes. Who tears up your house and garden? What do you need them to do?
2. / Write a newspaper article about the baby being taken by the ape and why the ape gave the baby back.
3. / Write a list of foods that you could find for apes so they would leave you garden alone.
4. / Write a paragraph about your favorite animal.
Introductions
1. / Bring in a map or use the map of Africa from the book. Talk about it and all the stories we know starting "once upon a time." Today we are going to read "Misoso." Let's read and see what happens.
2. / Show the student a picture of Africa and tell the student to tell you all that they know about Africa. Say now let's read about Misoso and see what they tell us.
3. / Tell the student that this book is about a ape that has a thorn in it's foot and how someone get's it out. Say now let's read the book Misoso and see what else happens.

Book Title: Misoso, "Kindai and the Ape"

Author: Verna Aardema / Illustrator: Reynold Ruffins
ISBN: 0-679-83430-3 / # of Text Pages: 90 AR: 5.0 LEX: 760
Building Oral Vocabulary
1 / starvation / 2 / begrudge / 3 / sprawling
Prediction Questions
1 / What will happen to the baby?
2 / What will happen to the ape that fell out of the tree?
3 / What will the ape do when the thorn is out?

This resource is provided by KYREADS—Barren County Board of Education, an AmeriCorps project funded in part by the Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism and Service and the Corporation for National and Community Service.