PearsonReading StreetGrade 2

Unit 2/Week 4

Title: The Bremen Town Musician

Suggested Time: 5 days (45 minutes per day)

Common Core ELA Standards: RL.2.1, RL.2.3, RL.2.5, RL.2.6, RL.2.7; W.2.1, W.2.3, W.2.8; SL.2.1, SL.2.2, SL.2.3; L.2.1, L.2.2, L.2.4

Teacher Instructions

Refer to the Introduction forfurther details.

Before Teaching

  1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and theSynopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task.

Big Ideas and Key Understandings

It is a good idea to work together to solve a problem. When people work together, they can accomplish great things.

Synopsis

This is a fairy tale written in play format. Donkey was too old to work hard. His owner wanted to get rid of him. He decided to run away to Bremen Town. He thought he would be a fine musician. Along the way Donkey meets a dog, a cat and a rooster who are also old. He invites them to join him to be musicians in Bremen Town. When they arrive in Bremen Town, they find robbers and work together to scare away the robbers. When the robbers return the animals work together to scare them away for good. They become successful musicians in Bremen Town. Reread the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary.

During Teaching

  1. Students read the entire main selection text independently.
  2. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud with students following along.(Depending on how complex the text is and the amount of support needed by students, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1 and 2.)
  3. Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discussthe questions and returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e.: whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work, etc.)

Text Dependent Questions

Text-dependent Questions / Evidence-based Answers
Look at the pictures on pages 248 and 249. What animals do you see and what are they doing? / I see a donkey, rooster, dog and cat. They are smiling, laughing or singing. *The mouse and frog next to the text on page 149 are not introduced in the fable.
Identify donkey’s problem. (Pg. 250) / He is old and could no longer work hard. His owner wants to get rid of him.
Identify donkey’s solution. (Pg. 251) / Donkey decides to run away to Bremen Town and become a musician.
Reread page 252. Identify the characters and how you know who is speaking. / I know which characters are speaking because the text is all capitals and bold prior to the speaking. The characters so far are narrator 1, narrator 2, the dog, and the donkey.
Why did the dog run away? (Pg. 252) / The dog ran away because his owner wanted to get rid of him because he could no longer hunt.
Why does donkey understand how the dog feels? Use examples from the story to show the characters’ similarities and differences. (Pgs. 250-252) / Donkey understands how dog feels because they are both old and their owners want to get rid of them. They both wanted to run away. On page 250, the narrator says “the donkey grew old. He could no longer work hard.” The owner “ was going to get rid of the donkey.” On page 251 donkey says, “I must run away.” On page 252, Dog says, “ I am old and weak. I can no longer hunt. My owner wants to get rid of me, so I got scared and so I ran away.” The donkey can no longer work hard and the dog can no longer hunt.
Reread page 253. Why does the author choose these particular songs for each animal? Identify the sounds that donkey and dog contribute to the song. / The words that each animal sings, is the natural noise that they make. This shows that even In a fable, the author must know about her subject. Donkey sings, “with a hee-haw here.” Dog sings, “with a bow-wow here.”
On page 254, the dog asks the cat, “why so glum?” Reread the words spoken by narrator 2. Find the phrase that helps you determine the meaning of the word glum. You may also use the illustration as a clue. / Narrator 2 says “the cat had the saddest face he had ever see.” In the picture I see the cat looking very sad. These words and the picture help me determine that glum means sad.
Compare and contrast cat’s reason for being glum to the donkey and dog. (Pg. 254) / Cat was glum because he is old and his teeth are not sharp and he cannot catch mice. His owner wants to get rid of him.
How is rooster similar to the other characters? (Pg. 256) / Rooster says his owner wants to get rid of him. The other animal’s owners wanted to get rid of them too. All the animals are unwanted by their owners.
What does the farmer use to replace the rooster? Find the sentences that tell how this makes rooster feel. (Pg. 256) / The rooster is replaced with an alarm clock. On page 256 the “rooster was crowing sadly.” The rooster says, “Now I’m a cock-a-doodle-don’t.” He is sad and disappointed.
How has the song changed throughout the story? Look back in the text and identify how it changes. (Pgs. 251, 253, 255) / It starts with just donkey and then each character adds a piece.
First donkey says, “Off I go” then it changes to “off we go” when he meets dog.
Identify how words in the first stanza of the song change as donkey meets each new animal. (Pgs. 251, 253, 255, 258, 259) / People will love me!
We’ll be filled with glee!
We’re a gifted three!
We’re a sight to see!
It’s the place to be!
When the four musicians reached the house in Bremen Town, what problem did they face? (Pg. 260) / The musicians were not tall enough to see inside the house.
How did the musicians solve their problem? (Pg. 260) / Dog stood and on donkey’s back, the cat stood on the dog’s back the rooster stood on the cat’s back and peeked inside.
On page 261, the author writes, “the four began singing” and “they made quite a noise.” Find the sentence that helps you figure out what “they made quite a noise” means. / “When the robbers heard the animals, they ran out of the house screaming.” This sentence and the picture of the robbers running helps me understand “they made quite a noise” means they were singing in a loud and scary way.
Using story structure helps us understand a story. What happens first, next, and last to Robber 3 after he goes inside the house? / First the cat scratches his face, next the dog bites his leg, and last the donkey kicks him.
What did the rooster say and what did the robber hear? Find the two phrases on page 264. / The rooster said, “Cock-a-doodle-do”, but the robber heard, “coming to get youuuuuuu!”
Do you think the cat, dog, donkey, and rooster are “four horrible monsters”? Cite text evidence to support your answer. / No because they all reacted to Robber #3. The cat was “surprised” h scratched the robber’s face. The dog was “startled” and bit his leg. The donkey kicked the robber because he “tripped” over him. Finally, “all the noise woke the rooster up” so he started screeching. The animals just reacted naturally.
What goals did the animals achieve? Cite evidence. (Pg. 265) / They made it to Bremen Town and they became famous musicians. “They sang every night in Bremen, where they became the famous Bremen Town Musicians!”

Vocabulary

KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING / WORDS WORTH KNOWING
General teaching suggestions are provided in the Introduction
TEACHER PROVIDES DEFINITION
not enough contextual clues provided in the text / Page 255 gifted
Page 265 famous / Page 250 mill
Page 253 glee
STUDENTS FIGURE OUT THE MEANING
sufficient context clues are provided in the text / Page 249 musicians
Page 250 owner
Page 252 pleasant
Page 260 robbers
Page 260 peeked
Page 260 starving
Page 263 feast / Page 252 tunes
Page 254 glum
Page 256 crowing
Page 263 startled
Page 264 screeching
Page 264 monsters

Culminating Task

  • The animals had to work together to achieve their goal of becoming musicians in Bremen Town. Explain the different ways the animals worked together to achieve this goal.
  • Sample Answer: The animals had to work together to see inside the house and scare the robbers away. They stood on each other’s backs to see inside and then they followed roosters plan. When the robbers returned to the house, the animals had to work together to scare them away for good. Each animal scared the robber in a different way, scratching, biting and tripping the robber. The animals became successful musicians by working together and singing as a group.

Additional Tasks

  • Write an additional scene introducing another character. The characters are a donkey, dog, cat and rooster. As they were walking along the path they met a ______. Using the formula the author used, write dialogue between the characters.
  • Consider having students complete guided research on donkeys, the life cycle of dogs, or the lives of the Brothers Grimm.
  • Possible books to read:
  • Inventor and Creators: the Brothers Grimm by Raymond H. Miller
  • The Brothers Grimm: two Lives, One Legacy by Donald Hettinga

Note to Teacher

  • This text is a fairy tale and a play. Discuss these two genres and the elements of each.