140 Fables and Stories: Supplemental Guide 8A | The Crowded, Noisy House
Discussing the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
Comprehension Questions
If students have difficulty responding to questions, reread pertinent
lines of the story and/or refer to the images. Ask students to answer
in complete sentences by having them restate the question in their
responses. Model answers using complete sentences as necessary.
- Literal What is the title of this folktale?
- The title of this folktale is “The Crowded, Noisy House” or “It Could
Always Be Worse.”
- The title of this folktale is “The Crowded, Noisy House” or “It Could
- Literal What problem does the Jewish man have at the beginning of
the story?- The problem is that the children cry and fight, the wife screams a lot, and
the mother-in-law kvetches about everything.
- The problem is that the children cry and fight, the wife screams a lot, and
- Literal Who does the Jewish man go to for advice?
- The Jewish man goes to the rabbi for advice.
- Literal What advice does the rabbi give the man?
- The rabbi tells the man to bring animals to live with them in the house.
- Inferential Does bringing animals to live with the family solve the
Jewish man’s problem?
[Have students point to this scene on Response Card 8.]- No, bringing animals to live with the family does not solve the problem.
Why not? - The animals made the house even more crowded and noisy.
- No, bringing animals to live with the family does not solve the problem.
- Evaluative Personification is when animals act like people. Is there
personification in this story?- No, there is no personification in this story.
How do you know? - The animals act like animals: the goat butts her head against things; the
cow eats clothing; and the goose honks and poops on the floor. None of
the animals talk or act like people in this story.
- No, there is no personification in this story.
- Literal Near the end of the story, what advice does the rabbi give the
Jewish man?- The rabbi tells the man to take the animals out of the house.