Kindergarden - Nursery Rhymes and Fables

Nursery Rhymes and Fables: Supplemental Guide 11A | The Hare and the Tortoise 197

 Show image 12A-7: Tortoise winning race

While the hare was napping, the tortoise kept moving—slowly but

steadily.

[Say to students, “He wasn’t fast, but he kept going, slowly and steadily.”]

After fifteen minutes, he crawled past the sleeping hare. After another

fifteen minutes, he was within a few feet of the finish line. That was

when the hare woke up from his nap. He realized what had happened

and set off running for the mountain as fast as he could. But it was

too late. The hare arrived just in time to see the tortoise crossing the

finish line before him.

So, the moral of the story is: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

[Ask students, “Were your predictions correct about who would win the race?

Why or why not?”]

Discussing the Read-Aloud 10 minutes

Comprehension Questions

If students have difficulty responding to questions, reread pertinent lines

of the fable and/or refer to the images. Encourage students to answer in

complete sentences. Model answers using complete sentences.

1. Literal What is the title of this fable?
   
   
   • The title of this fable is “The Hare and the Tortoise.”
   
   
   
   


2. Literal Who are the characters in this fable?
   
   
   • The hare and the tortoise are the characters in this fable.
   
   
   
   


3. Literal What type of event do the hare and the tortoise have?
   
   
   • The hare and the tortoise have a race.
   
   
   
   


4. Inferential Why do they have a race?
   
   
   • They have a race because the hare always boasts that he is fast and the
     tortoise said that he could beat the hare in a race.
   
   
   
   


5. Inferential Who wins the race? Why?
   
   
   • The tortoise wins the race because he steadily ran the race and did not
     take a nap.