Aesop's Fables

This scheme of work for KS3 students involves storytelling and character work suitable for all stages of KS3. Many of the activities within the scheme can be extended in a number of ways to push older students and encourage them into devising their own work based thematically on the stories. It begins to explore techniques such as ensemble work and choral voice, working on and off the text and giving students the opportunity to explore their own ideas. Lots of the work can lend itself to a variety of the fables, so the scheme could be used for a number of lessons or a whole term.

Aesop was believed to have lived from around 620 to 560BC, but his life has always been a mystery and there has been some debate as to whether he really even existed. It is reported that he was a slave who gained his freedom because of his literacy and storytelling abilities; he evaded punishment many times during his life by using fables to highlight the irony of the situation he was caught in. His death is as mysterious as his life and it is said that after stealing a golden cup he was thrown from a cliff. Aesop is credited with writing more than 600 stories.

Number of lessons: 5