Aesop's Fables Hotlist

Aesop's Fables Hotlist Aesop was a real person, but not much is known about his life. It is thought that he was born some time between 620 BC and 500 BC in Sardis, the capital of Lydia; in Samos, a Greek island; or in Thrace. He was probably born a slave and was owned by two different masters. His second master gave him his liberty as a reward for his learning and wit. He travelled extensively and spent time with great thinkers and rulers. It is thought that he was eventually employed by the ruler of Sardis as a statesman and diplomat. On one of his missions as ambassador, he was sent to Delphi to distribute some gold. He did not do that to the liking of the citizens of Delphi, and they put him to death.

Many of his fables were recorded during his lifetime, and others were later written down and preserved by various other fable writers.

Sample these internet sites to learn more about The Tortoise and the Hare, The Fox and the Grapes, The Lion and the Mouse, and others.

The Internet Classics - Aesop's Fables
http://classics.mit.edu/Aesop/fab.html

You'll find full text of all of the dozens of Aesop's fables. A fable is brief allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing human beings. The characters of a fable are usually animals who talk and act like people while retaining their animal traits. Have students read several of Aesop's tales to get a feel for the characters in fables and especially for the morals in the fables. Then have them read Jon Scieszka's (he's the Stinky Cheeseman author) Squids Will Be Squids which is his collection of very funny fables. Have students write and illustrate their own modern-day fables.

Aesop's Fables Online Collection
http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/

You can read all of Aesop's fables here. Many of the fables are very short, and you can even choose to have the fables read aloud if you have RealAudio available on your computer. This might be helpful for ESL students. Students could select one of the fables, divide it up into text boxes in Hyperstudio, illustrate each card, and even record themselves reading the fable in Hyperstudio.

Aesop's Fables
http://www.umass.edu/aesop/

You'll find traditional and modern versions of Aesop's Fables that were illustrated and retold by art students at the University of Massachusetts.

Aesop's ABC
http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/index.html

Retold fables for every letter of the alphabet. Repeat this exercise with your own students. Have them select a letter of the alphabet, write a modern-day fable, and illustrate it. Bind them together in a book. Have your school library teacher catalog your book and make it available for check-out to all students. Or have your students write and illustrate their fables using KidPix or Hyperstudio.

Aesop's Fables
http://www.literature.org/authors/aesop/fables/

Information about the life of Aesop and full text of many of the fables.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us