The story of “Foolish Franz” is based on a tale called “Clever Hans” by the Brothers Grimm. The play has just two characters, Franz and his mother, and therefore lends itself to a paired or choral reading. This free lesson includes instructions for both paired reading and choral reading activities, as well as questions and writing activities based on the Common Core State Standards for ELA. The play also includes an optional activity, which is to compare the story of “Foolish Franz” with Aesop’s fable “The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey.” This can be a discussion and/or a writing assignment.
This reading activity is similar to the lessons in our Simple Solutions reading series. This series aligns with Common Core State Standards for Reading Literature, Reading Informational Text, Writing, and English Language.
- As recommended by the CCSS, the student book contains a 50/50 ratio of literary and informational text.
- All items are coded to show alignment with the Common Core State Standards. This includes lessons, quizzes, and the Pre/Post-Test, as well as Writing Tasks. The Student Edition contains 108 lessons and 18 quizzes.
- Common Core aligned Writing Tasks provide practice with evidence-based writing.
- Complete lesson plans and student handouts are included in the Teacher’s Edition.Writing Tasks include pre-writing activities and address argument/opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative writing.