Add a Little Dramatic Play to Learning

Play Script Fables

These well-known Aesop Fables, based on the Tapsy Tales Fables in French, are written using simple English in the present tense so that they can be used by all levels of students.

ESL Lesson Plans?
Teachers find that listening to, reading and performing these short fables are effective activities for teaching vocabulary. Each play script also has an audio file so that students can hear the story as they read along - a great way for students to practise independently before presenting the play themselves!

Download
PDF Files

Series A
Versions
ESL

WANDA'S

The Ant and the Grasshopper

The Crow and
the Pitcher

The Fox and
the Crow

The Fox and
the Grapes

The Hare and
the Tortoise

Series B
Versions
ESL

WANDA'S

The Farmer
and the Stork

The Ant and
the Dove

The Frogs Who
Want a King

The Milkmaid
and the Pail

The Oak and
the Reeds

Series C
Versions
ESL

WANDA'S

The Lark and Her Young Ones

The Frog and
the Ox

The Bundle of
Sticks

The North Wind
and the Sun

The Bat, the Birds and the Beasts

Easy French
Fables

Wanda's Versions
Wanda

Wanda loves words! Sometimes she goes a bit overboard but she has a great time doing it. Her play scripts add an element of linguistic play to the play. The traditionally simple style of the fable is maintained, but since she loves words, Wanda expresses herself in longer sentences with more descriptive vocabulary. These free play scripts were written to encourage playful learning.

Students will enjoy dressing up and playing the roles themselves or staying behind the scenes to present the fables with puppets.

The links in the table below open the html views of the fables.
Each page shows both the ESL and Wanda's version of the play script.

Series A	Series B	Series C
THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER	THE OAK AND THE REEDS	THE LARK AND HER YOUNG ONES
THE CROW AND THE PITCHER	THE FARMER AND THE STORK	THE FROG AND THE OX
THE FOX AND THE CROW	THE ANT AND THE DOVE	THE BUNDLE OF STICKS
THE FOX AND THE GRAPES	THE FROGS WHO WANT A KING	THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE	THE MILKMAID AND HER PAIL	THE BAT, THE BIRDS AND THE BEASTS

A Few Ideas for Learning Through Play ..........

The scripts can also be used as materials for:

vocabulary extension
studying common expressions / figures of speech
.......... similies, metaphors
devices - alliteration, personification, humour, exaggeration
discussions/debates over the morals
examples for student writing
(give students one of the simple ESL versions of a fable to compare to Wanda's version; then challenge students rewrite one of the other fables)
integrate the fables into your music program by having students compose their own music for the chants, create theme melodies for each character (study Peter and the Wolf) or use orff instruments to create background music and sound effects for the play
integrate the stories into a science study of insects etc. - how has Aesop drawn upon the true characteristics of the natural world for his stories ..

More Play Scripts.... Yi, the Archer .......The Monkey Tales.