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Tales from Niger... the two clever ones - the two thieves

Goals :

Understanding of a short, very characteristic text: the tale

Structure of the tales (The two evil ones - The two thieves)

hero concept

The two smart ones

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_        Conte du Niger

A man, who was said to be very clever, took a basket and filled it with old papers.

Then he put a bar of salt on top.

He arranged his goods so well that the basket gave the impression of being filled with salt.

Another man, no less clever, had the same idea.

But instead of salt, he put colored fabrics.

Her basket thus gave the illusion of being full of fabrics.

The two men, who had left their respective villages to try to sell their wares, met one day on a road.

They greeted each other and stopped to chat for a moment.

When he saw the fabrics sticking out of the second merchant's basket, the first said to him:

- In my village, women go out without loincloths because they can no longer find fabrics to buy.

This made the second merchant laugh out loud, who thought he had found the opportunity to make a deal.

- It's salt that we lack in my village, he replied. So we eat very bland food.

The first merchant burst out laughing in turn. He too thought he could get a good deal.

Then the two men proposed to exchange their goods.

Each of them accepted with all the more eagerness.

the two merchants quickly separated and returned to their respective villages.

As soon as they got home, they checked what was in their baskets.

And each of them exclaimed:

- I got tricked!

Masterful reading without the title
  • Give a title and say why

  • What do you think of the two merchants?those are thieves, ......deceivers (coming to the title)

  • What is a malignant?a cunning, mischievous person who does little mischief, teasing

Oral comprehension questions

Suggest to childrenlisten a second timethe tale because then they will ask the mistress toexplain the words they did not understand.

 

Text explanation(if not requested by students)

  • Tale of Niger: river and country of Africa - verification on the planisphere or globe - hot country / loincloths / salt

  • give the impression (already gives the idea of deceit, trickery, liar)

  • very clever / no less clever

  • give the illusion (already gives the idea of deception, trickery, liar)

Who is the hero of the story? the two smart ones

At the beginning we talk about1st hero, how is he?very clever

Then we talk aboutsecond, how is he?no less clever

They are the same, no difference

Why smart?They thought, imagined, made a plan

Visualization on a poster 

1st hero

salt

paper

2e hero

Crooks, cheaters, dishonest

Come from two villages in du Niger (where they made their plan) and meet

paper

fabric

Second session:

 

Purpose :

The structure of the tale: "the two evil ones"

Procedure:

  • proofreading of the text

  • what kind of text is it? a tale

  • How do we see it? (apart from the title of the book)

         

This is not a classic tale with "once upon a time..."​

Yet it has a structure anyway

-----> present the support taking up the structure of the tale

Work in groups of 4 for CP/CE1 or Supervised workshop in Grande Section

To research :

  • initial state

  • goal pursued

  • attempt at resolution

  • final state

Synthesis in large group,

complete the collective support = written record for the knowledge binder

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ "Structure of the tale: the two evil ones"

Extension: imagining the rest of the story

Reminder of the end... "I got tricked!"

have a child repeat the instructions and the end of the story

We know how to talk about the tale "The two evil ones"

The two thieves

                                       Tale from Niger

Two thieves lived in the same village located by the river. They had been a team for a long time, but they had no trust in each other.

One day, in the late afternoon, one of the thieves saw a caravan approaching the village. He called his comrade and said to him:

- Merchants are coming. Let's find a way to steal something from them.

The merchants came from afar and they were tired. So they stopped in the village. They hobbled their camels and, after a frugal dinner, went to bed.

When the merchants were asleep, the two thieves silently approached the camels and knocked out the guardian. They untied two animals and led them to a dry well outside the village. And they untied the bales of goods they were carrying. Then they whipped the flanks of the camels which fled and went to get lost in the bush. The two thieves then threw the bales of goods they had stolen into the bottom of the well. And they returned to the village where they made no noise to avoid being spotted.

Several weeks passed during which they refrained from returning to the dry well. 

When the inhabitants of the village stopped talking about the theft, which had caused a great stir, the two thieves thought that they could consider reselling the goods.

One morning, they went to the dry well before daybreak. 

As soon as the first rays of the sun lit the horizon, one of the thieves said to his comrade:

- Descend into the well with the help of this rope, the end of which I will hold. As soon as you have reached the bottom, you will successively hang the  bales of goods on the rope so that I can hoist them up.

"Very well," replied the other.

The thief from above brought up the first ball. Then the second and the third. When it was time to hook the 4th ball, the thief from below, who was careful, hid in this last ball.

- You're going to have to shoot very hard, he shouted to his comrade, because this bullet is the heaviest of the four.

As soon as the last ball was up, the thief upstairs decided to keep all the goods for himself. He seized a large stone which he threw into the well in order to kill his comrade. It was then that the thief from below emerged from the ball in which he was hidden.

- Traitor! he yelled, you wanted to kill me to keep everything.

- No, said the other.

- You lie ! cried the thief from below, suddenly brandishing a dagger.

- Spare me, begged the thief from above, in exchange, I will leave you all the goods.

The thief downstairs refused. The two men exchanged blows, rolled in the dust, slowly approached the gaping hole of the well.

They ended up falling into the well where they both died.

  • What is the title ?the two thieves

  • Who are we talking about in this text?of 2 thieves and Merchants

  • Doesn't this story remind you of another story? (where there was an exchange of goods)the two smart ones

 

These two stories are taken from a book: Les contes du Niger​

  • What is Niger? a river but also a country

  • A country from which continent?a country in Africa

  • Give details confirming this:the camels, the caravan

Session 1
Masterful reading (until...went to bed)

Goals :

Global understanding

Identify the hero

Oral comprehension questions

Suggest to childrenlisten a second timethe tale because then they will ask the mistress toexplain the words they did not understand.

 

Text explanation(if not requested by students)

  • team up

  • no trust at all

  • a caravan

  • step

  • hobble camels

  • a frugal dinner

Back to our characters  the two thieves, the merchants

What are the heroes? The thieves ? The merchands ?The thieves

 

Which characters will act?The thieves

the title says it: they want to fly

 and they are looking for a plan (in the text it says: "Let's try tofind a way...")

Session 2
Proofreading (until...went to bed)

Goals :

Analysis of the character of the heroes, their relationships (accomplices)

Initial state

Initial state: (where, when and who?)

During the last session we saw who were the heroes (the two thieves).

Today we are going to look for the initial state (in what situation are the heroes at the beginning of the story)

and start filling our poster.

Work in groups of 4 for CP/CE1 or Supervised workshop in Grande Section

To research :

  • the place: where does the story take place? in a village in Niger, near the river

  • the time: when is the story? indeterminate - we don't know

  • the characters: (reminder of the previous session)

Synthesis in large group,

complete the collective support = written record for the knowledge binder

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ "Structure of the tale: the two thieves"

Analysis of heroes (character, relationships)

Back to our text and our two thieves.What do we know of them?

Write down the elements selected then reread step by step et record the information you learn about them

  • they are from the same village

  • they teamed up

  • they are comrades

Are they really comrades?

What contradicts the word "comrade"?They didn't trust each other

What are real comrades? friends, people you can count on

If they're not friends but work together, what could they be called?accomplices

they are together to do evil, a bad move

What information is decisive for the rest of the story? no trust in each other

How do you know they are thieves?

when the merchants arrive, they will try to find a way to steal something from the merchants.

They come up with a plan.

 

Goals :

Analysis of other characters

comparison with the tale: the two evil ones

Session 3

Oral language: first attempts at restitution 

then proofreading

  • What do we know about merchants?

l​es other characters, the merchants are less important.

What do we learn about them?they came from afar

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_         _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_   they are tired (go to a deep sleep)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_         _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_   they ride camels

"hinder": hindrance, wooden bar to prevent the camels from leaving.

  • Comparison of the two tales(take back ​the poster "the two clever ones")

point out the differences, the similarities​

The two smart ones
The two thieves
  • They do not know each other............................................. .....

  • They don't live in the same village.

  • They are both smart............................................

  • .................................................. ........................................

the other characters...there are not any................................

BUT  ...........steal, deceive........................................

for this they each develop a plan (the same one by the way)

  • .......They know each other.................................................. ..

  • .......They live in the same village...................................

  • .......They are both thieves..................................

  • .................................................. ...........................................

....There are other characters: the merchants.....................

BUT  ......................................... ...............................................

for that ................................................ .................................

village
village
village
caravan
well
Session 4

Goals :

Notion of trigger

Reading - Reminder of the previous session

  • Aim pursued:steal the goods

  • Attempt to resolve:they come up with a plan together

What will make the heroes act?(trigger)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_         _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_     _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           trigger = cause

   ===>an approaching caravan

Reading the rest of the text      (until ... avoid being spotted)

Vocabulary :

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_  a dry wellThe ballsthe flanksthe Bushsteal, be spotted

  • What happens first?This is the vol

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_         _cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_     Give a title:theft of goods

 

  • When do thieves steal?the night

 

  • Comment s'y prennent-ils ?       _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_     Link in order the drawings corresponding to the actions below

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_(action plan)

                                               

  • Why did they use the well?to hide stolen goods

  • I do not understand that one throws in a well:the well is dried up, dry

Oral summary of this part of the text (attempts of restitution)

whipping
throw the balls
knock out
return to the village
detach
unload
Séance 5          _cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_            Reading the last part of the text

Goals :

Complexity of history

Vocabulary :

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ abstain, make a big noise, singer, brandish, gaping hole

  • Why had the flight made a "big noise"?

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_        ils risquent de se faire repérer, it's in a village, the news spread quickly

Complexity of the story

It is necessary to bring up the bales of goods from the well. What is their plan?

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_      un thief at the bottom to hook the balls

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_       a thief to pull the ball up

What have they said of the two thieves?no trust at all

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_    so the thief downstairs is hiding in the 4th ball

When all the balls are up what happens?

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_     the thief from above wants to keep everything for himself for that he must kill the thief from below

      ====>    Rebound 

Why is it failing? distrust of the thief from below

What is the attitude of the thief below now?he wants revenge, does not forgive

              They are as cruel as each other

What is their punishment?they both die

(it's a bit of a moral)

merchandise
well

We know how to talk about the tale "The two thieves"

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