Word count:
1,680

Text Summary
In this uproarious send-up of traditional fairy tales, all the water in the world originates in an enormous bowl on the moon. But the silly, indecisive woman on the moon refuses to tip the bowl over, and everyone is very worried because wash day is coming. So Pat, the brave woodchopper, goes to the moon to find out the problem. He discovers that the woman on the moon is not a woman at all, and that people's presumptions are not always accurate.

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Understand how the story uses and varies from traditional folktale elements.
• Evaluate stereotypes.
• Recognize similes.
• Recognize and use conjunctions. 

Vocabulary
balderdash, diagram, gleaming, humble, jostled, minding, perched, rickety, simpleton, skimpy, timely 

Materials

• Book - The Moon Bowl (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or chart paper
• Worksheets 1 and 2

Before Reading 

Build Background

• Introduce students to the concept of folktale elements. Explain that sometimes, when stories become predictable, authors like to write new versions that have the same elements, but those elements are the opposite of what we expect, are wildly exaggerated, or are light and silly.
• Ask students about the things they usually expect to find in fairy tales. Who are the characters in fairy tales? What do they act like? What usually happens in fairy tales? How do fairy tales begin and end? Who usually wins the conflict in a fairy tale? Are most fairy tales predictable or unpredictable? 

Preview the Book

• Give students their copies of the book and have them look at the cover and read the title. Talk about the cover illustration. Ask them what they think might happen in the book.
• Turn to the copyright page and have students read the blurb at the top of the page. Give them a sense of the age of this story and tell them that it is part of a larger book. If they like this story, they may be able to go to the library and find more by the same author.
• Turn to the table of contents. Have students read the chapter heads. Ask them what the chapter heads tell them about the story. Why would there be a chapter head called "The Hero's Unbelievably Clever Solution"? Encourage students to see how these titles point out the predictable parts of fairy tales and make fun of them. 

Word Attack Strategies
Remind students to use any or all of the following strategies if they encounter difficult words:

• Reread the sentence, paragraph, or page.
• Look for known prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
• Use context clues to help understand meaning.
• Keep reading and think about what might make sense. 

During Reading

Set the Purpose
Ask students to read the book in order to identify how the story plays on traditional fairy tale elements. Hand out worksheet 1. Tell students that they should look for the traditional elements of fairy tales as listed on the worksheet. After reading, they will fill out the worksheet and think about how this story conforms to and differs from those elements. 

Student Reading
Have students read silently, each at his or her own pace. You may encourage students to stop after each chapter and check with the worksheet to note if there have been any of the traditional fairy tale elements in the story. If you notice a student having difficulty, model a word attack strategy to assist in his or her decoding.

After Reading 

Comprehension
Understand how the Story Uses and Varies from Traditional Fairy Tales
Model
Explain each of the features of a fairy tale using a common example such as Sleeping Beauty. Make a model of the worksheet on the board or chart paper and fill out the elements from your example.

• The hero is usually the main character. But in many fairy tales, especially those with female main characters, the hero who actually completes the task is another person, usually male. In the case of Sleeping Beauty, the main character is the Princess Aurora. The person who performs the task and solves the problem is the prince. In tales such as Jack in the Beanstalk, the male hero is both the main character and the problem solver.
• The love story usually involves royalty, and sometimes involves a mismatch between a poor peasant and a prince or princess. It also usually, as in Sleeping Beauty, involves love at first sight. In this case, one of the pair isn't even awake before the love has been declared.
• The villain is an almost universal element. In this case, it is the bad fairy Melificent.
• The task is usually to save the princess from the villain or to defeat the villain in some way.
• The solution is usually an act of strength and bravery by the hero, and often involves the use of a magical element or help from a magical character.
• The prize is the happiness or good thing to be gained at the end. Sometimes, it is treasure. Very often, it is marriage to a beautiful princess.

Guided Practice
Guide students to figure out how the elements are portrayed in the story of The Moon Bowl. Then, help students compare and contrast the elements of The Moon Bowl with the elements from the example story. What do students think The Moon Bowl might be making fun of about traditional fairy tales? For instance, you may ask students if the hero really solved the problem with his own cleverness. How was the villain an evil person? Or was he?

Independent Practice
Allow students to complete the worksheet. If they have difficulty, you may wish to draw the group together and discuss how the story might make fun of fairy tales. 

Evaluate Stereotypes
Introduce students to the idea of stereotypes, or simplified ideas we have about other groups of people. Explain that stereotypes try to make many different people look the same. They also are often uncomplimentary and inaccurate.

• Ask students what the women in fairy tales are normally like. Ask them what the men are normally like. Are fairy tales realistic portraits of men and women, boys and girls?
• Ask students what the people in the kingdom say about the woman on the moon. Why do they think that about women? Is it right to think that way about a large group of people?
• Who is actually on the moon? What does this prove about stereotypes and preconceived notions?

Building Skills

Conjunctions
Model

• Write the sentence, Tom was quite sure his bones would crumble and join the cloud of dust that swirled around them. Circle the word and, and explain that certain words, called conjunctions, link two parts of the sentence. In this case, the word links the two parts of the predicate. It tells the two things that Tom thought the old man's bones would do.
• Have students find the sentence He carried a long glass stick, and he was using the stick to draw in the dust. Have a student identify the conjunction. Have students tell you what two things the conjunction connects.
• Have students locate the sentence beginning Of course, this is a fairy tale…. Point out that other words, such as so, because, but, or, and therefore also connect parts of sentences.

Independent Practice
Hand out worksheet 2 and have students combine the two short sentences into one sentence using one of the conjunctions listed. They may use the conjunctions as many times as they wish, but they should keep the meaning of the sentence in mind before picking one. You may wish to model an example or two to ensure that students understand. 

Similes

• Have students read the first paragraph on page 7. Have them tell you how the princess sees Tom.
• Explain that a simile is a comparison between two things using like or as. The princess compares Tom's swinging axe to the wind.
• Brainstorm a list of objects that students can describe using oral similes. Tell students that similes can be creative, simple, or funny. 

Fluency

• Allow students to reread the book independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading from the book.
• Students can take the book home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. 

Expand the Reading

Group Writing
Have students write a story that makes fun of a common type of story or genre. First, brainstorm types of stories that students are familiar with, such as folktales, mysteries, and fantasies. Help students identify the major events and characters of their chosen genre. Ask them how they would like to make fun of those elements, either by wildly exaggerating them, writing the opposite of expectations, or making them completely silly. 

Drama

• Present a reader's theater version of the book. Assign roles including one or two narrators, Tom, the princess, the king, the old man, and the townspeople. Large roles may be divided between students, and students can take on more than one small role.
• Talk about how students can play their characters in order to preserve the tone of the story. Encourage them to overact and have fun in the spirit of parody.
• Allow students time to practice, and then present the play.

Assessment 

• Monitor student discussion during the Comprehension section. Can they identify the elements of a fairy tale? Can they compare and contrast the traditional elements with the elements in The Moon Bowl? Do they understand how and why the author is making fun of fairy tales?
• Review worksheet 2 to assess how well students can use conjunctions.
• Enjoy students' reader's theater production.