Folk Tale CyberDictionary Project

We read this traditional folk tale and acted it out with much enthusiasm a few times.  The best part is when the mouse pulls with everyone and the turnip finally is free.  We looked at some real turnips too.  They were small, purple, and white. 

Then we began to create our CyberDictionary.  We made a list of words from the story - one for each letter of the alphabet.  Here's our first list.  You can see the final list at the bottom of this page.

Next we retold the story, trying to use the words on our list.  We made lots of changes.  Everyone helped retell the story.  Mrs. M. wrote it down and made a page for each alphabet letter.  Then we illustrated all the pages. 

   Here are some of our pictures:

   

You can see all 26 illustrations and our story retelling on the project webpage
The Turnip

Take a look at all the other stories different classes have used since 1999.
Fairy Tale and Folk Tale CyberDictionary

Our CyberDictionary for the Turnip

We used the story to make a Readers Theater script.

Reader 1:
This folk tale is about cooperation.
An old man planted a turnip seed.

Reader 2:
The turnip grew big and sweet.
It grew very big! The turnip was enormous!

Reader 3:
The old man thought he just had to pull on the leaves to get it out. He tried to pick his turnip but it didn't come up.

Reader 4:
He quickly called his wife.
The old woman was in the living room with her cat, dog, and bird.

Reader 5:
The old man pulled the turnip leaves and the old woman pulled him. But they couldn't pull it up.

Reader 6:
The old woman called her granddaughter.
The granddaughter was reading in a tree.

Reader 7:
The old man, the old woman, and the granddaughter tried but could not pull the turnip up.

Reader 8:
The granddaughter called the black dog.
The dog was on the couch.

Reader 9:
The old man, his wife, granddaughter, and the dog could not pull the turnip out.

Reader 10:
The dog called the cat in the flower garden.
Everyone pulled and the cat held on to the dog's tail. The turnip did not move.

Reader 11:
The cat called the mouse.
The mouse was in his mouse hole.
It had a little doorway.

Reader 12: They all worked together and the turnip popped out -ZABOOM!
They all fell splat!

Reader 13:
They were so eXcited! Then they went to the kitchen with the turnip and ate it up.

Reader 14:
We think you will like this story too.
Another book like this is The Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman.

Readers Theater Resources

Now we are reading another story, the Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman.  It is almost like The Turnip.  This one also is fun to act out.  It's a Halloween story too.  We will compare the two stories to find how they are the same and different.

This project is in alignment with the following standards:

New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards

Language and Literacy
3.2 listen actively in a variety of situations to information from a variety of sources.
3.3 write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.
3.4 read various materials and texts with comprehension and critical analysis.
3.5 view, understand, and use nontextual visual information.

National Educational Technology Standards for Students. (NETS)

Use technology communications tools:
Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, interact with peers, experts, and other audiences