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LEVELS 13–28 H–M
World Folktales
Why Mosquitoes Buzz
in People’s Ears
Teacher’s Guide
Objectives
Summary
Fluency
Mosquito never stops talking and Iguana is
tired of listening to him. He puts sticks in his
ears to block out Mosquito’s chatter. But Iguana
doesn’t hear Python greet him, and a series of
misunderstandings begins. Soon the whole jungle
is in chaos. Lion calls a meeting to find out the
truth. Finally Lion learns that Mosquito started
the problem. Lion orders Mosquito never to talk
again, only to buzz until someone tells him he’s
not annoying. Mosquito vows to buzz an apology
into everyone’s ear. And that is why mosquitoes
buzz in people’s ears.
Students will:
• Build fluency through echo-reading,
choral-reading, and repeated
reading
• Read with appropriate pitch (rise
and fall of the voice)
• Read dashes
Comprehension
Students will:
• Analyze character
• Draw conclusions
• Identify cause and effect
• Make predictions
Writing
Students will:
• Write a picture essay
Characters
Levels
Genre
Mother Owl
Python
Crows
Rabbit
Mosquito
Iguana
Lion
Monkey
H/13–14
I/15–16
J/18
K/20
L/24
M/28
M/28
M/28
Students will:
• Identify and analyze features of
pourquoi tales
Vocabulary and Word Study
Students will:
• Build vocabulary: alarmed, lagoon,
startled
• Use context clues
• Identify onomatopoeia
• Use synonyms and antonyms
• Make word associations
Character Education
Students will learn about:
• Responsibility
• Citizenship
Reader’s Theater for Fluency and Comprehension
™
Day One
Build Background
• Ask students to share what they know
about pests. Ask: Who or what can be
a pest? Invite students to give examples
of pests. Discuss how certain insects
or animals can be pests. Ask students
to think about when we might say a
person is a pest. Ask students how it
would feel to be called a pest.
• Ask students what they know about
mosquitoes. Encourage them to
discuss words they would use to
describe mosquitoes and how they
feel about mosquitoes. Invite them
to predict what traits a mosquito
character might have.
• Tell students that they will be reading
a folktale from Africa that explains
why mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears.
Tell students that folktales are stories
that people have told and passed on
from generation to generation. Many
folktales have animal characters that
talk and act like humans. Discuss the
reasons people might use animals as
characters in folktales.
Learning About Genre:
Pourquoi Tales
• Explain why something in nature exists
• Set in the distant past
• Main characters may be people, animals,
plants, or forces of nature
• Told orally and passed on from one
generation to the next
• Reflect the culture of the storytellers
Introduce the Script
• Give each student a copy of the script.
Tell students that this is a type of
folktale called a pourquoi tale. Explain
that a pourquoi tale is a folktale that
explains why something in the natural
world happens. Explain that pourquoi
means why in French.
• Use the Learning About Genre
sidebar to help teach characteristics of
pourquoi tales.
• Read the title with students and ask
them to predict why mosquitoes buzz
in people’s ears. Then ask students to
read the back cover blurb and confirm
or revise their predictions
See page 8 for English-Language Learner
and Striving Reader Support.
Copyright © 2007 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of the guide may be reproduced or
transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording,
or any information retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-7185-5
2
Introduce Vocabulary
Background Information
• Introduce the glossary words. Read
the word alarmed together. Read the
context sentence aloud to students.
Ask students which word in the
sentence might help them figure out
the meaning of alarmed. (frightened)
Discuss how the context, or other
words in a sentence, might help a
reader determine the meaning of
a word. Read the definition from
the glossary together. Ask students
to suggest synonyms for the word
alarmed. Then ask them to use
alarmed in a new sentence.
• Repeat this process for lagoon and
startled. Explain that there are few
context clues for the word lagoon, so
students may need to rely more on the
glossary definition.
• Point out examples of onomatopoeia.
Explain that onomatopoeia is the use
of words that stand for sounds, for
example, “Roar!” (page 7), “HOOT!”
(page 13), and “buzz” (pages 15 and 16).
Folktales
See page 8 for English-Language Learner
and Striving Reader Support.
Model Fluent Reading
Ask students to listen and follow along
with you as you read the script aloud to
model fluency and expression.
Folktales are stories handed down orally
through many generations. Folktales were
told for entertainment and to instill cultural
beliefs, values, and practices. Certain
types of folktales, such as pourquoi tales
and myths, also tried to explain natural
phenomena.
There are many types of folktales.
Cumulative tales are simple stories with the
events following each other in a pattern, for
example, “Henny Penny.” Noodlehead stories
involve a character who continues to make
funny mistakes, for example, “Clever Elsie.”
These stories are humorous but they also
teach about human nature. Fairy tales are
types of folktales often dealing with magic
and enchantment. These stories have stock
characters portrayed as either good or evil.
Pourquoi Tales
Pourquoi (poor–KWAH) is the French word
for why. These folktales explain why natural
events happened and can be found in many
different cultures. These stories often start
in the past (“A long time ago . . . ”) and
finish when the explanation is complete
(“And that is why . . . ”). Pourquoi tales
include animals and natural forces, such
as the wind, that talk and act like humans.
Some popular pourquoi tales are “How the
Leopard Got Its Spots” and “Why a Zebra
Has Stripes.”
3
Day Two
Build Fluency: Echo-Read
• Read the script aloud, and ask
students to echo-read, or repeat, the
lines after you. Stop where necessary
to explain unfamiliar words, for
example, “nonsense” and “pest”
(page 3), and “COMMAND”
(page 7).
• Point out the stage directions in
parentheses on pages 3, 7, 8, and 13.
Explain to students that these
directions help the reader know how
to read lines with the appropriate tone
of voice. Point out the stage direction
on page 16, “(to Iguana).” Explain
to students that this direction tells
Mosquito to whom he or she should
speak the lines.
• Point out the dashes on pages 3, 5, 8,
and 14–16. Explain to students
that these dashes indicate a break
or a pause. On pages 3 and 15 the
character is pausing before adding
more information. On pages 5, 8, 14,
and 16, the character was interrupted
by another character or some action
in the story. Model for students how
to read each line with a pause or
hesitation where the dash is. Then
ask students to read the line with no
pause, and then to reread it correctly.
Ask students to describe the difference
between the two readings.
• Guide students to Lion’s lines at the
bottom of page 7. Read the lines
aloud. Ask students if this is a normal
way people talk to one another.
Explain that Lion is talking in a
formal way.
4
• Discuss why Lion might talk to the
other animals using this tone of voice.
Explain that the words and tone of
voice that a character uses can tell
about the character. Lion is the king
of the jungle, or the leader. He sounds
like a leader when he uses formal
language such as that on page 7. Point
out that the last sentence is in capital
letters. Explain that the capital letters
show that Lion is speaking loudly or in
a very commanding manner.
• Direct students to Python’s lines on
pages 3, 8, and 9. Ask students what
they can tell about Python by the type
of language he uses.
• Point out the sentence “You all have
made something out of nothing” in
Lion’s lines on page 13. Ask students
what it means to “make something out
of nothing.” Explain that Lion means
the animals got upset when nothing was
really wrong.
Build Comprehension
Ensure students understand the
ideas in the story, as well as character
development, by involving them in
discussion.
• What does Mosquito do that makes him
a pest? (analyze character)
• Why does Python fear that he is a pest?
(recall details)
• Why are the animals alarmed and
startled? (recall details)
• What causes the jungle to remain dark?
(identify cause and effect)
• How do the other animals feel about
Lion? How do you know? (make
inferences)
• Will Mosquito ever be able to speak
again? Why or why not? (make
predictions)
• What is a lesson of this story? (draw
conclusions)
• What features make this a pourquoi
tale? (analyze features of pourquoi
tales)
See page 8 for English-Language Learner
and Striving Reader Support.
Build Vocabulary
Make sure students fully understand
the glossary terms. The Vocabulary in
Action suggestions on the inside back
cover of the script provide further ideas
for building students’ understanding.
Fluency Assessment Rubric
• The Reader’s Theater Overview
contains an assessment rubric you can
use to quickly assess each student.
Use the rubric at different times
during the lesson to assess different
skills. For example, you may want
to select students to assess their
understanding of characterization
during the comprehension discussion.
Alternatively, you may wish to use
their performance to assess how
appropriately they develop their
characters.
• Discuss the assessment rubric with
students so that they know what you
expect of them.
Assign Roles
• Use the reading levels provided on the
front of this guide to help you assign
roles that support or challenge each
student appropriately.
• This script contains eight parts,
including the role of the Crows. If you
have more students than parts, you
may assign more students to read the
part of the Crows, keeping in mind
the reading level of the role. Also, one
student could be a director or a sound
effects manager.
• The student who reads the part of
Mosquito can make a buzzing sound
instead of simply reading the word
buzz on pages 15 and 16.
Character
Tips for Voice
and Expression
Mosquito
pesky, talkative
Iguana
bothered, disgusted
Python
self-centered, worried
Rabbit
scared, timid
Crows
worried, loud
Monkey
worried, apologetic
Mother Owl
unhappy, worried
Lion
loud, strong, confident,
businesslike
5
Day Three
Build Fluency Skills: Read
with Appropriate Pitch
Repeated Reading:
Rehearse the Script
• Model: Tell students they should read
their lines using a pitch that makes
sense with their lines and the mood
of the story. Explain that punctuation
marks give clues about the pitch they
should use. Point to Python’s first
set of lines on page 3 as an example.
Say: Python asks Iguana a question.
When someone asks a question the
pitch of his or her voice rises at the end.
Model reading Python’s lines with the
appropriate pitch.
• Guide: Ask students to read Python’s
second set of lines on page 3 silently.
Then, guide them to take turns reading
the lines aloud. Encourage other
students to listen for changes in pitch
where Python asks a question or makes
an exclamation.
• Apply: Point out other sections of
the script, and ask pairs of students
to take turns reading the lines with
the appropriate pitch. For example,
they may use a high, excited pitch
for Mother Owl when her baby is
knocked out of the nest. Ask the
students to evaluate whether their
partners read the lines with the
appropriate pitch.
• Discuss the expectations you have for
student behavior during the rehearsal.
Use the suggestions provided here and
in the Reader’s Theater Overview.
• Use small-group time for students to
rehearse their script. Monitor students
as they rehearse, and tell them you will
be listening to how they develop the
characters through their reading.
• Offer suggestions for expression, voice,
and characterization as you monitor
students’ work. See the chart on page 5
for tips on voice and expression. Use
specific comments, rather than general
ones, directed at the character, not the
student. For example: Rabbit, you
should sound more timid there.
• Use this time to observe particular
students and assess for behavior.
Remind students of the assessment
rubric and let them know you will
be assessing them as you monitor the
rehearsal.
Choral-Read for Fluency
6
Involve students in a choral-reading
of the script to reinforce the fluency
skill of reading with appropriate
pitch. Remind them to use dramatic
expression to bring each character’s
mood or personality to life.
See page 8 for English-Language Learner
and Striving Reader Support.
Expectations for Rehearsing
When performing, students should:
• know when it is their time to speak;
• speak in a loud, clear voice using expression
and fluency;
• enunciate for understanding;
• prompt others if necessary;
• accept both criticism and praise appropriately.
Day Four
Repeated Reading:
Rehearse the Script
• Use small-group time for student
rehearsal. Do not interrupt this second
rehearsal, but simply observe students
as they read.
• Use the assessment rubric to monitor
students’ rehearsal behaviors and
reading fluency.
Staging and Performance
Suggestions
Decide on a stage area, how students
will be positioned, and whether props
or movements will be added. See staging
tips in the Reader’s Theater Overview.
Here are some other ideas:
Day Five
Perform the Script
Invite students to present the script to
an audience. The audience might be
members of their class, students from
other classes, school staff members,
and/or parents.
Assess Students’ Fluency
• Use the assessment rubric to
complete your assessment of
students’ fluency.
• Take time to briefly conference with
each student to provide feedback on
his or her reading and behavior.
placement/movement
• All of the characters may be on the
staging area together; characters may
step forward when they read their
lines. Characters who have dialogue
with each other may step forward at
the same time. For example, Mosquito
and Iguana should step forward
together and read their lines on page 2.
• All of the characters (except Iguana)
gather around Lion when he calls them.
Music/sound effects
• The sound effects manager could bang
on a trash can when Monkey slams
into the tree.
• The sound effects manager could play
jungle sounds or soft music in the
background as the students read their
lines.
7
Support for
nglish
Build Background and Make
Connections (Day One)
• Read a storybook version of “Why
Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” to
ELLs to provide additional picture
support and background information.
• If possible, locate folktales or
pourquoi tales from the students’
native cultures. Read the tales
aloud and discuss the lesson in each
story. Point out that pourquoi tales
answer the question of how or why
something in nature came to be.
Discuss how the tales reflect the
customs and beliefs of the country the
story is from.
• Create a simple domino chain. Show
students what happens when the first
domino is knocked down and all the
others fall. Explain to students that
the events in this script are like the
dominoes: one event happens and
causes another to happen. Make a
cause-and-effect chain chart to record
the series of events.
Develop Vocabulary and
Language (Day One)
• Give each student a large sheet of
paper and ask them to fold it into
eight sections (by folding the paper
in half three times).
8
anguage
• Write the character names on index
cards, and show them one at a time
to students. Ask the students to write
each character name in one of the eight
sections on their papers. Ask students
to draw a picture of each animal above
the name of the character. Invite
students to share their illustrations.
Ask them to practice identifying the
characters with a partner.
• Write the following sentence from
page 9 on the board: “Why have you
not called the sun, Mother Owl?” Read
the sentence aloud or chorally with
students. Ask them if this sentence
could be true or normal. Ask: Do owls
really call to the sun to make it rise in the
morning? Why would someone think an
owl would make the sun rise?
• Show a picture of an owl. Discuss or
explain that owls are nocturnal animals
and are awake during the night. Owls
hoot or “call out” in the dark, so
someone might think they are calling
for the sun to come up. Discuss how
the sun actually “comes up” and
“goes down.”
• Help students understand and
appreciate the use of exaggeration.
Write the word exaggeration on the
board. Explain that exaggeration means
to take something true and change it
to be unbelievable. Say that authors
sometimes use exaggeration to add
humor to their stories.
ge
earners and Striving Readers
• Give an example of exaggeration,
such as Dasha ran as fast as a cheetah.
Explain that you mean Dasha ran really
fast, but in truth, she could not run as
fast as a cheetah.
• Read Mosquito’s line “I saw a farmer
digging yams that were as big as a
dinosaur” on page 2 with students.
Ask students if this sentence could be
true. Say: What two things is Mosquito
comparing? Could a yam really be as big
as a dinosaur?
• Write the following sentence starter
on the board: I saw a farmer digging
yams as big as ______. Guide students
to finish the sentence orally with an
exaggeration and then with a realistic
comparison.
• Encourage students to visualize when
they read exaggerations. Explain that
visualizing can help them understand
the exaggerations and their humor.
Build Comprehension
(Day Two)
Engage students in discussion about
the script, starting with simple literal
questions and progressing to more
difficult ones. As students discuss the
questions, ask them to point to places in
the script that best answer the questions.
Suggested questions:
• Who are the main characters in this story?
(recall details)
• Why does Iguana put sticks in his ears?
(recall details; make inferences)
• What happens to baby owl? (recall
details)
• What causes Lion to call a meeting?
(identify cause and effect)
• How do the animals cause problems?
(draw conclusions; recall details)
• Who is the pest in the story? Why is the
character a pest? (analyze character)
• Is Lion fair to Mosquito? Why or why
not? (make judgments)
• Do you think the story ends happily?
Why or why not? (analyze story
elements)
Read and Perform
(Days Two–Three)
• Provide extra practice reading the
script as a group before students read
their individual parts to ensure they
are familiar and comfortable with the
language and vocabulary.
• You may want to assign two students
to a role so they can read the part
together. This will help support their
reading.
• Be sure to use the reading levels
provided on the cover of this Teacher’s
Guide to help you assign the roles.
9
Literacy Extensions
Word Study
Synonyms and antonyms
• Explain to students that a synonym
is a word that means the same thing
or almost the same thing as another
word. Read Iguana’s last two sets of
lines on page 2 aloud or chorally
with students. Ask: What two words
mean the same or almost the same
thing? (nonsense, silliness) Explain
that authors often use words that
mean almost the same thing to avoid
repeating the same word in a story.
Work together with students to create
a list of other words that are synonyms
for the words nonsense and silliness.
• Explain to students that an antonym
is a word that means the opposite of
another word. Work together with
students to come up with a list of
antonyms for the words nonsense and
silliness, such as wisdom, intelligence,
and seriousness. Use the words in
new sentences.
• Point out the words “danger” (page
4) and “COMMAND” (page 7).
Ask students to work with a partner
to come up with synonyms and
antonyms for these words and to use
the words in sentences.
Word Associations
• Review the three glossary words with
students: alarmed, lagoon, and startled.
Ask students to share in their own
words what each word means.
10
• Focus students’ attention on the
words alarmed and startled by writing
the words on the board. Ask: What
are some other words that mean almost
the same thing as startled and alarmed?
(shocked, frightened, terrified, afraid,
panicked, and horrified)
• Discuss with students the differences
in meaning between startled and
alarmed. Guide students to make
associations with the words startled
and alarmed to help them see that
when a person is alarmed he or she
is more worried about danger than
when he or she is startled. Say: If
my dog ran out of my yard I might
be alarmed because I would be afraid
he might get hurt. If my dog suddenly
barked on a quiet morning, I might feel
startled because his bark surprised me.
• Ask volunteers to suggest things that
would alarm or startle them and
things that would not. Encourage
students to use the words in sentences
about experiences they had being
startled or alarmed.
• Write the word lagoon on the board.
Work together with students to write
associations that they make with the
word lagoon. Ask: Would you see a
lagoon in a desert or on an island? Ask
students to use the word lagoon in
sentences that show the associations
they make with the word.
Reader Response
Writing
Ask students to reflect on their reader’s
theater experience by writing or drawing
in their journals. Students could:
• reflect on their fluency and pitch
during their performance and how it
could be improved;
• reflect on examples of pests in the
story and in real life, illustrate their
examples, and briefly explain the
illustrations;
• make connections about other
characters that are like characters from
the story (other lions they have read
about, other characters that are selfcentered like Python);
• visualize a scene from the script that
was not illustrated and sketch it.
• Give each student a set of large index
cards. Invite the students to illustrate
each event from the story on one of their
cards. Then, ask them to write a sentence
below the illustration that summarizes
the event. Ask students to mix up their
cards and then retell the story by putting
the illustrations in order.
Read Across Texts
• Ask volunteers to retell other pourquoi
tales they have read. If students have
not read any other pourquoi tales, you
may want to find some pourquoi tales
at the library to read to students.
• Read a few of the pourquoi tales
aloud, and discuss the settings, main
characters, and problems in the tales.
Discuss what question each tale answers
and how the tale answers the question.
• Create a story elements chart for the
tales you have read, and work with
students to fill it in.
Story
Elements
Why Mosquitoes Buzz
in People’s Ears
Why the Possum’s Tail
Is Bare
setting
main characters
a jungle in West Africa, long ago
Mosquito, Lion, Iguana
land of the Cherokee, long ago
Possum, Rabbit, Cricket
problem
Mosquito started a chain of
problems that led to the sun not
rising.
“why” question
Why do mosquitoes buzz in
people’s ears?
how tale answers They are buzzing an apology and
hoping they will be told they are
question
not annoying.
Possum is too proud of his tail
and Rabbit is jealous.
Why is a possum’s tail bare?
Rabbit tricked Possum into
having Cricket cut the hair off
his tail.
11
Character Education Connection
Responsibility
• Explain to students that people
who demonstrate responsibility
think before they act. They consider
the consequences of their actions
before they do things. Explain that
this is called self-control. Explain
that responsible people always are
accountable for their choices; they don’t
blame others when things go wrong.
• Point out that on pages 7–10 Lion
showed responsibility by calling
a meeting to determine what the
problem was in the jungle. The other
animals showed actions that were not
responsible by blaming each other for
the problems in the jungle and not
thinking about the consequences of
their actions.
• Ask students to think about times
when they took responsibility for their
actions. Ask: Is it always easy to take
responsibility for your actions, or is it
easier to blame others for your problems?
Make the observation that it is not
always easy to exhibit self-control.
Citizenship
• Point out that being a good citizen
means obeying laws and rules and
cooperating with others to make the
community better. People who are
good citizens try to be good neighbors
and respect authority.
Benchmark
Education
• Discuss how Lion demonstrates
citizenship. Point out that he gets involved
when there is a problem in the jungle
community. He takes charge and reminds
the other animals that they should find out
the truth before acting. Ask: How did the
other animals demonstrate good citizenship?
Students may say the other animals showed
respect for Lion’s authority when he called
a meeting. They agreed that their actions
had not helped the community and they
apologized to each other.
Demonstrate Responsibility
• As you read other folktales and pourquoi
tales, invite students to make a list of
characters that are responsible. Ask
students to make an illustration of a time
when they have been responsible. Ask
them to write a description comparing and
contrasting their actions with the actions
of one of the characters from the folktales.
• Follow the activity with a discussion using
questions, such as:
1.Do people always take responsibility for
their actions, or does it have to be pointed
out to them sometimes?
2.Why is it irresponsible not to find out the
truth before you take action?
3.What are ways we can show that we are
responsible?
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