The Grasshopper and the Ant

Picture interaction: 

• What do you see in the picture? 
• What are the ants carrying? 
• Where are the ants carrying all the food? 
• When we get food, do we eat it or store it? 
• Why are the ants storing the food? 
• Why do you think the ants are working so hard? 

Relevant responses are to be written on the blackboard as subtext. 

Subtext 

• The ants are carrying food. 
• Ants work hard. 
• Ants store food. 

Picture interaction: 

• Who are there in this picture? 
• What is the grasshopper doing? 
• Is the grasshopper working like the ants? 
• Why is the grasshopper not working? 

Subtext 

• The grasshopper and the ant 
• Grasshopper is singing/ playing music 
• Grasshopper is not working. 

Narration: 

Would you like to listen to a story about the ant and the grasshopper? 

Once there lived a grasshopper. He liked to sing and play his violin all the time. He was very lazy. He did no work. His house was near the ant hill. The ants were his neighbours. 

Every day he saw the ants carry food to their ant hill. They were always working. They worked very hard and never took any rest. The grasshopper wondered why the ants were always working and never took rest. 

“Why do you never play? Why don’t you just enjoy the sunshine?” asked the grasshopper. 

“We have to work hard to store food” said the ants. 

The grasshopper still did not understand. He asked “But why are you storing all this food? There is so much food around you. Why can’t you just eat when you are hungry?” 

The ants replied “There is so much food now but when winter comes there will not be any food. It will be very cold in winter. We cannot go out. We should store food when we can or we will not have any food in winter. We will starve in the winter.” 

The grasshopper laughed on hearing this, “Hahaha, you ants don’t know how to enjoy life. You are always working. Look at me. I am having so much fun. You worry too much about tomorrow.” 

“You should also store food for the winter. Or else you will not have anything to eat. You will starve.” Said the ants. 

But the grasshopper did not listen. He started singing “Fi de di, de dah doo, dah de da do.” 

The ants knew that the grasshopper was lazy. He won’t listen. The ants also knew that the grasshopper is going to suffer in the winter. The ants continued to work hard and stored all the food they could. 

Interaction: 

• What was the grasshopper doing? 

                The grasshopper was singing. 

• What were the ants doing? 

                The ants were storing food. 

• Why are they storing food? 

               They are storing food for the winter. 

• Does the grasshopper also store food? 

               The grasshopper does not want to work. He is lazy. 

Write the subtext (in bold) on the blackboard. 

What do you think will happen next? 

Let few students to respond before continuing the narration. 

Narration: 

The winter came. It was very cold. There was strong cold wind. Something light and soft and white fell from the sky in the cold.  

“What is it?” wondered the grasshopper.  

It was snow. The winter was so cold. It started turning the water into ice and there was snow falling. 

The grass and the leaves on the tree had all fallen off because of the cold. There was no food left and the grasshopper had nothing to eat. The grasshopper searched here and there to find something to eat. But there was nothing. 

“There is no food to eat. There is no grass, no flowers or leaves. I can’t even see any fly or worm outside. What will I do?” wondered the grasshopper. 

 He was feeling very cold and did not know what to do. The grasshopper was tired and hungry and cold. He had nowhere to go. Then he remembered his neighbours the ants. 

“The ants had stored food all summer. Maybe they will help me. They will give me some food to eat.” thought the grasshopper and went to the anthill. He knocked the door and waited for someone to come out. 

Interaction: 

• What happened when winter came? 

              The winter was very cold and there was no food. 

• Did the grasshopper find anything to eat in the winter? 

             The grasshopper had no food. 

• What did the grasshopper do? 

            The grasshopper went to the ants for help. 

Call the students forward in pairs and make them read the subtext from the blackboard. 

Interaction: 

• What do you think will happen next? 
• Do you think the ants will let the grasshopper in? 

Let a few students predict or give their versions of the story. 

Continuing Narration: 

Depending on the class’ strength let the students read the last two paragraph from the textbook or you can read out the last part from the textbook. (The grasshopper remembered – left as hungry as before.) 

Interaction: 

• Are you happy with the ending? 
• What would you have done if you were the ants? 
• Would you have let the grasshopper in? 
• Would you have helped the grasshopper? 
• Can the story end any other way? 

Video: 

Show them the following video and post that ask them which of the ends they prefer. Let the students discuss and give reasons as to why they prefer whichever version of the endings they liked.