World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson13: The Bundle of Sticks

PART A_1

Let’s learn vocabulary. Listen and repeat the words and the sentences with your tutor.

PART A_2

1.　quarrel	/KWAWR-uhl/
	-an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.
	A petty quarrel ended their five years of friendship.
2.　striking	/STRAHY-king/
	-noticeable; conspicuous:
	The striking resemblance between the twins caused confusion to their new neighbor.
3.　violent	/VAHY-uh-luhnt/
	-acting with or characterized by uncontrolled, strong, rough force:
	The stray dog they brought home showed some violent tendencies.
4.　manner	/MAN-er/
	-a way of doing, being done, or happening;
	They approached her in an offensive manner.
5.　unity	/YOO-ni-tee/
	-the state of being one; oneness.
	The baseball team showed unity despite losing in the final game.

PART B_1

Let’s read the story. Please read it aloud, and I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

PART B_2

THE BUNDLE OF STICKS

A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.

One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his best, none was able to do so.

The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.

My Sons, said the Father, “do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle.”

In unity is strength.

PART C_1

Let’s answer comprehension questions. Please answer them based on the story.

PART C_2

1.	What was the Father worried about?
2.	Does he have a daughter?
3.	How did the Father teach his children a lesson?

PART D_1

Let’s discuss the story. Please answer the questions below and express your opinions.

PART D_2

1.	Did you find it surprising that the brothers would disagree with each other so often?
2.	If you were their parent, how would you react to their constant altercation?
3.	If you were their parent, how would you teach them about unity?
4.	The fable’s lesson is “In unity is strength.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
5.	When is arguing acceptable?

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

Now, let us review the things that you learned in this lesson.

ではこのレッスンで学んだことを振り返りましょう。

(Please give a short feedback on how your student did on your class.)

	Grammar 文法	Pronunciation 発音	Vocabulary 単語	Comprehension 理解
GOOD	文法の誤りはほとんどなく、完全な文章で話すことができる	ほとんどの単語をはっきりと正しく発音することができる	習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を理解し、質問に正しく答えることができる
FAIR	文法の誤りはあるが、完全な文章で話すことができる	発音の練習が必要な言葉がいくつかある	たまにミスはあるが、習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を完全に理解するのは難しく、質問に正しく答えられないときもある
POOR	文章で話すのは難しく、単語だけで話すことができる	発音の練習が必要である	習った単語と表現を少しだけ使うことができる	文章を理解するのは難しく、質問に答えるのは難しい

TUTOR FEEDBACK

GRAMMAR
Good:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with minimal grammatical errors.
Fair:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with evident grammatical errors.
Poor:	Was able to speak using words only.
PRONUNCIATION
Good:	Was able to pronounce most of the words clearly and correctly.
Fair:	Mispronounced a few words.
Poor:	Mispronounced most of the words.
VOCABULARY
Good:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class.
Fair:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class and made a few errors in word choice.
Poor:	Used only a few words and expressions.
COMPREHENSION
Good:	Was able to understand the passages and answer the questions correctly.
Fair:	Had a little difficulty in understanding passages and answering questions.
Poor:	Had a hard time understanding passages and answering questions.

Parts of this lesson material are based on:
An eBook from The Project Gutenberg.
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