World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson20: The Plane Tree

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　seek	/seek/
	-to go in search or quest of:
	He has been seeking a high-paying job for six months.
2.　widespread	/WAHYD-SPRED/
	-spread over or open, or occupying a wide space.
	Widespread flooding in the suburbs has been reported.
3.　bear	/bair/
	-to produce by or as if by natural growth
	This mango tree bears tons of mangoes in summer.
4.　litter	/LIT-er/
	-to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.:
	A student was sent to the principal’s office for littering the hallway.
5.　appreciate	/uh-PREE-shee-eyt/
	-to value or regard highly; place a high estimate on:
	I appreciate those who believe in me.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

THE PLANE TREE

Two Travelers, walking in the noonday sun, sought the shade of a widespreading tree to rest. As they lay looking up among the pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a Plane Tree.

“How useless is the Plane!” said one of them. “It bears no fruit whatever, and only serves to litter the ground with leaves.”

“Ungrateful creatures!” said a voice from the Plane Tree. “You lie here in my cooling shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive their blessings!”

Our best blessings are often the least appreciated.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	How did the two travelers describe the Plane tree?
2.	Does the tree bear any fruits?
3.	How did the Plane tree react to the traveler’s ungrateful remarks?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	How would you describe the characteristics of the travelers?
2.	Do you think their comments about the tree were acceptable? Why or why not?
3.	If you were the tree, how would you teach the travelers to be grateful?
4.	The fable’s lesson is “Our best blessings are often the least appreciated.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
5.	What are you grateful for today?

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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