Aesop's Fables lend themselves well to short skits that are easy for fourth graders to memorize. Select several fables that are action-oriented. Some examples might include the "Sun and the North Wind," "The Bundle of Sticks" or "The Fox and the Crow."
Divide students into small groups based on how many characters are in each fable. Assign each group the fable and have the students create a short skit based on the story. Give them a day to memorize their lines and to practice. Then have everyone present their fables to the rest of the class.
You can also encourage them to make costumes and props for their performance. Consider asking the kindergarten class teachers if your students can perform for their class.
Explain to your fourth graders how the fables are constructed. Point out how they give voices and human characteristics to animals and end with a moral. Have students write a fable of their own that uses animals as characters and ends teaching a moral. When they have finished, have them read their fable to the rest of the class or post the fables on the walls for others to read.
Divide students into small groups. Have each group select one of the animals from Aesop's Fables. Have them make a list of different fables in which the animal appears. For example, snakes appear in "The Laborer and the Snake," "The Farmer and the Snake" and "The Serpent and the Eagle."
Have the children list the statements that the fables make about their animal. Then have them create a chart with those statements and research whether each statement is true or false about the actual animal. Have them create a diorama that combines the animal's real habitat with the Aesop's Fable story.
Give students the opportunity to independently read several Aesop's Fables. Then ask them to create a chart that shows which fable they liked the most, which they liked the least, what the fables had in common with each other and how they were different from each other.
Divide students into small groups and have each student share with his group what he most liked about the fables and share details from his favorite one.
Divide students up into groups of three to five students. Assign each group one or two fables. Tell students to compose a song that tells the story of the fable. Remind them that each song should have a verse and a chorus. Give students the opportunity to make homemade instruments out of construction paper and other classroom items. Let each group perform their song for the rest of the class.
Put the names of several different fables on pieces of paper and put them in a jar or a hat. Have each student draw a fable. Tell them that they are to create their choice of a clay sculpture, a diorama, a painting or a set of puppets that tell the story of the fable.
Read the fable "The Crow and the Pitcher" to students. Cover work tables with washable tablecloths. Give each student a bud vase, measuring cups and pebbles. Discuss whether they think the crow's strategy would really work, and then have them test it.
Before starting the test, have the students predict how many pebbles it will take to raise the water in the vase to a pre-determined level. They should record their prediction on paper. Have them measure how much water to pour into the vase so everyone's vase has the same amount.
Let them put pebbles in, counting as they go. When they are done, have them record how many pebbles it took to raise the water. Calculate the difference in their prediction and in the actual amount.
Read "The Grasshopper and the Ant." Talk about the difference between getting something you want immediately and saving for the future. Ask your fourth graders to share times that they have saved for something. Give each student $10 in play money. Tell them that each week you will give them another $10 plus $1 for every $10 that they have saved.
Each week, offer prizes that they can purchase with their money. These prizes can include privileges like an extra day to turn in a homework assignment or the opportunity to choose a game during free time. After a few months, read the fable again and ask students to share how much money they have saved. Give a special treat to the five students who have saved the most money, such as a popcorn party or some other treat. Discuss the trade-offs between saving and spending.
Read "The Tortoise and the Hare" to your students. Brainstorm several different types of relay races such as pushing an egg with your nose across a flat surface, creating an obstacle course that you have to walk through backwards or a wheelbarrow race.
Divide students into teams and conduct the relay races. Afterward, talk about what different skills were needed to succeed in the races. Some might have required balance, others speed and others endurance.