The Blind Men and the Elephant
by Karen Backstein & Annie Mitra
The Blind Men and the Elephant
is an old fable from India, charmingly retold in this Hello Reader, Level 3 Book.
In the fable, six blind
men travel to see the
prince's new elephant. Each one feels a different part of the animal
and comes up with totally different pronouncement about what
type of animal
it is. The man who feels the side of the elephant proclaims that
an elephant is like a wall. Another man feels the trunk and determines
that elephants are very much like snakes. The remaining four men touch
other parts of
the animal (the legs, the ears, the
tusks...) and
draw other conclusions.
The men argue over what an elephant is until the prince is finally able to clear up their confusion and treat them to a ride home on top of the mysterious animal.
There are a number of different messages within this fable and many ways to use this book in the classroom. It's an excellent story for demonstrating how perspectives can vary and the importance of listening to others' opinions. It can also be a fun book to use when teaching the sense of touch. If you are looking for related activities/lesson ideas to go with this book, please click here: The Blind Men and the Elephant lesson ideas, etc
Reading Levels
Interest
Level: Kindergarten-Gr. 2 DRA Level: 18 Lexile: 280L
Grade Level Equivalent: 2.5 Guided Reading: K
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See inside
Below are sample pages from
inside this book. As this is a centuries old
fable from India, there are, of course, a number of books available
that retell the
fable. This one is our favorite retelling due to the accessible text
and the unique and vibrantly colored illustrations.
Enjoy the books!
Betsy, Cindy, and Virginia (the teachers/sisters behind this website)
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