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Literary Analysis Task, Grade 2 Teacher Handout

Today you will read the fairytales “The Nightingale” and “The Ugly Duckling.” After you have read the selections and answered some questions, you will write an essay analyzing the two stories. Text #1: Read this story in which a king gives up a real bird for a fake one.

The Nightingale

A retelling by Violet Finley

1. Once upon a time, there was a king. He lived in a beautiful palace in the land of China.

2. Behind the palace was a forest. In the forest lived a nightingale. The

nightingale sang so sweetly that he was known far and wide. 3. People even wrote books about him. One day, the king read one of the books. 4. “This bird lives in the forest behind my palace, but I have never heard him sing.

I must!” said the king. 5. So he sent his most trusted servant to bring back the nightingale. The servant

went into the forest. By and by, he came upon a plain brown bird singing a sweet song. It was the nightingale!

6. “Will you come to the palace and sing for the king?” asked the servant. 7. “Of course,” said the nightingale. 8. At the palace, the nightingale sang and sang. The king loved the music so much

that he cried. 9. “I will buy you a fancy cage so you can sing for me always,” he said. So he did.

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10. By and by, a present came from the king of Japan. Inside was a toy nightingale. It was made of gold and covered with jewels. The king wound up the toy bird and it sang.

11. “This is so pretty! I will place it in the cage with the real nightingale” he said.

So he did. 12. By and by, the king seemed to forget all about the real nightingale. Feeling

unwanted, he flew back to the forest. 13. “No matter. The toy bird is better,” said the servant. Every night the king

listened to the toy bird sing. But one day, it broke. 14. “It will never sing again,” the servant said sadly. Years passed and the king

grew very sick. 15. “My only wish is to hear the music of a nightingale,” he said. He begged the

toy bird to sing. But, of course, it did not. 16. By and by, the real nightingale heard that the king was sick and flew to his

window. 17. There, he sang a song so sweet that the king was quickly healed. 18. “Dear nightingale, you made me well. Come back! I will throw away the toy

bird. Then you can live in the cage all by yourself,” said the king. 19. “No, keep the toy bird,” said the nightingale. “I like the forest, but I will come

to your window every night to sing.” 20. So he did. And his sweet music brought joy to everyone in the palace forever

more.

412 words / FK gr 2.3

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Question 1

Part A

In the sentence, “The king wound up the toy bird and it sang,” what does “wound up” mean?

A. become excited about getting a new toy B. turn a key on the toy that makes it do something C. get angry that the toy is not working D. make the bird nervous about singing

Part B

Which detail from the story helped you understand the meaning of “wound up”?

A. The king gets the toy bird as a present from Japan. B. The servant says that the toy is better than the real nightingale. C. The king gets excited when the toy bird starts to sing. D. The toy bird sings after the king winds it up.

Question 2

This story’s lesson is that a fake thing is usually not as good as the real thing. Choose the two sentences below that hint at this lesson.

A. “No matter. The toy bird is better,” said the servant. Every night the king listened to the toy bird sing. But one day, it broke.

B. By and by, the real nightingale heard that the king was sick and flew to his window.

C. “No, keep the toy bird,” said the nightingale. “I like the forest, but I will come to your window every night to sing.”

D. At the palace, the nightingale sang and sang. The king loved the music so much that he cried.

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Question 3 Part A

What does paragraph 16 mainly tell us about the nightingale?

A. The nightingale cares about the king’s health. B. The nightingale wanted to see why the king is sick. C. The nightingale got tired of waiting to return to the castle. D. The nightingale does not believe the king is sick.

Part B Highlight or underline one or two details in the paragraphs below that are the best evidence for your answer in Part A.

15. “My only wish is to hear the music of a nightingale,” he said. He begged the toy bird to sing. But, of course, it did not.

16. By and by, the real nightingale heard that the king was sick and flew to his window.

17. There, he sang a song so sweet that the king was quickly healed. 18. “Dear nightingale, you made me well. Come back! I will throw away the toy

bird. Then you can live in the cage all by yourself,” said the king.

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Literary Analysis Task, Grade 2 Text #2 Read this story about an ugly duckling who grows up to be beautiful.

The Ugly Duckling A retelling by Violet Finley

1. Once upon a time, five eggs began to hatch. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! 2. Out popped five little ducklings. Four were fluffy and cute. One was gray and

ugly. 3. The cute ducks were mean to their ugly brother. They pecked at him. 4. They said, “You are ugly. Go away!” One day, the ugly duckling did go away. He

swam and swam. After a while, he met some geese. 5. But the herons were just as mean as the geese. They pecked at him. They said,

“You are ugly. Go away!” 6. But the geese were just as mean as the ducks. They pecked at him. They said,

“You are ugly. Go away!” 7. Once again, the ugly duckling did go away. He swam and swam. After a while,

he met some herons. 8. But the herons were just as mean as the geese. They pecked at him. They said,

“You are ugly. Go away!” 9. Once again, the ugly duckling did go away. He swam and swam. After a while,

he came upon some swans. They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen.

10. When the swans swam near, the ugly duckling hid his face and cried. He did

not want them to see how ugly he was.

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11. Life went on like this for many months. The ugly duckling stayed by himself. He also grew and grew.

12. One day, a swan swam over and spoke to him. 13. “Why are you so shy?” he asked. 14. “Because I am ugly,” said the ugly duckling.

15. The swan laughed, “Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

16. That made the ugly duckling curious. He looked into the shiny water.

17. Wow! He had grown into a beautiful swan, just like them!

18. From that day on, the once ugly duckling lived happily ever after. And he was always kind to all living things, from peacocks to potato bugs.

307 words / FK 1.4

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Question 1 Part A

Why does the ducking hide his face and cry in paragraph 10?

A. He was ashamed of how he looked. B. He didn’t want them to catch him spying on them. C. He didn’t want to get pecked again. D. He was trying to make the swans feel sorry for him.

Part B

Which of the sentences below tells you why the duckling hid and cried?

A. They pecked at him. B. “They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. C. The ugly duckling stayed by himself. D. He did not want them to see how ugly he was.

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Question 2

Match the descriptions to the characters in the columns below. Put the description in the center if it fits both characters.

The Nightingale (bold) Both (underline) The Ugly Duckling (italics)

curious shy

embarrassed

kind

helpful

talented

beautiful

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PROSE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE:

You have read two fairytales that both teach valuable lessons. First, explain what each lesson is. Next, explain how the events and characters in the stories show us these lessons. Use the space below to organize your information. Teachers: Possible organization/suggestions follow; students must use quote or paraphrase text to support their examples.

THE NIGHTINGALE THE UGLY DUCKLING

Lesson: The real thing is better than a fake. Details:

• The king and the servant think the fake bird is better, but it breaks

• The real nightingale is kind and shares his music “forever more”

• Etc.

Lesson: We shouldn’t judge people by how they look. Details: • Other animals are mean to the

duckling because of his looks. • Duckling is unhappy because of

how the other animals make him feel.

• His change in appearance doesn’t change the fact that he is kind to everyone.

• Etc.