Henny Penny Traditional Literature Book Reflection Week 4

Galdone, P. (1968). Henny Penny. New York: Clarion Books.

Summary: Henny Penny is out in the fields scratching among the leaves when an acorn falls on her head. Surprised by the acorn, Henny Penny yells, “Goodness gracious me! The sky is falling!” She sets out to tell the King. On her way, she spreads the word to her friends. One-by-one, her friends ask if they can set out on the adventure with her. Henny Penny kindly says, “Yes, indeed.” Together Henny Penny and her friends meet Foxy Loxy, who offers to show them a shortcut to the King’s palace.

Literary Terms: Henny Penny is a type of traditional literature called a fable. A fable is a simple story that incorporates characters, usually animals, whose actions teach a moral lesson or universal truth. Some moral lessons taught through the story Henny Penny include (1) don’t jump to conclusions and (2) choose your friends wisely. In this type of traditional literature, there are often one-dimensional characters that show good and evil.  Henny Penny was an example of kindness, while Foxy Loxy was an example of spitefulness or trickery. Foxy Loxy could be described as the antagonist of the story because his intentions were wicked as he tried to lure Henny Penny and her friends into his cave. The artistic media in the story, Henny Penny, can be described as drawing with pen and ink and colored pencils. The illustrations, combined with earthy tones of color, are perfect for this type of traditional literature as it makes it appear old-fashioned. The language used includes rhyme and repetition. Rhyme can be seen in each name such as Ducky Lucky and Goosey Loosey. Repetition can be seen in the dialogue between Henny Penny and her friends. She continues to tell each friend the same account and they ask, “May I go with you?” Henny Penny always answers, “Yes, indeed.”

Curriculum Activity/Standards:

·   Retell the story using character cut-outs which can be made into puppets or sequencing cards.

·   RL.K.1-3

·   Text-to-self connection: Students can write about a time they fell for a trick or jumped to a conclusion which they found out later wasn’t really true.

·   W.K.3

·   Text-to-text connection: Read aloud different versions of Henny Penny. Compare and contrast the different versions. Ask students what would they change if they were to write their own version?

·   RL.K.9

·   Create a different version of the story by changing the ending. Students can illustrate and write their own ending, and the teacher can assemble the pages into a class book.

·   RL.K.10, SL.K.5

Big Questions:

·         Why did it seem so important to tell the King the sky was falling?

·         Why did Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey follow Foxy Loxy into the cave?  What would you have done differently if you were Henny Penny?