Worksheet

Small Jobs, Big Lessons: Tales from Portugal and Morocco

Read two original tales set in Portugal and Morocco about town workers whose jobs seem small, then compare their theme and pattern of events.

Grade 4ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRL.4.9

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Single worksheet
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1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
9 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare how two tales from different cultures treat the same theme.
Students identify a shared pattern of events in two tales.
Students contrast details of two tales using evidence from each.

How to use

Read each tale aloud, then have partners list what happens first, next and last in each one before answering the questions.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RL.4.9

Compare and contrast how stories, myths, and traditional tales from different cultures treat similar themes, topics, and patterns of events.

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Small Jobs, Big Lessons: Tales from Portugal and Morocco

Compare two tales about town helpers.

Read the tales

Read both tales carefully.

Tale 1: The Lamplighter of the Harbor Town

1Long ago, in a seaside town in Portugal, an old man named Tomás lit the street lamps every evening. He carried a long pole with a tiny flame at the tip, and he climbed the steep streets from the market to the harbor. Most people hardly noticed him. "Anyone could do that job," the shopkeepers said.

2One autumn, Tomás caught a bad cold and stayed in bed. That night, no lamps were lit. A cart rolled into a ditch on the dark hill. Children could not find their way home from the square. Worst of all, the fishing boats coming back from sea could not see the harbor, so they had to wait out on the water until sunrise.

3The next morning, the townspeople climbed to Tomás's little house with bowls of warm soup. "We did not know how much your light helped us," they said. From then on, a different child walked beside Tomás each evening to learn the way from lamp to lamp, and no one called his job small after that.

Tale 2: The Keeper of the Well

1Long ago, in a desert town in Morocco, a woman named Amina took care of the town well. Each morning she swept sand away from its stone edge, checked the rope for worn spots, and patched the leather bucket. Children giggled as they passed. "It is only a rope and a bucket," they said.

2One spring, Amina traveled to visit her sister in the mountains. While she was gone, nobody checked the rope. It frayed thinner and thinner until it snapped, and the bucket sank to the bottom. Soon the gardens drooped, the goats bleated, and families had to walk to a far-off spring for water.

3When Amina came home, she braided a strong new rope and pulled up the bucket. The whole town gathered to cheer, and the children who had giggled asked her to teach them to braid rope. Every spring after that, the town held a feast beside the well in her honor.

Look at each tale

Answer the questions about the details in each tale.

In Tale 1, why does Tomás stop lighting the lamps for a time?

A. He goes to visit his sister.
B. The shopkeepers ask him to stop.
C. He catches a bad cold.
D. His long pole breaks on the hill.

Read paragraph 2 of Tale 1. Write the word that tells what the fishing boats could not see.

The fishing boats could not see the .

Read paragraph 1 of Tale 2. Underline the sentence in which the children say what they think of Amina's job.

Long ago, in a desert town in Morocco, a woman named Amina took care of the town well.Each morning she swept sand away from its stone edge, checked the rope for worn spots, and patched the leather bucket.Children giggled as they passed."It is only a rope and a bucket," they said.

Which tale does each event happen in? Sort the events.

The worker goes away to see family.People say the job is not important.Boats cannot find their way to shore.Children learn the worker's job at the end.The worker gets sick and stays in bed.The town holds a feast every year.

Tale 1 only	Tale 2 only	Both tales

Compare the tales

Use both tales to answer the questions.

Both tales follow the same pattern of events. Use words from the word bank to fill in the blanks. Two words will not be used.

Word bank: trouble · ignore · small · thank · gone · famous

First, people think the worker's job is . Next, the worker is from the job for a while. Without the worker, the town has . In the end, the people the worker.

What theme do both tales share?