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The Crow & Pitcher Activities

A pleasant way to teach -- or learn -- a valuable lesson of life, is to participate in "The Crow and the Pitcher" activities. The story, one of the legendary Aesop's Fables, is about a thirsty crow struggling to find a drink of water. When he stumbles upon a pitcher of water in a garden, the neck is too narrow for his beak to reach the water. With patience and persistence, the crow dropped pebble after pebble into the pitcher until the water rose high enough for him to drink.

Lesson
- In a classroom setting, "The Pitcher and the Crow" is an ideal theme to incorporate with math and science projects. For instance, have your students use a clear container, ruler, water and a bag of marbles to measure how many pebbles it may have taken for the crow to raise the water.
  
  Fill the container about half-way with water and ask the kids how many marbles they think are needed to raise the water 1/4 inch. Then try it and record their results. Repeat the process several times until the water reaches the top of the container. Add up the amount of marbles in each step to see how many it took. You may also encourage children to figure out other ways the crow could have accessed the water in the pitcher.
Accordion Books
- Another kid's activity that can feature "The Crow and the Pitcher" theme is a simple accordion book art project. Give each child a large sheet of cardstock or construction paper and a variety of paints, markers, crayons and colored pencils. Fold the paper in half. Take one edge of the paper and fold it outwards until the edge meets the center fold and make a crease. Repeat this step with the other edge creating an accordion-like design with four sections. Allow the children to write and illustrate a portion of the story -- beginning to end, left to right -- on each section.
Dioramas
- Make a diorama to illustrate the story in 3D while practicing the utter essence of the moral. Remove the lid of an old shoe box and turn the box on its side. Decorate the inside of the box to resemble a garden scene. Paint the top, sides and back interior panels blue to represent the sky, and the bottom green to resemble grass. Draw pictures of the crow and the pitcher, and then paste them to the lid of the shoe box. Cut the pictures out evenly from the lid leaving an extra inch of cardboard at the bottom of each illustration. Fold the cardboard tabs away from the pictures and secure them to the floor of your diorama with paste or staples to create a 3D effect.
Drama Projects
- Kids -- or even adults -- who are involved in school or community drama clubs or performing arts company can perform a live solo presentation based on the ancient fable. Start with creating a garden scene on the stage or performance area and making or purchasing a black bird costume. Several versions of the story exist online as passages or poems. Choose and memorize the version of your choice to recite before an audience and bring the story to life.

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