Article
Art by Jesus Lopez
Fiction,

The Great Contest to Stay Awake

An Aniyunwiya (Cherokee) folktale

By Retold by Joseph Bruchac | Art by Jesus Lopez
From the October/November 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Children will understand what a pourquoi tale is by reading a Native American folktale. 

Lexiles: 470L
Featured Skill: Main Idea,
Topic: SEL, Science,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.1 Features of print RF.1.3 Decoding RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions RL.1.2 Retelling stories RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative discussions with peers and adults
TEKS Standards
  • Science
    (9) Earth and space. The student knows that the natural world has recognizable patterns. The student is expected to describe and predict the patterns of seasons of the year such as order of occurrence and changes in nature. (12) Organisms and environments. The student knows that the environment is composed of relationships between living organisms and nonliving components. The student is expected to: (A) classify living and nonliving things based upon whether they have basic needs and produce young. (13) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and undergo processes that help them interact and survive within their environments. The student is expected to: (A) identify the external structures of different animals and compare how those structures help different animals live, move, and meet basic needs for survival.

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Long ago, the birds, animals, and trees had a great contest. They wanted to see who could stay awake the longest. Whoever won would be able to go without sleeping every night.

Rabbit began to brag.

“I will win this,” Rabbit said.  “I will not close my eyes. I will stay awake the longest.” 

Rabbit went to sleep first.

Rabbit kept talking and talking. But when it started to get dark, Rabbit was the first to sleep. 

PAUSE AND THINK: What were the birds, animals, and trees having a contest to do?

All through the night, one animal after another fell asleep.

All through the night, one bird after another fell asleep. Even Hawk and Eagle slept. 

PAUSE AND THINK: Can you name some of the birds and animals that fell asleep?

One tree after another also fell asleep. Most of the trees could not stay awake.

PAUSE AND THINK: What does the illustration show?

When the sun rose, only three animals had not slept. They are the animals who can stay awake at night.

The only bird still awake was Owl. So, to this day, owls are the only birds who go all night without sleeping.

PAUSE AND THINK: Some creatures stayed awake all night. Since they won the contest, what can they do now?

Among the trees, just a few were still awake at sunrise.

So it is that they are the only trees who do not sleep. They do not lose their leaves during the winter when the other trees are asleep.

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Activities (2)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Activities (2) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

About the Story

English Language Arts Focus

Genres of fiction

Science Focus

Animal behavior/plant adaptations

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Whole group

Pairings and Text Connections

  • From the Storyworks 1 archive: “Early Reader Fiction: Turtle’s Race With Bear” (October/November 2023)

Before-Reading Resources

  • Video: Can You Be a Good Friend? (5 minutes) Build background knowledge about the folktale genre.

Suggested Reading Focus

Comprehension/folktales (30 minutes)

  • Tell children that you will be reading a special kind of folktale called a pourqoui tale. These are stories people have been telling for a long time that explain how something in nature came to be.
  • Preview the story by looking at the illustrations on the first two pages. Ask children what they think the story is about and what it might explain.
  • Read the story aloud while students follow along in their magazines. Model summarizing the section and asking comprehension questions at each Pause and Think. Point out the labels of the animals and trees.
  • Finally, focus on the main idea of the story. Which trees and animals stayed awake? Which trees and animals fell asleep? What does the story explain about the trees and animals?

After-Reading Resources

  • Video: Meet Joseph Bruchac (5 minutes) Learn more about the author who retold this story! 

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: Main idea (15 minutes)

Text-to-Speech