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DODO Learning
Think Once. In Both Languages.
Lesson 19
Little DODO · Phase 3

Mouse Tricks the Weasel

Mouse Soup · pp. 44-66 (heavy) · Format A · Disposition: Reasoning with Evidence · 25 min
Mouse Soup
Pages this lesson: 44-66
Fluency · Fiction · Fable
Students practice fluent oral reading with a classic fable that teaches problem-solving and action.
Oral Fluency · Fable Structure · Problem Solution · Dialogue Reading · Moral Lesson
Introduce

Vocabulary Exploration· 5 min

Target words
  1. thorn 46: “a thorn bush”
  2. stung 57: “He was stung many times.”
  3. pricked 61: “He was pricked”
  4. surprise 63: “he found a surprise.”
Mouse told the weasel to find some hard things. Let's learn the words that tell us what happened to the weasel when he went looking. Touch your arm gently — that's pricked. Now pull your hand back fast — that's stung!
Exploration steps
  1. Show the word card and matching picture together
  2. Students chorus the word three times
  3. Act out the feeling: touch a pretend thorn, react to a bee sting
  4. Connect to the mouse's plan: which words tell us the weasel had a hard time?
Expected responses
  • it hurts
  • the bee stung him
  • thorns are sharp and poke you
Differentiation

Quiet kids: pair for acting; fast finishers: find all four words on the pages before sharing.

Transition cue

Rub hands together — time to read the story.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't skip the acting — kids who can't yet read independently need the gesture anchor.

Why this matters: Acting out the pain words helps kids remember them when the weasel gets tricked.

Reading in Class· 10 min

Required reading pages: 44-66
Opening move: Point to the old lady crying on page 44 — ask what she might be sad about.
Mouse told four stories to trick the weasel. The last story is about a thorn bush that grew in a chair. Let's read together and watch how mouse gets away. When the weasel says his soup will taste good, we'll all say it with him!
Read-aloud steps
  1. Picture-walk pages 44-66: old lady crying, thorn bush in chair, policeman waters it, roses bloom, mouse escapes, weasel searches outside
  2. Read aloud once at storytelling pace, pausing at page 54 when mouse gives the list
  3. Read again with students chorusing the weasel's lines: 'Now my mouse soup will taste really good!' on page 62
Call-and-response refrains
  1. What does the weasel say when he thinks he has everything? 62: “Now my mouse soup will taste really good!”
Expected responses
  • the mouse ran away
  • the weasel was gone so the mouse left
Differentiation

Struggling readers: follow the pictures during the weasel's search; fast finishers: count how many things the weasel had to find.

Transition cue

Tap your head twice — Questions Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't rush the picture-walk on the weasel's search pages — the visual sequence is the comprehension scaffold.

Why this matters: Chorus the weasel's excited line so kids feel the surprise when the pot is empty.

Questions Time· 7 min

Comprehension questions
  1. Why did the policeman pour water on the thorn bush? 50: “The thorn bush may be thirsty”
  2. What happened when the weasel came back to his house? 63: “The cooking pot was empty.”
Extension

Draw the mouse safe at home.

64: “The mouse hurried to his safe home.”

What students produce: Students draw the mouse by the fire eating supper, safe from the weasel.

Let's think about what happened in the story. The policeman helped the old lady's thorn bush. The weasel thought he was helping his soup. But the mouse had a different plan! What did the mouse do while the weasel was outside?
Expected responses
  • he thought it needed water
  • the mouse was gone
  • the mouse is eating at home now
Differentiation

Quiet kids: share with a partner first; fast finishers: add the book the mouse is reading to the drawing.

Transition cue

Close your book gently — Conclusion Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't accept 'the mouse tricked him' without asking how — push for the evidence from the pages.

Why this matters: Talk-first before drawing protects kids who freeze at blank paper.

Conclusion· 3 min

Routine: Evidence Walk · Disposition: Reasoning with Evidence
Student-facing prompts
Recap: The mouse escaped because...
Take-home: Tell someone how the mouse tricked the weasel using the story pages.
We used the pages to prove what happened. The weasel ran outside. The door stayed open. The mouse ran home. The evidence shows us the mouse's smart plan worked! Let's finish the sentence together: The mouse escaped because...
Expected responses
  • the weasel left the door open
  • he sent the weasel outside to find things
Differentiation

Quiet kids: point to the page that shows the answer; fast finishers: name two pieces of evidence from different pages.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't let one loud answerer chorus over quiet kids — count to three before accepting answers.

Why this matters: Same evidence-walk shape every day so kids own the close.