Introduction

This WebQuest is aimed at students of an advance level of English. Its goal is to improve you English through reading.
There are many opinions about the question, why don’t people work?
Aesop’s famous fable clearly illustrates what the result of not working is. The ant and the grasshopper are opposites in that one of them doesn’t want to work. W. Somerset Maugham’s modern version of the story seems depict life in a different way, why?

Task

1. Read the Aesop’s fable and answer the following questions.
   
   http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Aesop/Aesops_Fables/The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper_p1.html
   
   1. During the summer months, which insect seems more content?
   2. How does the situation change in the winter?
   3. In life, is hard work always rewarded and idleness punished?
   
   
   Review the glossary before reading the Maugham’s story.
   
   Giddiness: Lack of seriousness
   Blade: leaf
   Larder: room where food is kept
   Saving your presence: without meaning to annoy you
   Gloom: sadness, hopelessness
   In hilarious spirits: in a very good mood
   Chuck: give up on
   A sore trial: an annoyance, a problem
   Wasn’t suitable for: didn’t have the right qualities for
   Expostulations: friendly protest
   Qualm: doubt, hesitation
   Grudged: was unwilling to give
   Thrift: careful use of money, without waste
   Workhouse: place for poor people to live
   Wrathful: angry
   Sovereign: an old British gold coin
   
2. Read the story and decide whether the message in this modern story is the same as, or different from, the one in the Aesop’s fable.
   
   http://www.torribioblups.net/painfulbits/SomersetAntGrasshopper.htm
   
   Use the following questions to understand the story better and bring your own experience to the reading
   
   1.What things didn’t George Ramsay like about his brother Tom? Do you feel the same way about Tom?
   2.How was it that Tom always have money if he didn´t work regulary? Why did George give Tom money even after George had “washed his hands of him?
   3.In what ways was George like the ant and his brother like the grasshopper in the fables?
   4. Why was George so upset by Tom’s good fortune at the end of the story?
   5.Were you happy for Tom or disappointed?
   
3. Write an essay on how is the message in Maugham’s story different form the message in Aesop’s fable. Write at least 75 words.

Process

This WebQuest is designed to improve reading comprehension in English, and to encourage you to think more critically about a topic in order to be able to express your ideas in a formal core writing assignment.

1. The first step is getting a grip on the topic. Read the Aesop’s fable quickly, and answer the comprehension questions which lead you to look for the main idea and bring your own experience to the text.
2. Reread the fable aloud in groups of three and discuss the questions as a group and as a class.
3. Review the glossary before reading the Maugham’s story, for help with some of the more difficult vocabulary.
4. Read the Maugham’s story and after having answered the comprehension questions, read it a second time for going more deeply into the topic. Use the questions to understand it better.
5. Discuss your answers in small groups and as a class.
6. For the essay, you need to include a well-written introduction and conclusion.
Ø Introduction:
There are many ways to introduce an essay; sometimes writers used an anecdote, a suitable quotation, a question, or the background necessary for the reader to understand their point.
Ø Conclusions:
They leave the reader with some final thoughts (but not new ideas) on the main idea and the supporting points.
The following information can help you to write your essay:
http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/

Students will read their writings aloud

Evaluation

Accomplish the task……………………………………. 2 points
A perfect essay ...........................................8 points

You will evaluate your own essay, for that you can use the following information:

http://www.smarrpublishers.com/rhetoric05.html

Conclusion

There are many opinions about why don’t people work?
People of many generations have accepted the moral of Aesop’s fable as the rule. According to it, the ant was right and the grasshopper was not because it did not work during the summer. It was singing and dancing all the time and didn’t anticipate what would happen during the winter. It is a simple and idealistic moral. People in real life are more complex than the ant and the grasshopper. Maugham tried to depict the world in more realistic colours. He showed two brothers, one of whom didn’t work but was still regarded.