The Story of Little Mole: Lesson Ideas

by Steve Williams, Mon, 13/06/2011 - 15:43

Molebook

Werner Holzwarth (Author), Wolf Erlbruch (Illustrator)
Publisher: Chrysalis Children's Books (15 Sep 1994)

A LITTLE MOLE pops his head out of the ground only to find a poo dropping on his head. He says: "How mean! Who has done this on my head?" So he sets off on a journey to find out. Each animal he asks poos near him and claims the poo is obviously different from the one on his head. Eventually, he asks some experts on poo – two flies. They analyse the sample and say: "It is clear to us that it was a DOG." Little Mole goes straight to Basil the Butcher's dog and does a tiny poo on his head. Little mole is satisfied and goes home.

Here are a few points of interest with activities you can use with children.

OUTCOME, CAUSE AND INTENTION
It is understandable that little Mole is annoyed. Something unpleasant has happened to him and he thinks some other animal must be to blame. He eventually decides to blame Basil. But, assuming it was Basil, what has the dog done wrong? Has he behaved in a worse way than any of the other animals? Did he intend to poo on little Mole? Did he even know little mole was there? If not, does he deserve blame or punishment by little Mole? What is the more important consideration: outcomes, intentions or something else?

Perhaps the worst that could be said of Basil is that he should take more care to check he is not poo-ing on another creature? Yet the other animals don't seem to take much care either. Little Mole often has to dodge out of the way of their expulsions and, in the case of the bird, little Mole is 'splashed with white'.

If children think the dog should take more care, then perhaps they might also think little mole should also take more care when coming out of this hole. So we might ask: 'Who or what caused little Mole to get some poo on his head?'

ACTIVITY
Have the children look at the episode with each animal carefully and ask them what is happening. Then read out the following statements one by one to pupils. For each one, ask them if they agree or disagree and to explain why. They can indicate agreement and disagreement in various ways such as putting thumbs up or down. Help them to compare their explanations and explore differences. Ask them some questions and encourage them to ask questions of each other. Be prepared to look again with them at any of the pictures.

  • Basil pooed on little Mole deliberately
  • Basil acted no worse than any of the other animals
  • Basil deserved what he got at the end
  • What little Mole did to Basil was worse than what Basil did to little Mole

PAYING BACK, REVENGE AND ALTERNATIVES
Little Mole feels he has to pay back the unpleasantness he has suffered. One might call it retaliation or revenge. In the story, Mole's revenge is amusing partly because, although it feels equal and satisfying to Mole, it is also unequal in effect. Basil hardly seems to notice Mole's tiny poo on his head.

There is a general question that faces children a lot. When should one pay back good and bad things? And are there alternatives to paying back? What about in this story? What are the alternative things Mole could have done once he got to the point of believing the poo on his head 'belonged' to Basil? What would be the pros and cons of each course of action?

ACTIVITY
Suggest that the children make a list of the possible alternative actions Mole could have taken at the end. You could suggest some yourself if they run out of ideas. Then get children to rank the suggestions according to two considerations WISE ACTION/NOT A WISE ACTION and A GOOD STORY ENDING/NOT A GOOD STORY ENDING. The 'wisdom' consideration may lead to dialogues about practicalities, principles and possible consequences of actions. The 'story' consideration may lead to dialogues about sources of satisfaction in stories and the nature of humour. Finally: What do children think are the best stories -- those in which characters act wisely or unwisely? Can they think of examples? That might be an interesting and enjoyable discussion. Some possible alternatives for Mole are:

  1. Do nothing and return home
  2. Poo on Basil's Head
  3. Go to Basil and tell him to be more careful with his poo
  4. Tell all the animals to be careful where they poo
  5. Build a poo shelter over his hole.
  6. Go home but remember to be careful when he comes out of his hole

Options 3 and 4 could be done later as role-plays with pupils volunteering to try out the part of little Mole and with others able to respond with questions. Process of exploring alternatives sytematically is one that can be used in many dialogue situations.

Finally ask the children: 'What are some of the things to think about in situations when something unpleasant happens to you because of something another person has done?' If you can make a list together you will have a resource you can return to and reconsider.

ASSUMPTIONS
If children are not already familiar with the term 'assumption', explain it to them and give them some examples. Go through the book page by page and ask them what is being assumed by any of the characters. Ask if the assumptions are reasonable ones or not? Why might those assumptions be made? For example, at the beginning, he thinks someone has been 'mean'. At the end, he assumes Basil was THE dog. He assumes the flies are poo experts and have no reason not to give an honest opinion. And so on. Imagining assumptions can be a useful and creative activity. The habit of checking assumptions is a good one to introduce to children.