Tape a square on the floor, about four feet on a side. That is the house. Hand out the cast cards (1 minute).
Read the story below aloud (7 minutes). At each Move, stop and let the cast act it out.
Using the book? It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach calls the wise man the Rabbi. Stop at each animal.
At the end, let the quiet sit for ten slow seconds. Then talk (4 minutes), using the questions at the bottom.
The story, in short. A poor man lives in a one-room house with his mother, his wife, and his six children. It is so crowded and so noisy that he cannot stand it. Move 1 · Everyone talks at once. The man holds his ears. He goes to the wisest man in the village for advice. The advice is strange: bring the chickens, the rooster, and the goose inside. Move 2 · They squeeze in. Squawk! Honk! He does, and it is worse. He goes back. Bring in the goat. Worse. Back again. Bring in the cow. Move 3 · The goat pushes in, then the cow. No one can move. It is a nightmare. At last the wise man says: put all the animals out. Move 4 · He calls each animal out by name. The man does, and that night, with only his family around him, the little house is quiet and roomy and peaceful. The house did not change. The way he saw it did.
Cast cards
✂ Cut on the dashed lines
Family
The man
Tired, fed up
“I can’t stand it!”
You live here. Stay in the house the whole story.
Family
His wife
Busy, out of patience
“Make it stop!”
You live here. Stay in the house the whole story.
Family
The children
Six of them, loud
“Mine! No, mine!”
You live here. Stay in the house the whole story.
Family
Grandmother
The man’s mother
“Oy, the noise.”
You live here. Stay in the house the whole story.
Wise man
The wise man
Calm and wise
“Bring in the…”
Stand outside. Call the animals in, then out, one at a time.
Animal
The chickens
Flap and peck
“Bawk bawk bawk!”
Wait outside. Come in when called. Go out when you hear your name.
Animal
The rooster
Crows at everyone
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
Wait outside. Come in when called. Go out when you hear your name.
Animal
The goose
Honks and hisses
“Honk! Hisss!”
Wait outside. Come in when called. Go out when you hear your name.
Animal
The goat
Butts and chews
“Maa-a-a!”
Wait outside. Come in when called. Go out when you hear your name.
Animal
The cow
Huge and slow
“Mooooo.”
Wait outside. Come in when called. Go out when you hear your name.
Talk about it: It is the same house at the end. So what changed? What did the man learn? Does your family have a saying like “it could always be worse”?
K–5 Lesson