Substitute Lesson Plan: The Jungle Book — "Mowgli's Brothers"

Grade Level: 4th Grade | Subject: ELA | Duration: ~45 minutes

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Objective

Students will read and understand the opening scene of "Mowgli's Brothers" from The Jungle Book, identify the main characters and the central conflict (Shere Khan wanting Mowgli, and Mother Wolf refusing to give him up), and practice recalling key story details.

Materials

• Copies of the "Mowgli's Brothers" excerpt (provided text, from the beginning through the Council Rock introduction)
• Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
• Pencils and paper for each student

Warm-up (~5 min)

1. Write the word "Jungle" on the board.
2. Ask students to quickly turn to a partner and share one animal they think might live in a jungle.
3. Tell students: "Today we are reading part of a famous story called The Jungle Book, about animals in India and a boy raised by wolves. Let's find out how it begins."

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Read-Aloud (10 min): Read the excerpt aloud to the class (or have strong readers take turns reading paragraphs), starting from "It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening..." through Mother Wolf naming the baby "Mowgli."
2. Pause after Tabaqui the jackal is introduced and ask: "Why are the wolves afraid of Tabaqui even though they don't respect him?" (Because he can go mad/"dewanee" and bite everything.)
3. Pause after Shere Khan is introduced and ask: "Why does Shere Khan want to hunt near the wolves' cave?" (He has come from the Waingunga River and is hunting Man.)
4. Pause after Mowgli is found and ask: "What does Father Wolf do when he realizes it's a man's cub, not prey?" (He picks it up gently without hurting it.)

1. Guided Discussion (10 min): As a class, chart the following on the board:
2. Characters: Father Wolf, Mother Wolf, Tabaqui, Shere Khan, Mowgli, Akela
3. Setting: The Seeonee hills, near a cave, at night
4. Conflict: Shere Khan demands the man's cub; Mother Wolf refuses and vows to protect him.

1. Independent Reading/Finish (5 min): Have students silently reread the section where Mother Wolf confronts Shere Khan (starting "And it is I, Raksha...") and underline the sentence where she says the cub will one day hunt Shere Khan.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

Have students answer the following on paper, using details from the text:

1. Who found Mowgli, and what did they do with him?
2. Why does Shere Khan think Mowgli belongs to him?
3. What does Mother Wolf say she will do if Shere Khan tries to take Mowgli?
4. What new name does Mother Wolf give the baby, and why?

Collect exit tickets as students finish.

If Time Remains

Ask students to write 2–3 sentences describing the Law of the Jungle rule mentioned in the story about why animals are not allowed to eat Man (except to teach their own children how to hunt, and even then only outside their own hunting grounds). Have a few volunteers share their answers aloud.