peppercorn theatre at kaleideum

Transcription

1 peppercorn theatre at kaleideum presents... EDUCATOR S GUIDE

2 Pre-Show Activities for the Classroom - LOST & FOUND STUDY GUIDE FIRST THINGS FIRST: GET TO KNOW THE SHOW SHOW DESCRIPTION: Follow the journey of two young siblings as they venture into an imagined world where all lost things go. Using a musical landscape and everyday objects, Lost & Found explores what children do best: turning ordinary surroundings into extraordinary adventures. MEET THE CHARACTERS: Andy (which is short for Andrea) - Andy is 7 years old. Her first word was yes. She is bold, adventurous, very fast, and a little bit headstrong. When Andy and Zander play together, Andy creates the games, the destinations, and always knows when a game is over. Zander (which is short for Alexander) - Zander is 5 years old. He is smart, careful, picky, and clever. He walks slower than Andy, but is better at puzzles. When Zander and Andy play together, Zander s role is to identify the magical beasts they come across. Zander knows about magical beasts. Doggie - Doggie was Zander s toy. He was gifted Doggie at the hospital as a newborn baby. Doggie goes everywhere with Zander and Andy. Doggie can play music. Only one song. Doggie is more clever than one would think for an object with a head full of cotton batting. The Tinker - Every story has a storyteller. Sometimes there are many storytellers, sometimes one person helps move the story along more than the others. Our storyteller is a music player, time-keeper, magic maker: a tinker. A tinker is a person who helps to repair things. Our tinker is here to repair the bonds between friends. He s here to help us find our way through the story. DISCUSSION: FAMILIARIZE THEMES (Communicating, Perspective Taking) This show is about siblings, or a brother and sister, playing together using their imaginations. Encourage your students to participate in cognitively engaging talk with the following prompts: - Do you have a favorite stuffed animal, toy, or sleeping buddy? - What do you love about it? - What do you do together? Dive Deeper for Ages 5+ (Perspective Taking, Critical Thinking) - How would you feel if you lost it? - How do you think Andy and Zander might feel? - Where would you look for it? LOST & FOUND - STUDY GUIDE 1

3 Pre-Show Activities for the Classroom - LOST & FOUND STUDY GUIDE BEFORE THE SHOW: GETTING READY FOR THE THEATRE We have created a show just for you and your students. We understand that this may be their first theatre experience. We ve kept that in mind as we wrote and rehearsed Lost & Found. Here are some ways to help students feel as comfortable, safe, and engaged as possible. DISCUSSION: SEEING A PLAY (Making Connections, Perspective Taking, Communicating) Introduce the show with this guide and follow up questions. Educator: Peppercorn Theatre at Kaleideum has created a show just for you. This show has two actors and a musician. The show will be performed at Kaleideum Downtown. When you enter the Museum, you and your classmates will enter a special room where the show will be performed. You sit on the floor together to watch it. Sometimes the lights will change, sometimes there will be noises, sometimes the characters may need your help. How can we show the actors that we are listening? (Looking for answers such as sitting, eyes on performance, hands to ourselves, etc.) When the actors are talking, should we be talking? (Looking for answers such as usually no, but there may be opportunities) If the actors ask us a question or play a song we ve learned, can we join in? (Looking for answers such as yes, they may ask for our help or input, and that s okay!) CREATIVE MOVEMENT: PRACTICING FOCUS (Focus & Self Control, Communicating) Use classic recess games in your classroom, gym, or cafeteria to practice Focus & Self Control. By physicalizing these exercises now, students will have had recent experience practicing between periods of movement and stillness to utilize during the show. - Simon Says - Red Light, Green Light - Freeze Tag* *In order to discourage outright running, establish levels of speed. If 0 is stillness or frozen, 5 is normal walking pace, and 10 is super fast, let students know that they can t go past a 7 or a speed walk. Consider this a level up -- a way to really commit to Focus and Self Control. LOST & FOUND - STUDY GUIDE 2

4 Pre-Show Activities for the Classroom - LOST & FOUND STUDY GUIDE BEFORE THE SHOW: GETTING READY FOR THE THEATRE MUSIC & MOVEMENT: FREEZE DANCE (Focus & Self Control, Making Connections) Lost & Found is filled with music! Colin, a composer and musician, has written songs just for the show. Sometimes the songs just have instruments and sometimes they have words, too. Pick several songs that will get your students moving. When the music plays, students dance. When the music stops, the students must freeze until it starts again. Dive Deeper for Ages 5+ (Perspective Taking, Critical Thinking) Some songs in the show help us to understand how Andy and Zander are feeling: excited, scared, sad, happy, etc. Pick a few specific songs that demonstrate a feeling or emotion. Add the additional instruction for students to show us what a happy dance or a sad dance might look like. TAKE IT EVEN FURTHER: IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING EXPERIENCE (Perspective Taking, Communicating, Critical Thinking) Let the magic of storytelling extend beyond the theatre with this letter from the Tinker. Print the next page, decorate or age the paper, and create a unique envelope for it addressed specifically to your classroom. Using it either as the very first introduction to Lost & Found or in the middle of your preparation, tell your students that you received an interesting letter that morning. Read it to them or let them read it in pairs. LOST & FOUND - STUDY GUIDE 3

5 Dear new friends, It has come to my attention that you have lost something. Something important to you. Can you remember where you left it? Where was the last place you saw it? What were you doing? Who was with you? Wouldn t it be great if instead of having to retrace our steps to find our lost things, there was actually just a place we could go to get them? Like a store, but this store doesn t sell new things, it just holds all of our favorite things that we don t seem to have anymore. You see... well, wait. Let s go back a bit. We all know that socks come in pairs, yes? Most often these are matching pairs, but not always! And whether your socks match or not, we still need two at a time, yes? For our two feet, right? So, we can all agree that when we get dressed in the morning, we put on two socks to wear as we go about our day. And then we go to school, or we ride our bikes, or we play with our brother or sister or friend. Then after all of that we come home, and we take our socks off, and we put them in the dirty laundry pile. Some people have a basket, some people have a hamper, some people just have a pile on the floor (and that s okay, too). Either way, we know that these socks are ready for washing. Most times the washing goes well, you put two dirty socks in the washing machine, and what comes out of the dryer? Two clean socks! But...sometimes it doesn t happen like this. Sometimes, you put two dirty socks in, and what comes out? One clean sock, and a pile of lint. Just one! Where is its pair? Its buddy? Its best friend? That s what today s story is about. I have found out where these missing socks go! It is the place where all lost things go, and I think you re going to like it. Some places are far away... you must take an airplane, a train, or a boat. Some places are only a little bit far. You can reach them by taking a car or a bus. Some places are close, you can walk down the street for a few minutes, and there you are. This place that I have found is even closer. You don t need a plane or a train or a boat or a car. But something tells me you ve been there before. Maybe, I ll see you there soon? Sincerely, Your new friend, The Tinker

6 Post-Show Activities for the Classroom - LOST & FOUND STUDY GUIDE AFTER THE SHOW Now that your students have seen the show, use these discussion prompts and activities to guide their process and increase understanding. DISCUSSION: Start with an open-ended conversation about Lost & Found to practice memory, reflection, and articulation. Let the students direct the discussion and go deeper into moments toward which they gravitate. Tell me about the show. What happened in the show? Who were the characters in the show? Dive Deeper for Ages 5+ (Perspective Taking, Critical Thinking) How did Andy and Zander find Doggie Music? Describe how the elephant and the Sock Emperor were feeling. How did Andy and Zander help them feel better? What would you have done different? What do you want your family, friends, and teacher to do when you are upset? What makes you feel better when you are upset? HANDS ON ACTIVITY: SORTING GAME (Making Connections, Perspective Taking) Some of the show took place in bedroom or playroom as well as an imaginary land: the land where lost things go. Throughout their journey to find Doggie, Andy, and Zander had to make connections to move forward. Start with everyday classroom objects, blocks, or small toys. These should vary in color, size, shape, purpose, etc. Allow the classroom to get messy by mixing these items together. Have children practice by sorting or cleaning up the objects based on different categories, then switch up the rules by mixing them up and sort again. Try the following options: - Sort all objects by color (Blue, Red, Green, etc.) - Sort all objects by size (Small, Medium, Big) - Sort all objects by shape (Blocks, Trucks, Flowers, etc.) - Sort all objects by purpose (Items for writing, items for building, items for reading, etc.) LOST & FOUND - STUDY GUIDE 5

7 Post-Show Activities for the Classroom - LOST & FOUND STUDY GUIDE AFTER THE SHOW DESIGN CHALLENGE: RECREATE THE WORLD (Communicating, Perspective Taking) When Andy and Zander entered the world of Lost & Found, the physical space or set changed. Maybe it s a real world, maybe it s a world within their imaginations. Each part of the world is connected to an important skill that the siblings use to continue through the world. Have students use regular items found in your classroom to create a playscape similar to the ones they encountered in Lost & Found. - Lost Machines (Skill: Focus & Self Control) - Lost Toys (Skill: Perspective Taking) - Lost Time (Skill: Making Connections) - Sock Emperor s Palace (Skill: Communicating) - Returning Home (Skill: Self-directed Learning) Dive Deeper for Ages 5+ (Perspective Taking, Critical Thinking) Ask students to determine the right path through the worlds they create. Maybe they need to go under or over something specific, maybe they need to create a sound before continuing let students take turns being the creators or guides and then the ones who must move through the space. LOST & FOUND - STUDY GUIDE 6

8 Post-Show Activities for the Classroom - LOST & FOUND STUDY GUIDE AFTER THE SHOW PROP PROJECT: MAKE YOUR OWN SOCK EMPEROR (Communicating, Perspective Taking) Materials: - Clean socks - Googly Eyes - Assorted Pieces of Felt - Scissors - Fabric Markers - Fabric Glue or Hot Glue Gun (Adult Use Only) - Any other decorations that you may want to provide Instructions: Have students design and construct their own sock puppet. Assist with gluing when necessary. Dive Deeper for Ages 5+ (Perspective Taking, Critical Thinking) Creative Play - invite the children to role play with their new puppets. Have them come up with a name and a voice for their puppets. Prompt them with scenarios in which they are upset about something and we need to figure out how to communicate with them to help them. Try nonverbal vocalizations and gibberish before adding words. The developmental concepts in the show and this study guide are inspired by those outlined in Mind in the Making: 7 Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Gallinsky. LOST & FOUND - STUDY GUIDE 7