This section is part of a full New Victory School Tool TM Resource Guide. For the complete guide, including information about the New Victory Education Department check out: newvictoryschooltools.org WHAT IS peter pan? provides teachers with engaging, ready-to-implement classroom activities that offer the opportunity to reflect on and extend the experience of attending the performance. Use this tool to actively reflect on the performance, make connections to your curriculum, and follow up on the New Victory classroom workshop to increase the impact of the theater-going experience. This section also includes Creativity Pages that provide students with the opportunity to reflect individually on and develop an aesthetic response to the show's content. Photos: Sandra C. Roa MAKING CONNECTIONS TO LEARNING STANDARDS New Victory School Tool Resource Guides align with the Common Core State Standards, New York State Learning Standards and New York City Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts. We believe that these standards support both the high quality instruction and deep engagement that The New Victory Theater strives to achieve in its arts education practice. COMMON CORE Reading: Standard 1; Standard 2; Standard 3; Standard 4; Standard 7; Standard 8; Standard 10 Writing: Standard 1; Standard 2; Standard 3; Standard 4; Standard 5; Standard 7; ; Standard 8; Standard 9 Speaking and Listening: Standard 1; Standard 2; Standard 3; Standard 4; Standard 5; Standard 6 Language: Standard 1; Standard 2; Standard 3; Standard 4 NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS The Arts: Standard 1; Standard 2; Standard 3; Standard 4 ELA: Standard 1; Standard 3; Standard 4 BLUEPRINT FOR THE ARTS Theater: Theater Making; Developing Theater Literacy; Making Connections Visual Art: Art Making; Making Connections The New VICTORY THEATER / NEWVICTORYSCHOOLTOOLS.ORG 17
PERFORMANCE REFLECTION Following your trip to The New Victory, you may find that your students want to discuss the performance and their own opinions. Reflecting on the show and voicing an aesthetic response is an important part of the theater-going experience. Allowing your students the opportunity to articulate their own thoughts and hear the ideas of their classmates will increase the impact of the theater experience. 1. Provide students (either as one large group or in small groups) with a large piece of paper. Draw an image of the New Victory stage on it (i.e. curtains and an empty stage). 2. On the stage, ask students to write or draw words/images they remember from the performance they saw. On the curtains, ask the students to write feelings/opinions they had about seeing the performance. 3. Once the students have offered their reflections on the paper, display the various pages around the room, and ask the students to take a gallery walk to look at all of the responses. 4. As a full class, reflect on their responses. Teacher Tip Engaging in dialogue, asking questions and recalling observations are skills that we believe should be fostered and encouraged. When leading a performance reflection discussion, try the following model of critical response: Describe (I saw ) Analyze (I wonder ) Interpret (I think/feel ) Evaluate (I believe ) MY CRITIC S NOTEBOOK Give your students the opportunity to become theater experts and critics while also exploring what kind of impact the show has on them. Use the template provided after each live performance you see at the New Vic as a class to provide students with an alternative means of reflecting on a show. Allow each student to create a scrapbook documenting their experience going to the theater. Include the New Vic Bill they received after the show and any pictures you took at the theater or on the way! Encourage them to decorate their scrapbook and incorporate any of the New Victory School Tool Creativity Pages you completed as part of the experience. At the end of the year, compile all of these reflections to create individual Critic s Notebooks. The New VICTORY THEATER / NEWVICTORYSCHOOLTOOLS.ORG 18
MY CRITIC S NOTEBOOK Name: date: show Name:] NEWSPAPER If I was writing a newspaper article about this show, the headline would read:? A question I have about this show is The part of the show that grabbed my attention the most was The show made me think about Before seeing the show, I didn t know that Overall, the show made me feel While watching the show, the strongest feeling I had was One thing I saw on The New Victory stage during this show that I ve never seen before was After seeing the show, my friends and I talked about If I was the director, one change I would make to the show would be
IN-CLASSROOM WORKSHOP EXTENSION, part 1 You may have had New Vic teaching artists visit your classroom for a post-show workshop. If so, continue on to Part II of this activity. If you did not have a Post-Show workshop, do Part I first before moving forward. Part I: Brainstorming and Creating In PETER PAN, the villain Captain Hook is defeated by our hero, Peter Pan. If the play were to have a sequel in Neverland, who would Peter's next villain be? How would Peter and the Lost Boys save Neverland from this new, cruel mastermind? Use this activity to encourage your students to create and perform sequels to PETER PAN. 1. Inform your students that in this activity, they are going to write their own individual sequels to PETER PAN. 2. First, guide your class through a brainstorming process. On the board or on a large sheet of paper that the class can all see, draw four large circles within which you will be able to write your students ideas. Each circle should have one of the following titles: Villain, Meeting Place, Method of Defeat, Additional Characters. 3. As a class, generate 3-5 possible answers to the following prompts. Encourage a sense of play and make believe. Write their answers in the corresponding circles: a. Who are some potential villains in a Peter Pan sequel? What would each of these villains want from Peter Pan? b. Where do Peter and the villain meet to face-off? c. What are some options as to how Peter Pan could defeat this villain? d. Who are some additional characters from the play that could also be in this story? 4. Give your students enough time (at least twenty minutes) to develop their scenes. 5. Before you move on to Part II of this activity, either have your students share out the scenes they created, or make sure they conduct individual read-alouds or rehearsals before the end of this section. The New VICTORY THEATER / NEWVICTORYSCHOOLTOOLS.ORG 20
IN-CLASSROOM WORKSHOP EXTENSION, part 11 Part II: Adding Structure and Design In the post-classroom workshop (or Part I of this activity), your students created the next adventure with a new villain in Neverland. It s now time to refine these adventures and perform them for an audience! Materials: Paper and Pencils; Found objects in the classroom; Newspaper 1. Have your students revisit their groups from the New Vic workshop and the different scenes they made. Have them recall: Who was the villain? What did the villain want? What happened when Peter Pan and the villain met? How did the story get resolved? 2. Ask each group to write down the Beginning, Middle and End of their stories on a piece of paper. 3. Next, have your students begin to think of other important elements for their scenes. Ask them to consider the following (give the groups 10-15 minutes to explore the answers to these questions): a. Setting: Where in Neverland does this scene take place? How can you use objects, newspaper or people to create the setting? b. Character: Are there any other characters in your scene who were not included the first time you wrote it? Do you want to give any of these characters a larger role? c. Props: What prop(s) do you need for this scene? What can you use from your classroom to serve as the prop(s)? Or can you make the prop(s) from newspaper? d. Technical Design: Are there any important sound or lighting effects you need to have to tell your story? Is there a way you can make those effects using just people and/or objects from the classroom? 4. Ask your students to cast the characters required for the story from the member of their groups. 5. Give your students time to rehearse their scenes. As you walk around the room to check on the groups, be sure to challenge the actors to transform their bodies to become the characters. Ask the groups: How does this character walk, stand, or move? Is their voice different? Do they move fast, slow, or fly? Do they speak with an accent/dialect? Inform your students that they can aid the development of their characters by creating some costume pieces made of newspaper for them. 6. Finally, perform the scenes for an invited audience! 7. Reflect on the experience as a class. Reflection Questions What was the most challenging part about creating our performance? What was most rewarding or fun about creating our performance? How did rehearsing the story change or improve our performance? What excited you most in the performances you saw? The New VICTORY THEATER / NEWVICTORYSCHOOLTOOLS.ORG 21
classroom connections adapt that Use this activity for your students to further explore the role of the dramaturg and adaptations. 1. In a discussion with your students about PETER PAN, revisit how Belvoir s production was an adaptation of many previous versions of the story. 2. Brainstorm with your class other common stories that have been told multiple times by many different storytellers. Write down a list of these stories on the blackboard or a large sheet of paper for all your students to see. Be sure that you have also thought of at least 5 or 6 of these stories yourself in the event that your students cannot recall stories that have been frequently adapted. 3. From the list generated, assign your students to work in pairs or groups to research the many adaptations of a particular story. 4. In class, have your students devise a research plan within their pairs or groups that solidifies how the team will approach this project. As part of their research, your students should focus on the following: a. Finding a list of the many adaptations of the story and the different ways in which they were told. b. Finding similarities between all the different retellings of the story, paying particular attention to: i. Plot ii. Characters iii. Setting (including time period) c. Finding differences between the various retellings of the story, paying particular attention to the three areas stated above. 5. Once the group has collected their research, have them present their findings to the class! Encourage different kinds of formats for their presentations, such as: a. Visual presentations: Students using posters, multi-media, pictures, drawings, etc. b. Dramatic presentations: Students focus on a few major similarities and differences in the various retellings of their stories and present these findings in the format of a live scene or a short movie. c. Musical presentations: Students write a song that tells their findings. d. Written presentations: Students re-write their own rendition of the story that incorporates all of the elements of the previous adaptations. e. Any combination of the above! 6. Finally, reflect on the presentations as a class. Reflection Questions What strategies did your team come up with for approaching the research portion of this project? Was there anything that your team found particularly challenging in your research process? What findings from your research were most interesting or exciting to you? How did your group decide on the best format to present your material? Would you have changed anything about your presentation now that it s over? Was there anything that surprised you in the other presentations? What did you learn from the different presentations? The New VICTORY THEATER / NEWVICTORYSCHOOLTOOLS.ORG 22
CREATIVITY PAGE SLEEP TIGHT! In the play PETER PAN, the Lost Boys loved when Wendy told them a bedtime story. Use this template to think of a bedtime story you would want to tell the 5-year-old version of your teacher. Z ZZ Z Z First, ask your teacher questions about what he or she was like at 5 years old for clues as to what you should include in your bedtime story. When you are finished, ask your teacher if you can read it to him or her. Then have your teacher grade you on the z scale! Part I: Your 5-Year-Old Teacher Who was your teacher s best friend? What was his or her favorite color? Did he or she have any pets? What was her favorite game to play? What was your teacher most scared of? Write other questions you have for your teacher here: Once Upon A Time: Suddenly: Finally: The End. Sleep tight! For Teacher Use Only: Circle where on the spectrum of Z's this student's story landed! Awake... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ... Lights out!