Take 4: Puppets!

This lesson was really fun to do. I think that there is definitely a lot of room for improvement in the way it is structured and my classroom management/timing skills, but there were still a lot of things that went really well.

If I were to do this lesson again, I might split it up into two lessons, or at least be sure that the children have been exposed to the puppet before this lesson. The students LOVED Kevin, my pteradactyl puppet. They asked about him for weeks!

I found that the students were so engrossed with the puppet that they just wanted to keep asking him questions. They didn't want Kevin to go. I think that puppetry should have it's own unit. So much can be done with puppets. Even if I wasn't able to do a puppetry unit, I would at least bring Kevin to a lesson before this so that the students are more used to him. Perhaps I just need to be better at sticking to my plan, but the students had so much fun with Kevin that I gave that section of the lesson an extra 5-8 minutes.

That is one thing that I love about teaching: I feel like I improve and learn something in every lesson that I teach. I love improving so that I can provide better experiences for my students.

______________________________________________________________________

Storytelling Lesson 4

Learning Objective: Students will be able to identify key story elements as they practice telling their stories to classmates.

Materials needed:

• Kevin, my puppet
• White board marker
• Donald Davis’s “Telling Your Own Stories”
• Story map worksheet

Desk Arrangement:

• Space for students to sit in front of the storytelling space
• We won’t be moving around a lot, so just space at the front will be sufficient.

Core Standards:

• Theater Standards
• 2.T.CO.2, 2.T.R.1, 2.T.R.2, 2.T.R.4
• English Language Arts
• Reading Literature Standard 5

So, I hear that you have all been working on your stories! You are telling them on Thursday right? So, today, I want to do a little experimenting. How many of you already have your story picked out? That is wonderful! (Note the students who may need assistance and possibly list off some of the story prompts marked in Donald Davis’s “Telling Your Own Stories”.)

Who remembers the story I told last week? What were some of the things that you liked about it? Listen to the different things mentioned and express appreciation for each. Today, I want to focus on helping your stories use some of the same things that you liked about mine.

To start off, I’d like to introduce you to a special guest. Bring out Kevin, my dinosaur puppet. Tell a story with Kevin.

Invite students to name the most interesting part of the story. Once a few students have answered, identify this “most interesting part” as the climax of the story. The things that happened before this led up to the climax, kind of like climbing a mountain. Draw a story mountain on the board. (Story mountain is another way of explaining a plot diagram.)

Rising action: The series of events that build to the turning point, or most exciting part of the story.

Climax: Also known as the turning point, this is the most exciting part of the story. In the story of Cinderella, it is when the glass slipper fits.

Kevin is so excited to hear all of your stories! He has heard a lot about you and has been waiting to meet you all. Does anyone want to volunteer to share a story with the class? This story does not have to be the one that you are sharing on Thursday, but it can be. Maybe read a few prompts from “Telling Your Own Stories.”

Invite a student to share a story with the class. After the story, thank them for that special gift. Ask the class what they liked about the story. (This ties in a Theater Core Standard.)

Ask the students to identify some of the things that happened on the climb up the mountain. What happened on the way down? How was the ending of the story different than the beginning?

Ask for any other volunteers who want to practice sharing a story with us.

Pass out story mountain worksheet for students to use in preparation for the class tellings on Thursday.

Remember, you can always practice sharing your stories. I bet your parents or your friends or even a stuffed animal would enjoy listening to your stories! I like to share stories with my husband and my brothers and sisters. Sometimes, I even practice with Kevin! Every time I tell a story, it gets better. I guess that’s what happens when you practice! *wink, wink*

Take 3: Fun with Baba Yaga

For my third lesson, we talked about how villians try to keep heroes from succeeding. I told the story of Baba Yaga and the students loved it! They were asking for more stories about Baba Yaga for weeks afterwards. This was the first time that I had brought props for a story that I told in their class, and I feel like it added so much. I think that I am going to incorporate that into a lot of my future storytelling, especially when I am telling for children.

One thing that worked really well was that when I got to the class, the students were still at recess. Teaching right after recess worked really well for me because it gave me time to get set up and go over a few things with my classroom teacher before the students returned. When I was getting my props set up, I noticed a rug that was a map of the world.

With permission from Mrs. Tarpenning, I moved it to the front of the class. I was able to point out some of the different places that some of our stories had come from throughout the semester and have a storytelling place with set boundaries. Since I was moving around and using props for this story, making sure that I had adequate space helped a lot because the kids wanted to get as close as they could in their excitement. Whenever they started inching onto the rug, I just reminded them to keep the storytelling space clear so that the teller has room tto move and no one would get hurt. They would immediately scooch back and clear the space. It worked great having boundaries that the students could see so that they knew what the expectations were.

I also really liked the way that Teresa included a cool down in the lesson. I kept that because I thought that it would be really useful to help the students return to themselves and calm down after such involved actions. I hope that it was helpful to my teacher when transitioning back into her lesson plans for the rest of the day.

__________________________________________________________________

Storytelling Lesson #3

Villains Try to Keep Heroes from Succeeding

Overview:

Villains in stories throw into sharp relief the goodness and strength of heroes. Not only do villains represent humans who thwart noble hopes and dreams, but also frequently villains represent natural and supernatural powers. These powers are mysteriously at the villain’s beck and call.

A dramatic, colorfully drawn villain character ensures the reader’s allegiance to the hero and heightens the story’s conflict. The vanquished villain provides a satisfying climax to the story.

A good storyteller uses his/her body, voice and mind to make the story come to life. And a few well-chosen props don’t hurt either.

Objectives:

• Students will compare and contrast heroes and villains.
• Students will participate in the sound and motion of the Villain story
• Students will use their bodies, voices and minds to create and portray a villain’s encounter with a hero.

Materials needed:

• Poster or projections of Heroes from Lesson Two
• Correlating pictures of Villains for all the fictional Heroes.
• World map
• Bandana or napkin
• Small towel
• Small comb
• Mortar and pestle (Cookware or import stores are a good source of a small inexpensive set)
• White board and markers
• “Baba Yaga, The Witch”, Usborne Stories From Around the World, retold by Heather Amery, Usborne Publishing Ltd., London, 2000, or other Villain story - Memorized

Vocabulary:

Villain, “bad guys”, antagonist, Russia, mortar, pestle, loom, weave, Baba Yaga

Procedure:

1. Present the poster from last week, along with the correlating pictures. Invite the students to match the “bad guys” with the “good guys”. Briefly review the concept that heroes overcome obstacles. Introduce the word antagonist , and use it throughout the lesson.
2. Ask “If heroes overcome obstacles, what do villains do?” After discussion, write the following on the white board: Villains try to stop heroes. Ask students to identify the ways the villains on the poster try to stop their correlating heroes.
3. Hold up a picture of Baba Yaga. Describe this fictional character as a character that exists in Russian stories. (Refer to map.) Detail the characteristics of this character, including her iron teeth, her house on chicken feet, her fence of bones, her herd of skinny cows, and her manner of traveling in a mortar and pestle. Use your mortar and pestle to describe the way Baba Yaga travels. (“Not like a Halloween witch on a broom. The mortar sort of jumps and bumps, along as the witch rides inside, steering as if her pestle was an oar.”)
4. Note: At this point the students will be eager for the story and will be asking to see the book. Tell them today that you are going to share the story from your head. Remind them not all stories are written down in books. We also carry stories in our heads and in our hearts.
5. Indicate you will use a few things to help tell the story. Get out the bandanna, towel and comb, and lay them ready to use as props. Refer to them as your props.
6. Tell the story . Be sure to use your voice and body to create the characters and dramatic tension Add sound and motion as you see fit, inviting the students to participate, as you have in the past two lessons. The more expressive your telling, the more the children will respond dramatically later in the lesson. Remember you are helping them create images in their minds that they will later use to create a full character.
7. Additionally, use the bandanna to wrap an imaginary piece of cheese. Use the comb and towel as they are called for in the story.
8. Invite the students to find a space on the floor where they will be able to stand without touching anyone or anything. Call upon them to use their common sense, not to stand near equipment, doors, walls and furniture.
9. Ask students to form themselves into a small ball on the floor. Tell them no voices should be working at this point. (“Silence, please.”)
10. Ask students to make a picture in their minds of Baba Yaga. Describe the character vividly so that the student can create a clear picture.
11. Instruct students that when you start counting, they are to “grow” into Baba Yaga, to show you what the picture in their brains looks like. Tell them they are to use their bodies and minds to create this villain. Tell them to begin growing on“1” and to freeze on “10”, so that you can “get a good look at them.”
12. Begin counting. If children exercise good creative effort and control, finish counting and say “Freeze.” Look carefully, commenting on their good work.
13. If students flounder, return them to the small ball and begin again. If students are excessively shy, ask them to keep their eyes shut until you say “10.”
14. Be sure to be encouraging, and not dictatorial as they create their witch characters. Side-coach them as they are creating: Ask “Do I see iron teeth?…oh, is she really old?… Are your hands like Baba Yaga’s?…Your mouth?…Your legs?” Students will change as you point out various details. That’s fine as long as they are creating their own work, and not copying someone else’s characterization.
15. Now, invite each witch to step into her mortar, pick up her pestle and “Bump, bump, bump,” through the forest, chasing Misha. Remind students that they may touch NO ONE while traveling. Be firm about this, or you will have kids behaving in an unsafe manner. (You may invite them to bumb around and pretend to travel within their own little space. "Remember to stay in your space.")
16. “I wonder what Baba Yaga would yell at Misha? Go ahead and tell Misha how mad you are at her! Show with your face and your voice how frustrated you are that she got away!” Encourage students to respond.
17. “Now Freeze! In some stories the witch is destroyed when she melts. When I say “go” you will silently melt into a big puddle, again, touching no one and nothing else but the floor. Ready, go. And meeelllt, meeellllt,and…mellllllllllt.”
18. Good. Please, silently, take three quick breaths through your mouth, and one out your mouth….Again…Again. You may sit up and go back to you seats.”

Assessment:

• Did students use their voices, minds, and bodies to create the Villain character?
• Were students able to correlate villains with their heroes, and participate in a discussion of comparison and contrast?

*Lesson plan courtesy of Teresa Love, adapted slightly by Taylor Stroupe

Take 2: Some Personal Experimentation

So, this week felt a lot different than last week's lesson. I wrote the entire lesson plan myself, rather than adapting an existing one. I focused a lot on some of the process drama activities we have been discussing lately in my Elementary School Drama course.

We started off with a review of some of the storytelling elements that we discussed the previous week.

• The audience's job is to listen with open ears, open minds, and open hearts
• Stories teach, warn, and entertain

Then, we added the focus for this week: Heroes overcome obstacles. To help the students engage with this idea, we discussed some of the different heroes the students like. Some of my favorite answers were: Iron man, my mom, and Martin Luther King, Jr. We also talked about some of the obstacles they might have to overcome. After our discussion, we did a "soundtracking" activity. This meant that while I played the Superman theme song, the students walked around as their heroes. I encouraged them to embody their hero in their walk, their facial expressions, and their hand movements. They had a blast with the activity and so did I.

I think the biggest difference between the two lessons was my clarity of purpose. When teaching the first time, I had some objectives pre-written in the plan I adapted. However, as I taught, I found myself swaying between two different objectives in my mind. I wasn't sure what the most important things I wanted the students to be able to do at the end of the lesson. When I had a clear view that I was committed to, the whole lesson was easier to teach and enjoy.

_________________________________________________________________________

Storytelling Lesson #2

Materials needed:

• Paper strips with the three recap things at the end of the lesson.
• My computer to play music
• (I can bring both of these things)

Classroom:

• Desks pushed to the side. We will be doing a lot of movement

Core Theater Standard:

• Use body to communicate meaning through the use of space, shape, energy, and gesture.

Learning Objective:

• Students will be able to demonstrate critical thinking and characterization by giving advice on how to overcome obstacles and using their body and movement to show characterization.

Intro:

• Last week, we talked about… This week, we are going to talk about heros.

Activity 1:

• Heroes overcome obstacles
• Play some dramatic music (background music from Avengers)
• Invite students to move with the music as if they were a hero
• This is a non-verbal activity. We will talk about your heros afterwards, so just focus on moving like your hero.
• Side coaching (further instructions or invitations that could keep the students thinking and creating)
• What kind of hero are you?
• Are you a happy hero, maybe with a skip in your step?
• Are you a strong hero, maybe walking slowly or flexing?
• Are you a serious hero?
• What are you trying to do?

Discussion:

• What were your heroes like?
• (Pick a few students.)
• Those are some awesome heros!
• Heros are heros because they do good things and overcome obstacles. Who can think of some obstacles your heroes might encounter?
• Pick a few students to share ideas

Activity 2:

• Ask for a volunteer who is confident with their hero.
• I need someone who hasn’t been called on yet.
• Once you have chosen them, ask the volunteer to tell the class in detail about their hero.
• Once we have a good idea of what the hero is like, ask what would be an appropriate obstacle for this hero.
• When the obstacle is decided upon, have everyone think about what they might feel like if this was them.
• Divide the class into two lines facing each other.
• Explain how this activity will work:
• _____(our volunteer) is going to walk slowly between these two lines you have all made
• As _____ passes, I want you to whisper an idea of how he could possibly react to this obstacle that is in his way.
• Ok? Let’s practice. Everyone take a second to think. Once you’ve gotten an idea, whisper it to your thumb.
• Got it? Aswesome!
• Invite ______ to walk between the lines, listening to the advice.
• If time permits, maybe have another student walk down “Decision Alley”
• Wrap-up
• Invite them to sit on the floor.
• Wow, you guys had some wonderful advice!
• What are some things you learned?
• Recap:
• So far, we have learned that
• The Audience’s job is to listen with open ears, open minds and open hearts.
• Stories warn, entertain and teach
• Heros Overcome Obstacles
• Thanks for having fun with me today! See you next week!

2nd Grade: Take 1

Last Friday was my first time getting to do a lesson with my lovely second grade class. I haven't participated with Arts Bridge in the past, so this was my first lesson being taught in an elementary school. I was pretty nervous, but so excited!

As the children gathered on the floor for the story that started off the lesson, I found it difficult to remember names. I really wanted to call everyone by their name, but after only two previous visits to the classroom, for observations, I hadn't memorized them all yet. Fortunately, the final activity of the lesson had them back at their desks drawing pictures from their summer vacation. I really liked this because I got to walk around and talk to each of them individually about their pictures. Since their names were on their desks, it also gave me an opportunity to call them each by their names.

I think that one thing I want to improve upon most for next time is being more confident. I could tell the children were having fun, but there were times that I started to second guess the way I had chosen to adapt the lesson plan. I felt inadequate and uncertain in my directions. Before I teach the next time, I am definitely going to practice my lesson plan out loud, even if I don't have an audience. I think just rehearsing the directions can help me figure out ways to be clear and concise with instruction.

I think my favorite thing was having the kids come up and tell their stories after drawing them. I had given them a challenge to add something fictional to their story from summer. Since they are having a storytelling competition at school, I wanted this lesson to act as an intro to storytelling; something to help them realize that they are already storytellers. I love the creativity that they expressed.

I'm so excited for this semester and all the ways that I know I'm going to grow. I have so many goals and things to try!

******************************************************************************************

Storytelling Lesson #1

Objectives:

1. Children will, through their participation, demonstrate the concept that as a storyteller cooperates with an audience, the audience cooperates with the storyteller.
2. Children will practice forming and sharing their own personal stories.

Materials Needed:

• How I Spent my Summer Vacation, by Mark Teague, Dragonfly Books, published by Crown Inc., a division of Random House, 1995;

Have a short discussion with the students regarding their last vacation, or school break. Ask them to shut their eyes and make a “remember picture” in their mind of the best thing they did during that vacation or break. Remind children of various activities they might have experienced. (“Did you spend time at your grandma’s home… did you go someplace fun with your family… did you stay at home and read a million books… did you play outside with your neighbor…?” etc.) Ask students to share with you their memory, or “remember picture.”

Choose a few students and listen to their stories. Draw students out, asking for details, being delighted that they will share with you. Thank each student for telling you his or her story. Use and emphasize the words story and storyteller.

Honor the fact that the students shared with you. Demonstrate that you were a good listener. Repeat specific details of the stories as you speak, so that the students will notice how closely you paid attention.

Tell the students that you feel as if you received a gift, a present, today, when they told you their stories. Tell them you are going to pass the present along when you share their story with someone else. (“A story is like a present. You give someone a gift when you share a story.”)

Procedure:

1. Invite students to listen to a story about a boy and what he did on his summer vacation
2. Present How I Spent My Summer Vacation , by Mark Teague.
3. Help the children discover all the storytellers involved. Discuss the fact that Wallace Bleff shared his story with his class. Also, a man named Mark Teague made up the story and pictures of the book. Then point out that you (the teacher) were a storyteller also, because you told (in this case, read aloud) the story to your students.
4. (“In the next few drama lessons we have we’re all going to learn about stories and how to express stories—share stories, with other people.)
5. Using prepared word strips, or writing on the white board, discuss the following concepts in light of the story you just read. Refer to illustrations as examples of these concepts.
• Stories Teach, Warn and Entertain (“Did Wallace’s story warn us of anything?” etc)
• The Storyteller’s job is to make the story interesting. (“How did Wallace make the story interesting?”)
• The Audience’s job is to have Open Ears, Open Minds, Open Hearts (“What does it mean to have open ears?” etc.), Students will have many ideas regarding these concepts. You may want to note that “open ears” can mean listening well, and “open mind” may mean using one’s imagination. It can also mean not deciding before you hear a story whether or not you’ll like it. Having an open heart can mean letting oneself be touched emotionally by a story.(“So if the story is supposed to be funny, go ahead and laugh. And if the story is supposed to be a little scary, go ahead and feel a little afraid. And if the story is a little sad, go ahead and …that’s right, feel a bit sad.)
• Set a movement pneumonic for Open Ears, Open Minds, Open Hearts. (For example, point to ears, brain and heart, each time you mention the Audience’s job.)
6. Ask students to draw or write a version of their own summer vacation. However, they must have an open mind, and extend their thinking and add some fun exciting new fictional details to their stories. Have the students read or tell their stories to classmates. Classmates may guess what is “real” and what is fictional.
7. Praise the students for their work. Discuss how they did their job as an audience. Thank them for their help in making your job easier as a storyteller as well as being willing to become the storyteller. Say again how much you loved their stories; they were wonderful presents. (“A story is like a present. You give someone a gift when you share a story.”)

Lesson Plan originally created by Teressa Love, minor adaptations made by Taylor Stroupe