PLAYMAKING FROM CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Rumplestiltskin Grades 3- 6
Based on the story by the Brothers Grimm
Download PDF: Rumplestiltskin Lesson Plan and Script

The Jabberwocky Grades 3-8
Based on Lewis Carroll’s comic heroic adventure

Available free at the LEWIS CARROLL’S NONSENSE ZONE

Caps for Sale Grades Pre-K- 2

Based on the Slobodkina version of the folktale about a peddler and monkeys.

Starbaby Grades Pre-K- 2

Based on the Frank Asch fantasy about a baby who comes from the stars.

B’rer Rabbit and the Dummy Trap Grades 3-8

Based on the Uncle Remus tale about thinking before punching.

 

POETRY AND SPOKEN WORD

Mrs. Rosenberg’s Poems for Choral Reading and Reciting Grades 3-8

Tried and true favorites for teaching children vocal projection, articulation, emotional expression, noble sentiments, group cohesion and concentration.

Dr. Seuss Explains Computers Grades 4-8
Choral version of a computer jargon jingle by Gene Ziegler

I Hear America Singing Grades 3-8
Choral version of the Walt Whitman poem celebrating the vigor of work in a booming 19th century America

Invictus Grades 5-8
Choral version of the classic Victorian poem of courage under pressure

HIGHLY STRUCTURED CHARADES

To play this highly popular student performance game with your classes, copy each MIMED activity below on a separate index card.  Put the cards in a ritualistic bag. Select a contestant who selects an activity randomly from the bag. The contestant is given 10 seconds to think about how to act out the activity in silence. When the contestant is ready, the audience must watch in silence as he or she acts out the activity while you count slowly to 10.

After you announce 10, students who want to guess must raise their hands silently. The contestant picks participants until someone guesses right. You be the judge. That person becomes the next contestant. If that person does not want to act out, he or she will select the next contestant. If no one guesses within 60 seconds, give the contestant a choice either to reveal what the activity was and then choose someone new, or to try again with some coaching from you.

Emphasize to the students that performing artists are trained to pay attention to details.

The more thoughtfully each action is carried out by the performer, the more easily the audience can imagine what the activity is supposed to be. First, the performer must imagine and embody the activity from his or her  imagination, and then the audience will.

Dive into the water and swim across the pool

 

Peel an orange and eat 3  juicy slices

 

Eat an ice cream cone

 

Thread a needle and sew a torn sock

Wash dishes in the sink

 

Shave your face

 

Eat an ear of corn on the cob

 

Try to read a newspaper while a fly bothers you

 

Make and taste soup

 

Put on lipstick

 

Be a musclebound weight lifter lifting heavy barbells up to the ceiling

 

Play a game of darts

 

Eat a juicy slice of watermelon, which has pits.

 

Bowl a strike

 

Open a present

 

Drive a race car in a race

 

roller skate with ease and confidence

 

Paint a very large mural on the wall

 

Direct traffic at an intersection

 

Take a drink of water from a fountain

 

Be a glamorous person putting on and showing off sunglasses

 

Walk a frisky dog across the street

 

Walk while you are listening to music wit headphones

 

Change the tire of a car

 

Fly a kite

 

Be a secretary using a stapler

 

Pitcher throws 2 great strikes, then the hitter knocks a home run

 

You smell something terrible in the room, then spray with a room deodorizer

 

Eat spaghetti

 

Milk a cow

 

You are a waiter carrying a tray and serving tea