When You Wish Upon A Fish

Transcription

1 A Study Guide to Accompany the Performance of When You Wish Upon A Fish Dear Teacher: This study guide is meant to give you background information on our performance and provide you with activities that can be used in the classroom in connection with our performance. These are merely suggestions you can modify any of the activities listed below or use bits of our performance to create your own activities. We hope you find this study guide useful; feel free to make as many copies as needed for the other teachers. We would love to hear your feedback about our performance. Please take a few minutes to download our evaluation: Thank you!

2 Pre-Show Activities 1. Introduce them to the stories we will be presenting. -In this performance, we will telling three versions of the Grimm Brothers story The Fisherman and His Wife. 2. Have students brainstorm questions they would like to ask the actors. -Examples include: 1) Where did you go to college? 2) How did you become an actor? 3) How long did you have to rehearse the show? 4) How are the puppets made? Have the students write their question on a note card and take it with them to the performance. They may be called on to ask their question after the performance! 3. Talk about theater etiquette. Seeing a live theater performance is something that will be remembered for a lifetime. We want each of our audiences to have a positive experience, so we hope that you will share the following etiquette rules with your students: 1) Pay close attention to what the actors are saying and doing. If you don t mind, you might miss a funny joke or an important lesson! 2) Sit still during the performance. If you are moving around, you may cause your friends to miss something important or you may disrupt the actors. 3) Laugh, clap and respond when the actors prompt you too. We want you to be active participants in our show but it has to be at the right times so that it s enjoyable by everyone in the audience.

3 Cultural Activities Kindergarten-1 st Grade The Fisherman and His Wife is a story made famous by the Grimm Brothers, who were born in Germany. Ask the students what they know about Germany, then give them background on who the Brothers were and the other stories they made famous. 2 nd -3 rd Grade The story featured in our show was made famous by the Grimm Brothers. Ask the students if they can identify other stories by the Grimm Brothers, many of which have been turned into movies. Read several of the original stories to the students and ask them to compare and contrast the stories with the movies. 4 th 6 th Grade Have each student research Germany, the birthplace of the Grimm Brothers. They can use the following questions to create a presentation or write in their journals. -What languages do they speak? -What type of government do they have? How is that different from our country? -How is it similar? -What famous people have come from Germany? -What traditional customs do they have? -What are their chief imports and exports?

4 Writing Prompts 1. Small group writing - Put students into small groups and have each create a character (animal, person, vegetable) and come up with short dramatic skits using those characters to tell a story of their own creation. They can also tell a fairytale that is well-known using their character as the main character (i.e. Cinderella from the point of a mouse). 2. Write your own Fractured Fairytale - Madcap takes real stories and gives them the Madcap twist. Have students take a fairytale that is common or well known and fracture it by adding or subtracting characters, giving characters new motivations or changing beginnings, middles or ends. 3. Full Class Story Writing - On the blackboard, write the words Once upon a time there was a Follow a simple story arch (meet characters, create problem, solve problem, create ending) by having students give you suggestions. You can complete this as a class or you can get them started and have each student finish their own story in a journal. 4. Letter Writing - The actors at Madcap love to get fan-mail! They often receive letters from kids about their likes, dislikes, favorite parts or puppets and questions they may have. Students can write their own letter or you may write as a class. Madcap puppeteers send a return letter in response to each one that they receive. Writing Checklist: I will do my best writing if I... Do a pre-write to outline all directions Brainstorm several ideas to work with Include details about each event Have each section in different paragraphs Have a topic sentence and a closing sentence Include capital letters and end marks on each sentence Check spelling, punctuation, and word sense Read over my work at least two times Write neatly

5 Characters Review the list of characters with your students and ask them to identify whether the character was a human or a puppet during the performance. Squint Wilhelm Herr Grumplemeyer Jacob Fisherman Fisherman s Wife Queen Emperor King of the Sea

6 Ohio Content Standards Satisfied by When You Wish Upon A Fish NSTA.4.C Relate science to the personal lives, needs and interests of K-12 students. OH.ELA.1.K.2 Say rhyming words and identify non-rhyming words. OH.ELA.5.K.1 Identify favorite books and stories. OH.ELA.5.K.2 Retell or re-enact a story that has been heard several times. OH.ELA.5.K.3 Distinguish between fantasy and reality. OH.ELA Identify characters and setting in a story OH.ELA Retell the beginning, middle and ending including important events in a story. OH.ELA Describe characters and setting. OH.ELA State the plot of a story. OH.ELA.6.K.1 Generate writing ideas. OH.ELA.6.K.2 Discuss ideas with teacher and peers. OH.SS.K.2.B.2 Identify different cultures through the study of holidays, customs and traditions utilizing language, stories, folktales, music and the arts. OH.SS Demonstrate accountability for actions. OH.SS.1.7.B.4 Identify main ideas from oral, visual and print sources. OH.SS.1.7.C.5 Communicate information orally or visually. OH.SS.3.5.A.6 Explain why the use of power without legitimate authority is unjust (e.g., bullying, stealing). OH.SC.K.2.A.2 Discover that stories (e.g., cartoons, movies, comics) sometimes give plants and animals characteristics they really do not have (e.g., talking flowers). OH.SC.K.3.A.1 Demonstrate that objects are made of part (e.g., toys, chairs). OH.SC.K.3.A.2 Examine and describe objects according to the materials that make up the object (e.g., wood, metal, plastic and cloth). OH.SC.1.4.B.6 Investigate that tools are used to help make things and some things cannot be made without tools. OH.SC.1.4.B.7 Explore that several steps are usually needed to make things (e.g., building with blocks). OH.SC.K.5.C.5 Draw pictures that correctly portray features of the item being described. OH.DR.K.1.A.1 Explain when to observe and listen, and when to speak. OH.DR.1.1.A.1 Demonstrate appropriate audience behavior. OH.DR.3.1.A.1 Demonstrate audience behavior appropriate for forms and styles of drama/theatre: live theatre, film/video and broadcast media. OH.DR.4.1.A.1 Discuss how a performer adjusts to a specific audience. OH.DR.K.1.B.1 Listen to stories, myths and/or fairy tales from various time periods and cultures. OH.DR.3.2.A.1 Create the movement and voice of a character using personal experiences to solve problems encountered by a character. OH.DR.3.2.A.2 Use voice, movement, space and/or physical objects to express or communicate thoughts, feelings and ideas both in improvised and scripted activities.

7 OH.DR.K.2.D.2 Retell or summarize a story after listening to it. OH.DR.1.2.D.1 Describe characters in a story and tell how the characters are similar to or different from themselves. OH.DR.6.2.A.1 Create a character using appropriate voice, posture, movement and language. OH.DR B Explain the functions and interrelated nature of scenery, props, lighting, sound, costumes and makeup to create an environment appropriate for drama. OH.DR.K.3.A.2 Identify the characters, place and time in a story. OH.DR.4.3.A.2 Describe the plot, characters, conflict, resolution and theme of a dramatic/theatrical work or experience. OH.DR.5.3.C.2 Critique a dramatic/theatrical performance. OH.DR.K.4.B.1 Retell stories from various cultures. OH.DR.2.4.B.1 Compare the same story from across cultures. OH.DR.3.4.B.1 Compare and contract characters and situations in stories/drama from and about various cultures. OH.FL.1.1.H.11 Respond (e.g., raise hand, clap hands) to specific information (e.g., key words, phrases, ideas) in live, signed or recorded stories. OH.FL.4.1.H.8 Identify and state the main idea, and describe characters and settings of narratives and media presentations. OH.FL.K.1.J.12 Draw a picture based on a story. OH.FL.1.1.J.13 Retell a story (e.g., sequence pictures, draw favorite scenes). OH.FL.5.1.A.2 Exchange written communication (e.g., , e-pals, phone pals, notes, letters).