lost and found have a go in the classroom

8/17/2019 Lost and Found Have a Go in the Classroom

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have a go

in the classroom

Ideas for Activities

Travelling Light and Polka Theatre present

by OIiver Jeffers

Compiled by Travelling Light Theatre Company


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have a go

This production of Oliver Jeffers’ award-winning book Lost and Found has beencreated by Travelling Light Theatre Companyand Polka Theatre.

It is the first time the two organisations haveworked together on making a play, but it isn’tthe first time either of us have adapted booksfor the stage. To find out examples of otherliterary translations we have made, visit eitherof our websites.

www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk www.polkatheatre.com

We have created some simple exercises that you can use for followup work in the classroom inspired by the play. We hope you likethem… let us know how you get on!

There is also room on each page for you to make notes.

http://www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk/http://www.polkatheatre.com/http://www.polkatheatre.com/http://www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk/


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have a go

Lost and Found is about many things.

Like many Travelling Light shows it is about play and exploration

The actors, director, designer and composer have worked very hard to bring out themesthat are so important to all of us, especially very young people:

I Friendship

ICompanionship

I Home

I Belonging

I Loneliness

Oliver Jeffers (centre) with Tom Power as The Boy and Derek Elwood as The Penguin


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storytelling

Imagine there’s a knock at the door…Who is there?Where are you going to go?How are you going to get there?

You need some help along the way…Where do you go to find some help?Who will you ask for help?What help do they give to you?

Now you are on your journey…How do you get there?What is the journey like?Who do you meet along the way?

What stories do they tell you?

And you arrive…What does it look like?What does it feel like?Is it hot or cold? Dry or wet? Windy or calm?What does your travelling companion think?

It’s time to play!Where can you play in this place?What games can you play?Is there anyone else to play with?

It’s time to go home…How do you get there?What is the journey like?Who do you meet along the way?What stories do they tell you?

You arrive home…How does it feel to be home?Who do you see when you get there?

What do you do when you get there?

The EndWhere does your travelling companion go?What do you say to them?How do you feel at the end of your journey?

have a goThere is very little dialogue in the play, reflecting the simple, narrative language used in the book. The boytalks to both the audience and the penguin, who only talks in honks!

The following is a useful prompt for either:drama,creative writing or oral storytelling. Youcan adapt it too to suit your class, extending the questions to reflect the journey they go on…

notes


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object theatrehave a go

notes

Like a lot of our shows, the play uses everyday objects for a variety of theatrical devices. The ball is a

football but it becomes the top of a tree and the head of the man at the Lost and Found office. Masking

tape, a tape measure and some paintbrushes all become different objects

Try out some games and exercises that use objects in different ways:

Play hide and seek with a penguin or an um-brella. Hide them around the classroom and give

your pupils clues as to where they are.

Set up two trays of identical things and takeone object away. Can your pupils use their memo-ries to remember what was there and what ismissing?

Take a football and think about what differentthings it can become. Try it out with other objectslike a bowl, a book or a tea towel.


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puppetshave a goLike many of our shows, Lost and Found uses puppets to help tell the story. The boy and the penguin

travel across the ocean, they talk to the birds, and we meet the man at the Lost and Found office

through puppetry.

You couldmake your own puppets to use in your storytelling or journey exploration. Youcould make your own puppets of the boy or the penguin, or everyone could make a puppetversion of themselves. We have made some great tips on making different types of puppet.

These can be downloaded separately from our website.

When you have made them take a picture of them and email them to us. We’ll then put themon our website.

MAKE A QUICK BIRD!

The boy and the penguin both meet a bird a fewtimes in the play. This is how the bird was made.It’s really simple!

I Take a square of paper

I Fold it in half into a triangle

I Fold it in half again

I Place your index finger along the middle, with the sides aan upwards V

I Hey presto!

notes


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counting & playinhave a goAt the start of the play, the boy begins playing. He sees that there are four different sized cylinders.

He explores the logic of the sizes and the shapes, and tries to build a tower with the largest at the

bottom and the smallest at the top.

He also discovers a small football which he plays with and which he lets the penguin play with.

Throughout the play the cylinders become different locations including: a tree to talk to the birds, a

bath tub and, with the aid of the ball, the Lost and Found office.

Play with shapes.Order things according to size. Compare things of different shapes. Try tomake as tall a tower as possible. You could use household items such as tins of beans, toiletrolls and fizzy drink cans.

notes


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geographyhave a goThe boy and the penguin go all over the World! Together they go to the Lost and Found office, they

meet some birds in the forest, they travel across the sea, and they go to the South Pole.

You couldtalk about where they go andhow they get there. Perhaps research intothese different locations.

Try some dramarole-play by creating these places in your classroom, allowing your pupils toexplore what it is like. How can you use musical instruments in your classroom to

make these places come to life, and to put different feelings or emphasis on the journeysthemselves? Imagine what it is like sailing on the sea in an umbrella!

notes

Build a Lost and Found office in the cornerof the room.Create the seaout of bodies or blue material.Carve the South Pole from polystyrene.

These simple making ideas are perfect for artand design work too.


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have a goanimals

Of course one of the main characters is a penguin! The boy and his feathered friend also meet a bird, a

seagull, a fish and a whale. When he decides to take the penguin home, the boy does some research:

Where do penguins come from?

Research into the different animals that the characters meet. We don’t meet them for verylong, so perhaps you could do somerole-play to imagine: what did the animals think of the boyand the penguin? What did they do when the boy and the penguin left?

notes


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have a goreview

The following people have already said this about Lost and Found.

“...penguin perfect…”The Stage

“Children’s theatre at its strongest…” ****Whatsonstage.com

“...few words, lots of action...and huge scope forimagination. What could be more perfect?” *****

The Publi c Reviews

“Finally saw Lost and Found in Ipswich… Thanks somuch for a lovely experience. I am so glad we madethe effort!”Audience M ember

We’d love to hear from you too.Write a review of the play in class.

Make your own production and film it, drawyour own pictures, take photographs of penguinsyou have met in the zoo…

Send pictures or copies of your work to us via email or post and we will put iton our website: www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk

Travelling Light Theatre Company

Barton Hill Settlement41—43 Ducie RoadBristolBS5 0AX [email protected]

http://www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.travellinglighttheatre.org.uk/


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Lost and Found Credits

The Boy Tom PowerThe Penguin Derek ElwoodDirector Sally CooksonDesigner Katie SykesComposer & Benji BowerMusical DirectorStage Manager Andy Shewan

Illustration: Oliver Jeffers from Lost and Found published by HarperCollins Limited Publishers ©Oliver Jeffers

For Travelling Light

Artistic Producer Jude MerrillGeneral Manager Cath GreigProduction Manager Jo WoodcockParticipation Director Nick WhiteFinance & Administration Joanne Gore

Youth Theatre Director Jen Camillin

Photos by Bob Workman

Travelling Light and Polka Theatre present

lost and found have a go in the classroom

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