Theatre Arts in the ClassroomCasey Elementary School

Teachers use techniques of theatre arts constantly in their daily lessons, often without being aware of it. Theatrical techniques are inextricably tied to learning how to read and interpret literature as well as to learning about culture and society in social studies. Here are a few ideas for ways to use theatre in the classroom to enhance the standard curriculum.

PHONICS TONGUE TWISTERSActors often warm up their voices by practicing tongue twisters, being careful to enunciate all consonant and vowel sounds properly. When learning any particular letter sound, diphthong, or consonant blend, the students could be asked to brainstorm a list of words that use that particular sound and put them together into a silly sentence, maybe even a rhyme, using as many of those words as possible. This sentence would be the tongue twister for the day.

THE PRINCIPAL’S CATThis is a Victorian parlor game (a.k.a. The Minister’s Cat) that may adapted to teach any number of concepts. In the game, players stand in a circle and create a rhythm. They take turns describing “the principal’s cat” with different adjectives. Each adjective has to start with the same letter of the alphabet. They cannot repeat one another or break the rhythm, or they are out* of the circle. Once a player is out, the next player starts over with the next letter in the alphabet. For example: “The principal’s cat is a happy cat.”“The principal’s cat is a hopeful cat.”“The principal’s cat is a....” (Player can’t think of a word in time, so he is out, and play resumes.)“The principal’s cat is an irritating cat.” (And so on.)

SPARKLE!This is a game we have seen played well by first graders and fifth graders alike. It’s a spelling game, and it works best with all the students standing in a circle. The teacher or game leader will call out a word, and the students must go around the circle spelling it out, one letter at a time. After the last letter in the word has been called out, the next student must say “Sparkle!” Then the leader will call out the next word, and the game continues. If a player takes too long to say a letter or says the wrong letter or fails to say “Sparkle” at the end of the word, then he or she is out* of the game. Play may continue until there is one winner left. It makes an interesting variation on the Spelling Bee and keeps students on their toes at all times.

*Here’s an idea for keeping students interested in a game after they are “out.” You could put the first student to make a mistake in the center of the circle where he/she must remain until the next student who makes a mistake, who will take his/her place. This way, there is never more than one student “out” of the game at a time, and every student always has the potential to get back into the game. This might make things a little more fun and engaging for students who are otherwise intimidated or bored by a game that they don’t get to play for very long.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

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SUPERVILLAINSThis game is designed to reinforce the concepts of antonyms and synonyms in helping a student develop a more expressive vocabulary. The teacher or a student stands in the center of the circle as the Supervillain. First the Supervillain names him/herself (i.e. Dr. Destructo, Cobra Woman, or whatever they want). Then the Supervillain makes some kind of threat along these lines: “I have an awesome destructive superpower. I have the power to destroy people with words. I can destroy you simply by pointing at you and saying a word. The only way to save yourself is by pointing back at me and saying the opposite (or antonym) of my word.” Then the Supervillain demonstrates this power, pointing randomly at anyone in the circle. The student under attack has only seconds to think of an appropriate antonym and shoot the word back at the villain. It will be helpful to give each Supervillain a list of suggested words to use, since not every word has a clear antonym (i.e. What is the antonym for today? Tomorrow? Yesterday?)Another variation would be for the Supervillain’s word to be so powerful that it takes three or more similar antonyms to defeat him/her. This will cause students in the circle to work together to think quickly of synonyms for the word they need. For example:Supervillain: Cold! Supervillain: Big!First Student: Hot! First Student: Small!Second Student: Steamy! Second Student: Tiny!Third Student: Sweltering! Third Student: Puny!

ENVIRONMENTAL WALKStudents walk in a circle at normal speed. They cannot touch one another or make any vocal sounds. As the teacher describes a new environment to them, they must continue to walk in a way that is appropriate to that place. They must show (not tell) with their bodies and faces what the place is like and how they feel while they are there.“You are walking barefoot on a hot sandy beach. Now you are walking into the ocean, and you can feel the water slowly rising above your feet. The wet sand squishes between your toes....You are crossing a muddy road in your best Sunday clothes.... You are walking on a tightrope 100 feet in the air.... You are walking across Antarctica in a heavy snowsuit....”Variations can include walking as animals or as fictional characters or as historical figures (“You are Harriet Tubman making your way through the woods at night, following the North Star....”) or in specific time periods (“You are walking through a prehistoric swamp....”)Praise the students for clear communicating through body language alone. After the walk, students can take turns describing what they saw, heard, felt, smelled, or tasted in different environments. Then they can write about their imaginary trip.

HUMAN SENTENCESA great way to reinforce the understanding of syntax and parts of speech is to have students act out the words of a sentence. Nouns are fairly easy to represent through pantomime. Verbs must perform the actions they name. Adjectives and adverbs must actively influence the words they modify by touching or connecting to them in some way. And so on. Allow the students them-selves to come up with ideas for how to represent the words and to be able to justify their ideas.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

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For example, the sentence to be performed is “The little girl complained loudly to her busy mother.” Nine actors must line up to play the parts of the nine words in the sentence.There are a million right ways to act it out. Here is one possibility:1. “THE” uses his hands to direct attention to “little” and “girl.”2. “LITTLE” squats down on the floor in front of “girl” and pulls her down slightly lower.3. “GIRL” stands smiling with a bow in her hair.4. “COMPLAINED” angrily (and silently) rants.5. “LOUDLY” cups his hands and holds them like a megaphone to the mouth of “complained.”6. “TO” points to the series of words in her prepositional phrase, which might stand in a row

that juts off in a slightly different direction than the rest of the sentence.7. “HER” uses his hands to communicate a connection between “girl” and “mother,” perhaps

using a similar bow in the hair.8. “BUSY” stands by “mother,” constantly manipulating her arms to perform various actions.9. “MOTHER” holds an imaginary baby which “busy” forces her to do different things with,

including rocking it, feeding it, bathing it, scolding it, and so on.

SILENT “E”Students are given individual letters to wear and asked to stand together in groups that spell out three-letter words (i.e. “cut,” “fin,” “hop,” “can,”) Once the students have formed a word, they must begin to act out the word with some kind of pantomime movement. The “cut” group might pretend their fingers are scissors, or they might make repeated karate chops. The “can” group could pretend to shake a can or open one or drink out of one. As always with theatre, there is more than one right answer. Finally, another student, who is playing the “Silent E” will tiptoe quietly between the groups until she comes to stop at the end of one of their words. When she joins their word, they must all change their movement to reflect the new word’s meaning. The “cut” group would now become “cute” and would have to choose an action that shows that they are cute. This might be anything from smiling and waving to fixing their hair or pretending to gaze at themselves in a mirror. Then the “Silent E” will sneak away to another group and change their word, forcing them to change their movement. And so on.

VOCABULARY CHARADESTest your students’ understanding of vocabulary words by having them use pantomime (See the attachment on the Six Easy Steps to Pantomime) to act them out. Students will be forced to make creative choices for communicating the concepts they are learning about, and you will instantly know how well they understand these words. This is especially interesting when the word is an abstract or complex concept such as “courage” or “democracy.” Furthermore, students who are having difficulty understanding the meaning of a word may finally come to understand it by witnessing another student’s pantomime. This activity may actually be better for groups of students to perform rather than individuals.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

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SENTENCE TYPES FOR DINNERFour students sit down together at a table for an imaginary family dinner. Each has been assigned a family role to play, such as mother, father, daughter, uncle, grandmother, etc. The teacher sets down a plate before each student. On each plate is the name of a type of sentence (i.e. statement, question, command, exclamation). The students must now improvise a conversation with each other, but they can only speak using the type of sentence on their plates. The audience should be able to guess what type of sentence each student was restricted to using.

BEADS ON A STRINGThis is an improvisational story-telling game. The first volunteer stands before the class and creates the first sentence of a story. The next volunteer stands across the room and says the last sentence of the story, which will probably sound completely unrelated to the first sentence. The third volunteer will stand in the middle between the beginning and the end and say another original sentence that comes in the middle of the story. Now players may enter the “string” of the story in any order they like, but once they take their place, they must speak a new sentence that would make sense at that point in the story. In this way, the made-up story will be composed one sentence at a time all out of order. Once everyone has joined the “string,” the players start at the beginning and repeat their sentences in order to create a complete and coherent story.

THE LIVING TABLEAUJust as any story or text can be interpreted into a work of theatre, so can any picture or image. Let students observe a work of art carefully and consider what the situation depicted is about. The picture can be anything from a photograph to a drawing or a painting, and the subject matter could be realistic or even abstract. The students choose characters or pieces of the artwork to become. They arrange themselves into the composition of the picture and, when the teacher gives the signal, they set the picture into motion so that the characters can interact. When the teacher says “stop,” they freeze into a new picture. The students can write down their new play.

COMMERCIALSStudents rehearse and perform commercials for something they have studied in class, such as a mathematical figure (“We offer a variety of triangles for your many three-sided needs from the scalene to the isoceles...”), a tool or invention (“My name is Thomas Edison, and thanks to my latest invention, you will never need to read by candlelight again....”), a part of speech, a historical event or artifact, a scientific concept, or whatever you like. Students can vote to determine which group made the most creative (or the most persuasive) commercial. When voting, they are not allowed to vote for their own commercial.

FAMOUS CHARACTERSEach student chooses a famous character to portray (historical, literary, or other). They research their characters, construct a prop and/or a costume piece to represent the figure, and speak in their voice. At a special presentation, the characters come to life and tell about themselves. This is a great culmination to a special unit of study and is wonderful to present to an audience.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

THE CLOCKStudents stand in a circle, with twelve of them representing the numbers 1 through 12. Two other students stand in the center of the circle and represent the short and long hands of a clock. (Yet another student could represent the second hand.) The “hands” move around the clock to show the passage of the hours of the day, beginning early in the morning. Periodically, the teacher stops the clock and asks the class what they are doing at that particularly time of day. Rather than tell what they do, they have to act it out with pantomime. Maybe they are eating breakfast or getting dressed or catching the school bus. Stop the clock at different times throughout the school day and see how well students understand how their own schedule relates to the clock. The challenge is for them to associate their routine with the times on the clock (i.e. recess time, lunch, music class, after-school activities, etc.).

THE SHRINKING PLAYThe idea here is for students to grasp an understanding of the concepts of summary, main idea, and theme by progressively whittling a story down to smaller and smaller elements. They begin by reading a story, or a part of a story. One group must act out what happens in the story using only a few sentences (no more than 10). What they create will in effect be a summary of the story’s events. Then they must go back and reenact the story using only one sentence. This will be the main idea. Finally, they act out the story using only one word or a short phrase, which should be the theme.

DECIMAL BOUNCEThe students stand in a row, each one wearing a card that identifies them as a single-digit numeral (i.e. 7, 0, 9, etc.). The student farthest to the left holds a small rubber ball in his left hand. The ball represents the decimal point. When the group is asked to multiply by 10, the student with the ball must throw it down and bounce it to the right, and the student on his right must catch the ball with his left hand. If they multiply by 100, the ball bounces twice to the right; if by 1000, it bounces three times to the right, and so on. When asked to divide, the students must bounce the ball to the left (once for 10, twice for 100, three times for 1000, etc.)

READERS’ THEATREReaders’ Theatre is actually a very legitimate theatrical format that is often used by professional actors in fully staged “readings.” In this format, the actors do not have to memorize their lines, nor do they have to stand up and act out their movements. They simply sit and read their scripts, giving emphasis to the characters and the dialogue. This type of performance can still be very rehearsed and may sometimes involve some degree of movement, costumes, etc.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

TEXT INTERPRETATIONThis is the broadest idea of all, which gets at the heart of what theatre is. The premise here is that any kind of text--whether it’s taken from a play, a speech, a story, a poem, or even a science textbook–can be dramatized. Groups of students assigned a particular text to interpret can choose from one of the following formats to act it out:

1. Pantomime With Narration– The actors primarily use movement to act out the story’s events while one or more narrators explain the story.

2. Pantomime Without Narration– The story or situation is told through movement alone.

3. Dialogue With Narration– A narrator describes the flow of the story to the audience, while the other characters add detail by speaking dialogue to one another.

4. Dialogue Without Narration– There is no narrator. Everything is communicated as in a more traditional play by characters speaking to one another.

All four of these structures can be used to turn anything into a play, from a fairy tale to a description of the major events of the Revolutionary War.

Remember that you only need three things to create an authentic theatrical performance:1. Actor(s)2. Audience3. Text or Subject Matter (which can be read or memorized, rehearsed or improvised)

If these three elements are in place, the actor(s) may choose to embellish by adding any one or more of other theatrical elements: Costumes, Make-Up, Masks, Puppets, Props, Scenery, Music, Sound Effects, Lights, Visual Effects. But in the end, all of these elements are just extras. They may enhance the performance, but they are not absolutely necessary to it.

One way to involve the entire class in creating a performance based on a text they are reading in class is to divide the students into groups and assign each group one or more pages from the text. They can first summarize the content of their assigned pages and then create a dramatization of their summary. On the next page is a short lesson plan of an example of this type of project, along with a list of relevant benchmarks.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us “The Long Path to Freedom”

From The Story of Harriet Tubman

by Kate McMullan

The students are divided into groups of three to five. Each group is assigned one or two pages of text from the story to summarize and interpret theatrically. When presenting their performances, one student in each group will narrate by reading the group-written summary. The students themselves will decide whether to use pantomime or dialogue or both in presenting the story. They will decide who will play each role and how those roles will be presented. They will decide whether to incorporate any other theatrical elements such as props or costumes.

This activity demonstrates the following competencies from the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks (fifth grade level):

Reading/Language Arts2: The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty, and complexity.3: The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively.5c: The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summarization or paraphrasing of the events or ideas in literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text of increasing length and difficulty citing text-based evidence.

Social Studies/History1: Examine the historical development of the United States of America.1b: Investigate the impact of the various cultural groups that settled the United States.2: Discover how democratic values were established and have been exemplified by people, events, and symbols.2a: Determine how democratic principles developed (e.g. women’s suffrage, civil rights, etc.).

Theatre Arts1: Know and understand the creation of improvisations and scripted scenes based on personal experience, heritage, imagination, literature, and history.2: Develop basic acting skills required to interact in improvised and scripted scenes.3: Design by developing environments for improvised or scripted scenes.4: Direct by organizing rehearsals for improvised and scripted scenes.6: Develop methods to apply discoveries from research to support classroom dramatizations.7: Recognize theatre as an important tool to assist in understanding cultures, times, and places.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

TURNING A STORY INTO A PLAYAdapting a story into a class play can be a fairly simple process. Find stories that relate to a topic or theme that you are already studying. Often it’s best to find a story with room for lots of characters, so there will be a part for every student in your class. Sometimes this means creating lots of narrators who take turns with the narration. Also, the actors can play parts of the story’s environment. The following pages demonstrate the first two stages of a play that I adapted for a third grade class studying Native Americans. I looked online for stories and legends about the Mississippi tribes of Indians (Choctaws, Chickasaws, Natchez, etc.) I found several great stories, but most of them had too few characters. Here’s one I found that I thought had great potential for a class play. The first version is the story as I found it online, verbatim.

The White Dog and the Sacred PoleIn a time long since past, there lived somewhere in the West a tribe of Indians constantly

warred upon by a powerful enemy. Because of the never ending attacks, the people of this tribe enjoyed little of the peace and comfort for which they so deeply yearned.In time, the families who lived nearest the enemy and who, over the years, had borne the brunt of enemy assaults, became so weary and heavy-hearted that they appealed to their wise prophets to find a solution to the problem.

The men of wisdom held a special consultation. They sat around the council fire and deliberated for many hours, and most important, they sought guidance from Ubabeneli, The Creator of all things, who sat above the clouds and directed the destiny of all.At last, the prophets concluded their deliberations. They summoned their fellow tribesmen and told them of the decision they had reached.

The people, said the wise men, would seek a new home where they could find peace and happiness. Their guide to the new land would be a kohta falaya (long pole). This kohta falaya, though, was no ordinary pole. It was something extra special, for it had been made sacred by Ubabeneli.

At the end of each day's journey, the prophets explained, the sacred pole would be stuck into the ground so that it stood perfectly straight. Each morning the pole would be carefully examined, and in whatever direction it was leaning, that would be the direction of travel.That procedure was to be repeated until the kohta falaya leaned no more. And when that happened, the people would know it was a divine sign from Ubabeneli that their journey was over, and their new home had been reached. Then the prophets told them the people would be split into two groups to make traveling safer and easier and that the brave young chief called Chickasaw would lead one party and his equally brave brother Choctaw, also a chief, would lead the other.

During the next few days, the families busied themselves packing their meager belongings and making other necessary preparations for the journey. At last, the eve of departure arrived. That evening the prophets stuck the kohta falaya into the ground and then retired for the night; the next morning, at the break of day, the long pole was closely inspected and found to be leaning to the east.

So with Chief Chickasaw at the head of one of the parties and Chief Choctaw heading the other, the two-headed colony bade farewell to the remainder of the tribe and set out in the direction of the rising sun.

It was a sight to behold, this great Indian caravan: Old men and old women, boys and girls, young braves and young maidens, husbands and their wives-- some with newborn babies, others with babies yet unborn--all moving along on foot with their few worldly possessions and each knowing with certainty that somewhere a new homeland awaited them, and by-and-by the sacred long pole would lead them to it.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us Far in front of this procession of red people ranged a large white dog. He darted to the right,

then to the left; he was everywhere, always on the alert. The people loved the big creature very dearly. He was their faithful guard and scout, and it was his duty to sound the alarm should enemies be encountered. Travel was slow and laborious. Every evening found migrating Indians only a short distance from where they had commenced that day's journey. Even so, each day's walk took the people farther from their old homeland, until in time they found themselves passing through the homelands of other red people--red people who eyed them with suspicion and considered them intruders.

Sickness was a constant companion of marchers, and the tribal doctors stayed busy digging into their medicine bags. But when sinti, the snake, struck any one of them, the big white dog was quickly summoned and had only to lick the wound to make the victim well again.Yet, even with the extraordinary healing powers of the medicine men and the beloved white dog, the ugly hand of death reached down into the double- headed colony of red people and took away loved ones at will.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. And then one day, just as the sun was setting, the two parties of Indians came upon a scene beyond their imagination. It was a great river, the likes of which they had never seen before, and the unexpected sight overwhelmed them.For a long time the astonished people stood on the riverbank and stared in awe at the mighty watercourse. They called the giant river misha sipokoni (beyond all age); today, that great river is known far and wide as the Mississippi.

That night the families sat around their campfires and talked joyfully to one another. Many of the people believed the promised land had been reached and felt certain the sacred long pole would confirm their belief at daybreak. But at sun up the next day, the homeless people saw that the kohta falaya still leaned toward the east, and they knew that "home" was somewhere on the other side of the wide, wide river before them.

The tribesmen hurriedly set about constructing rafts, and soon the crossing was underway. Almost immediately a serious mishap occurred which left the Indians very sad. The raft carrying their beloved white dog came to pieces in the middle of the river, and though all the people were quickly rescued, the big dog, which managed to climb onto a piece of broken timber, could not be reached. The people could only watch helplessly as he was swept downstream and out of sight. That was the last the Indians ever saw of their faithful guard and scout.

The families rested by the river several days, then packed up and continued their eastward march. Some weeks later they camped at a certain place, which later became known as Nanih Waya, in what is now Winston County, Mississippi. At daylight the following morning, the people found the kohta falaya wobbling around crazily, leaning first in one direction and then another. The migrants became somewhat excited--and uneasy, too--for they had never before seen the sacred long pole behave in such a strange manner. At last the kohta falaya grew very still and stood perfectly straight.

At this point, the two brothers--Chief Chickasaw and Chief Choctaw--had their first difference of opinion. Chief Choctaw, as well as some of the prophets, was quite satisfied that the perfectly erect pole was the divine sign from Ubabeneli that their new home had been reached. Chief Chickasaw on the other hand, was not at all pleased with the way the sacred pole had wobbled around, and he felt certain the promised land lay farther toward the rising sun. Discussions on the matter were held by the two chiefs and the prophets, but at the end of several hours, opinions remained unchanged. Seeing that talking was getting them no place, Chief Chickasaw pulled the sacred long pole from the ground and commanded all those who believed the promised land lay farther to the east to pick up their packs and follow him.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us That was the beginning of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian Nations. From that day on Chief

Chickasaw's followers, who were relatively few compared to the great number who remained in camp,

were referred to as Chickasaws, and those who stayed with Chief Choctaw were called Choctaws.

–from www.firstpeople.us

I rewrote this story in a format that I could read to the students while involving them in the story’s action:

Today we are going to tell a story that was told by two of the Native American tribes that came to live in Mississippi– the Choctaws and the Chickasaws. This is the story of how they came to live in Mississippi, and the story is called “The White Dog and the Sacred Pole.” Get ready to use your imaginations. This is a pantomime game. There is no talking or noise unless I tell you to say something.

Imagine that you are part of an Indian tribe that lives somewhere way out west many hundreds of years ago. You live out in a wide, open field surrounded by trees. There are no roads. There are no cars. There is no electricity. There are no buildings like the ones we know. What kind of house do you live in out here? We are all part of one tribe sitting around our campfire at night. It’s very cold out here at night. It might even be snowing. Feel how cold the air is and then lean in to feel the warmth of the fire in the middle. Where does our food come from? What did we have to eat tonight? We are a tribe that works together to take care of each other, but we are not happy here. Do you know why? (Students give answers.)

We are (also) unhappy because we are surrounded by many powerful enemies. They are always coming down to our camp to kill our people and steal our food. One of you is very upset and stand up to tell about why you are worried for your tribe. (Someone stands and says, “I am worried because...”) So then one of the wise people in the tribe stands and says: (“We must leave this place.”) And then another wise person stands and says: (“We must find a new home where we can find peace and happiness.”) Then a third wise person stands and holds up a long pole that was given to him/her by the Ababinili, the Creator of All Things, who sits above the clouds and watches over us. This person says, (“We must follow this sacred pole. It is called the Kohta Falaya.”) Everyone repeat: (“Kohta Falaya. Kohta Falaya. Kohta Falaya. Sacred Pole.”)

The tribe was led by two brothers named Chahta and Chicksa. Repeat their names when I point to them. (“Chahta...Chicksa.”) The tribe will split into two lines, and one half of the people will follow Chahta. The other half will follow Chicksa, but we will all travel together. Before we leave, think about what you will carry with you. What will the men carry? (“Bow and arrow, etc.”) What will the women carry? (“Food, children,...”) Who will carry the bones of the dead ancestors? Everyone stand and pick up what you will need to carry. Now line up behind Chahta or Chicksa. You will follow them, and they will follow the Kohta Falaya, the Sacred Pole.

Also in front of our group is the White Dog. We all love the White Dog because he (or she) is good at scouting out danger. The Dog can also heal our wounds by licking them if we get hurt. The White Dog walks in front and is always looking around. Let’s begin our walk. Imagine that we are walking across a snowy field. It’s freezing cold, and the biting wind is blowing hard against you. Now you have to cross a frozen pond. Walk carefully so you do not slip on the ice. We are getting tired and hungry. Chahta turns and says: “Everyone stop.” Chicksa says: “We will camp here for tonight.” The chiefs plant the Sacred Pole in the ground, and they make sure it is standing up straight. All the men in the tribe need to look off to the side for an animal to catch. Now aim your bow and arrow and shoot. What kind of animal did you shoot? Now let’s sit down around our campfire. Who can build the fire? Good. Now everyone warm your hands at the fire. The men

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.usneed to skin the animals they shot. The women cut up the meat and vegetables to be cooked. Everyone gets a bowl of the stew that’s been cooked over the fire. Smell how good the food is. Now taste it. It tastes good and warms you up. Tell me how it tastes. Someone needs to feed the White Dog. Now Chahta says: “Everyone go

to sleep.” Don’t lie down. Just close your eyes until I tell you it’s morning time.

(The Sacred Pole leans in one direction.) When everyone opened their eyes the next morning, they saw that the Kohta Falaya, the Sacred Pole, was leaning towards the east. This was a sign that they must travel in that direction. So everyone stood up and picked up what they had to carry and got into their two lines behind Chahta and Chicksa. And they all followed the Sacred Pole and the White Dog to the east. As they travel, the weather gets warmer. Now you’re walking through a thick forest. You are surrounded by tree branches and vines with sharp thorns. The White Dog smells a bear up ahead, but he/she guides you away from it so you will be safe. One of you is bitten by a snake. It hurts like fire! The White Dog comes and licks your wound, and you are all better again.

When you come to a stop, the Sacred Pole leans one way, and everyone goes that direction. You have been walking for years now. Now you are in a muddy place. Try to step between the mud puddles. Walk carefully. Now you have come to the shore of the biggest river you have ever seen. They called this river Misa Sipokoni, which meant it was the oldest thing they had ever seen. Everyone say Misha Sipokoni. (“Misha Sipokoni.”) Now let’s say it together faster and faster. What do you think this river is called today? (“Mississippi.”) It is too wide and too deep to swim across, but we must find a way to cross it.

Chahta says “Cut down trees.” Chicksa says “Everyone build a raft.” Everyone get out your stone axes and chop down the nearest tree. Now tie the logs together with vines and make a strong raft. How many rafts do we have? The first group sails across the river to the other side. Now the next group. Now all the rest. The White Dog rides on the last raft by itself. Oh no! The last raft is drifting away! The people try to save the Dog, but they cannot reach him/her. The White Dog cannot swim. The Dog floats away down the river. You will never see the White Dog again. Say goodbye. How does everyone feel? Show me how you feel.

Now get back into your lines and follow the two brothers. Finally they come to a place and make camp for the night. Sit in your circle. Someone builds the fire. Chicksa says “Everyone go to sleep.” Don’t lie down. Just close your eyes. When everyone opened their eyes the next morning, they saw that the Kohta Falaya was standing up straight. Chahta said, “We have reached the end of our journey!” Then the pole leaned to the right. Chicksa said, “We must keep traveling.” Then the Pole stood up straight again, and Chahta said, “No, the Pole wants us to stay right here.” Then the Pole kept wobbling in different directions. And Chicksa said, “No, we must keep traveling until the Pole stands up straight again.”

So the brothers could not agree on what to do. Finally, Chahta and his followers decided to stay where they were. All of his followers took the bones of their ancestors that they had carried with them and put them in a pile in the middle. They covered the bones with a mound of dirt. They built this mound into a big, tall hill. And they called it Nanih Waiya. Repeat that name three times while you are building the mound: “Nanih Waiya. Nanih Waiya. Nanih Waiya.” They stayed at Nanih Waiya and because their chief was named Chahta, they called themselves the Choctaws.

Chicksa’s followers kept moving and followed the Sacred Pole until they came to another place in Mississippi where the Pole stood up straight. Because their chief was named Chicksa, they called themselves the Chickasaws.

And that is how the Choctaws and the Chickasaws came to Mississippi.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us Finally, on these last pages you can see how we turned this into the format of a play by assigning characters to speak the same words that I had spoken in the above story. Since there were 27 students in the class, we came up with 27 characters for the play and gave Choctaw names to all except the narrators. Students tend to care more about their character if he/she has a name.

The White Dog and the Sacred Pole

Characters

Narrator 1 White Dog HushiNarrator 2 Achaffa OkaNarrator 3 Tuklo TohbiNarrator 4 Tuchena LuknaNarrator 5 Ushta HummaNarrator 6 Talhapi LusaNarrator 7 Nashoba OkchamaliChief Chahta Nita ChulaChief Chicksa Ofi Issoba

NARRATOR 1: This is a story told by the Choctaws and the Chickasaw tribes, and it tells us how they came to live in Mississippi.

NARRATOR 2: Long ago, a tribe of people lived somewhere far out west.

NARRATOR 3: In these days, there were no cars or roads.

NARRATOR 4: There was no electricity and no buildings like the ones we know.

NARRATOR 5: The people lived in simple huts or teepees. And at night they would gather around their campfire to keep warm.

NARRATOR 6: The people took care of each other. They hunted animals for food and clothing. They had everything they needed.

NARRATOR 7: But they were not happy in this place.

ALL: Why not?

NARRATOR 7: Listen. They will tell you.

ACHAFFA: We are surrounded by enemies, and I am always worried about the safety of my family.

TUKLO: Me too. The other tribes are always coming down from the mountains to raid our camp.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.usTUCHENA: They steal our food!

USHTA: They kill our people!

TALHAPI: We must leave this place.

NASHOBA: I agree. We must find a new home where we can find peace and happiness.

NARRATOR 2: Then a wise person stood up to show the people something special.

NITA: I have received a gift from the Creator of All Things, who sits above us in the clouds and watches over us. This is the Sacred Pole, the Kohta Falaya.

ALL: Kohta Falaya!

NITA: If we follow this pole, it will lead us to a new home, where we will be happy.

NARRATOR 1: The chiefs of the tribe were two brothers named Chahta and Chicksa, and they stood now to tell their decision.

CHAHTA: We will travel together and follow the Kohta Falaya. My people will follow me. And my brother’s people will follow him.

CHICKSA: Before we leave, you must gather everything you need to carry.

OFI: I will carry my spear and my bow and arrows.

HUSHI: I will carry food we will need for the journey.

OKA: I will carry my children, for they are too little to walk.

TOHBI: And some of us must carry the bones of our ancestors.

LUKNA: We will bury them when we come to our new home.

The people pantomime carrying what they need and line up behind their two chiefs. Then they start on their journey. The White Dog goes out in front of them.

NARRATOR 4: As they set out to follow the Sacred Pole, the White Dog ran out in front.

HUMMA: We love the White Dog because she is good at scouting for danger.

LUSA: And she can heal our wounds by licking them when we get hurt.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

NARRATOR 3: They walked many days over snow-covered mountains. The wind was bitterly cold.

NARRATOR 6: When they came to a frozen pond, they had to step carefully so they would not slip on the ice.

NARRATOR 5: They grew very tired and hungry.

The men kneel down to shoot their arrows at their prey.

NARRATOR 7: The men hunted animals along the way.

OKCHAMALI: Deer.

CHULA: Squirrel.

ISSOBA: Opossum.

ACHAFFA: Buffalo.

NARRATOR 7: And they walked on until sunset.

CHAHTA: Everyone stop.

CHICKSA: We will camp here for tonight.

NITA: Every time we camp, we stick the Sacred Pole in the ground so that it stands up straight.

NARRATOR 1: Then they built a fire. The men skinned their animals, and the women cooked the meat, and everyone ate.

HUMMA: Even the White Dog.

TALHAPI: This stew tastes good and warms us up.

CHAHTA: Now supper is over.

CHICKSA: Let us all go to sleep.

All lie down except the Pole-Bearer who shifts the Pole to lean to one side.

OKCHAMALI: When we opened our eyes the next morning, we saw that that the Sacred Pole was leaning towards the east.

CHICKSA: This is a sign that we must travel east today. John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

Everyone picks up what they must carry and gets back in their lines.

NARRATOR 1: And the people walked on for many days, many months, and many years.

NARRATOR 2: They walked over wide fields and through thick forests full of branches and thorns.

The White Dog stops and sniffs the air.

HUSHI: The White Dog has stopped! She smells a bear!

CHAHTA: We must move quietly and follow the dog. She will guide us safely through the woods.

NARRATOR 3: But there was more danger ahead.

TUCHENA: I have been bitten by a snake! It hurts like fire!

The White Dog comes to heal the snake bite.

NARRATOR 4: The White Dog licks the wound, and the person is healed.

NARRATOR 5: They walked on for many years more.

NARRATOR 6: When they came to a muddy place, they had to step carefully between the deepest puddles.

NARRATOR 7: Then they came to the shore of the widest, deepest river they had ever seen.

CHULA: We will call this river the Misha Sipokoni, which means it is older than anything we can imagine.

ALL: Misha Sipokoni.

NARRATOR 1: Today we call this river the Mississippi.

LUKNA: The Sacred Pole is pointing across the river. We must go across.

TOHBI: But it is too wide and too deep to swim across. What will we do?

CHAHTA: We must cut down trees with our axes.

CHICKSA: Then we will tie the logs together with vines to build strong rafts.

The people act out chopping the trees and building the rafts. Then a group of five people cross on each raft.

John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us NARRATOR 2: The people crossed the river on their rafts, and the White Dog rode by herself on the last raft.

The White Dog starts to move down the river.

LUSA: Something’s wrong! The last raft is floating away!

TUKLO: It’s caught in the river’s current! I can’t see it anymore!

NARRATOR 4: The people were sad because they would never see their White Dog again.

NARRATOR 5: But they had to go on with their journey.

The people form their lines and follow the Sacred Pole.

NARRATOR 6: After another long walk, they camped again.

ISSOBA: Let’s go to sleep. We will continue our journey in the morning.

The White Dog comes back and stands to the side to be a Narrator.

WHITE DOG: But when they opened their eyes the next morning, they saw that the Kohta Falaya, the Sacred Pole, was standing up straight.

CHAHTA: We have reached the end of our journey!

The Pole leans to the right.

CHICKSA: No, the Pole is still leaning. We must travel that direction.

The Pole stands up straight again.

CHAHTA: No, the Pole wants us to stay right here in our new home.

CHICKSA: You’re wrong. The Pole is not standing straight!

NARRATOR 7: The brothers could not agree on what to do.

WHITE DOG: Finally, Chahta and his followers decided to stay where they were.

OFI: Let us bury the bones of our ancestors here. And we will build a mound of dirt over them.

The people pantomime burying the bones in the middle and covering them with earth.

NARRATOR 1: They built this mound into a very tall hill.John Howell, jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us

OKA: We will call this hill Nanih Waiya. This is the sacred mound of our ancestors.

ALL: Nanih Waiya.

USHTA: All of us who are followers of Chief Chahta will name ourselves after him. We will call ourselves the Choctaws.

CHOCTAWS: We are Choctaws!

NARRATOR 2: Chicksa’s followers traveled on until they came to another place in Mississippi

where the Kohta Falaya stood up straight.

NASHOBA: We will also name ourselves after our chief. We will call ourselves the Chickasaws.

CHICKASAWS: We are Chickasaws!

NARRATOR 4: And that is how the Choctaws and the Chickasaws came to live in Mississippi many years ago.

John Howell (jhowell@jackson.k12.ms.us)Casey Elementary School2101 Lake CircleJackson, MS 39211601-987-3510