The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 1

DreamcatchersPoPejoy Hall ScHooltime SerieS Teaching guiDe ScHooltime SerieS

Always new worlds to explore.

Presented By theAtreworks UsA

the

The Teacher from Black lagoon

& oTher STorybookS

dreamcatchers teaching Guides align with the Common Core state standards and new Mexico state Learning standards.

tUesdAy, FeBrUAry 24, 2015 • GrAdes: Prek - 2

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 2

stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”

-madeleine l’engle‘‘

Standards addressed By attending the Performance

nMccSSenglish Language Arts: speaking and Listening:comprehension and collaboration(CCss.eLA-Literacy.sL)

new Mexico content Standards: Fine Arts/theatre:content Standards 3 & 5

Synopsisthis show is an exciting musical revue made up of vignettes based on favorite contemporary children’s storybooks. Following is a list of the books used in the performance. you may choose to read some (or all) of the books to your class before or after seeing the performance (perhaps asking students which books from the show they would like to read). Similarly, depending on the grade level of your students and the time you have available, you can utilize the activities provided in this teaching guide either before seeing the show as pre-performance preparation or as follow-up activities.

(Book titles subject to change.)

Teacher From the Black Lagoon (by mike thaler and jared lee) a boy about to start his first day of school has heard horrible stories about his teacher, mrs. green. He imagines she is a monster who tortures her students in different ways. after all his worry, he finds out she’s actually not bad at all.

theme: new experiences can be scary but you can overcome your fears.

Dogzilla (by dav Pilkey) the mice of mousopolis wake up the dreaded dogzilla during their barbeque cook-off. He proceeds to destroy the city until the mice come up with the perfect plan – bath time! mousopolis is saved when dogzilla runs away, at least until the next annual cookoff.

theme: even the biggest monster has a weak spot.

Grumpy Bird (by jeremy tankard) Bird wakes up too grumpy to eat, play or even fly. as he walks past sheep, rabbit and other animals they offer to join him. Before too long, bird is able to overcome his bad mood and enjoy his friends.

theme: Being with friends can help you feel better.

I Want My Hat Back (by jon Klassen) Bear has lost his hat and he wants it back. He asks all the animals he meets if they have seen it. each animal says no and the bear is very frustrated until he remembers where he saw his hat last.

theme: Sometimes what you are looking for is in plain sight.

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (by Kevin Henkes) lilly brings a fabulous purse into school for sharing time but her

teacher confiscates it because she doesn’t follow the rules. lilly tries to get revenge but feels remorse for her angry actions. She makes amends and learns a valuable lesson.

theme: it’s important to follow the rules at school and have good manners.

Love Splat, Splat the Cat (by rob Scotton) Splat the cat wants to give Kitten a special valentine but he thinks maybe she doesn’t like him at all. His rival, Spike, is also trying to win her heart. Splat and Spike have a showdown to prove who likes Kitten best and Splat gets his wish after all.

theme: tell people how you really feel and you might be surprised at the reaction.

The Grasshopper and the Ants (based on aesop’s Fable) two hardworking ants meet a saxophone-playing grasshopper who would rather have fun than save up food for the winter. the ants are prepared when winter comes and the grasshopper is hungry. the ants make a deal to share their food in return for music lessons. they all end up in a band together with a moose as the lead singer.

theme: it’s important to do your work and plan for the future but save time for some fun.

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The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 3

interesting Facts for Students

Vocabulary

• grasshoppers and locusts are the same thing.

• grasshoppers have ears on their bellies.

• grasshoppers can fly.

• ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight with their mandibles.

• ants are found on every continent except antarctica.

• Aesop’s Fables were written in greek and are the most popular tales of all time.

• among his most popular fables are “the tortoise and the Hare,” “the ant and the grasshopper,” “the north Wind and the Sun” and many more.

• aesop wrote about 725 fables.

• mice are in the family group called rodents. this includes rats, squirrels, hamsters, and porcupines.

• rodents’ front teeth grow continuously. Because these teeth grow all the time, mice have to gnaw on hard things like wood so their front teeth don’t grow right out of their mouths!

• most rodents, but not all, have four toes on the front and five toes on the back feet.

• most rodents are nocturnal (awake at night).

• mice are very active and must eat a large amount of food. during the winter when food is scarce, some rodents hibernate. others store food and wake from a deep sleep to eat from time to time.

• in total there is said to be around 400 million dogs in the world.

• the domestic dog has been one of the most popular working and companion animals throughout human history.

• dogs perform many useful tasks for humans including hunting, farm work and security as well as assisting those with disabilities such as the blind.

• cats conserve energy by sleeping for an average of 13 to 14 hours a day.

• cats have flexible bodies and teeth adapted for hunting small animals, such as mice and rats.

• cats can be lethal hunters and very sneaky. When they walk, their back paws step almost exactly in the same place as the front paws did beforehand. this keeps noise to a minimum and limits visible tracks.

• cats have powerful night vision, allowing them to see at light levels six times lower than what a human needs in order to see. cats also have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of smell.

annoy: irritate (someone); make (someone) a little angry

authentic: of undisputed origin; genuine

Baffled: to be confused, bewildered, or perplexed

Brave: ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage

Deserve: do something or have or show qualities worthy of

Disrupt: to cause disorder or turmoil

Dreadful: causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness

evidence: the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid; proof

exquisite: extremely beautiful and, typically, delicate

grumpy: bad-tempered and sulky

imagination: the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses

Magic: the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces

Memory: the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information

Soul: the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal

Valentine: a card sent, often anonymously, on St. Valentine’s day (February 14) to a person one loves or is attracted to

Vengeance: punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong

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The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 4

objectives

Materials • Pencil and paper • a collection of Aesop’s Fables (all of which can be found at aesop’s Fables) • (optional) Fables by arnold lobel

Procedure 1. read the fable “the ant and the grasshopper” to the students. this is a story that is featured in the production and can be read as preparation for the show or follow-up afterwards.

2. explain to students that fables are short stories that can be used to teach important life lessons. ask them to recall the lesson of “the ant and the grasshopper.”

3. Have students read some more fables so that they are familiar with the format. Point

out that many fables feature animals for characters.

4. tell students that they will write their own fables. ask them to think about what animals they would like to use in their fables and what lesson they would like to teach. encourage students to keep their lessons/morals simple.

5. Have each student take out a piece of paper and write “beginning” at the top, “middle” in the middle, and “end” near the bottom. instruct them to plan out their story by

writing down what will happen

at the beginning, middle and

end of their stories. check

student work to make sure

that they are on track.

6. once the fables are planned

out, allow students time in

class to write them. Have

them make an accompanying

drawing for their fable and

gather the stories in a binder

that you title “class Fables.”

allow students to read the

fables during silent reading or

self-selection times.

extensions/Modifications

Assessment/Modifications

Students will:• learn that a fable is a short story that teaches a particular lesson.• learn that all stories have a beginning, middle, and end.• Write their own fables..

• modification for PreK & K: read a variety of fables to the class. Have students draw a picture of their favorite one. allow time in class for the students to present their picture and explain what is happening in it and why they like that particular fable.

• act out your fables. once students have written their fables, help them adapt their stories into short scenes. Perform the scenes for friends and family or another class at school.

• Student fables have a beginning, middle and end.• Student fables have a moral or lesson.• Quality of participation.

activity 1 our class fables

nMccSS:english language arts: Reading Standards for literature (ccSS.ela-literacy.rl): Key ideas and details, integration of Knowledge and ideas

Writing (ccSS.ela-literacy.W): text types and Purposes, Production and distri-bution of Writing

Speaking & listening (ccSS.ela-literacy.Sl): comprehension and collaboration

 new Mexico content Standards:Fine arts/Visual arts: content Standards 2, 3, & 5

grades: 1-2 (with modifications for Prek & k)

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 5

objectives

Materials • Books about friendship. there are many book lists online to help guide you:

• top 38 Children’s Picture Books on the theme of Friendship

• 10 Children’s Books About Friendship

• Books on Friendship

• Butcher paper

• construction paper (variety of colors)

• Pencils

• Scissors

• glue

Procedure 1. tell students that some of the stories featured in the production are about friendship.

2. read a book about friendship to the class.

3. Write the words “good Friends” on the board. ask students to come up with a list of qualities that they think a good friend would have. Write down student responses on the board. leave the responses up and visible while students move on to the next part of the lesson.

4. distribute squares of different colored construction paper (for the purposes of this lesson you may want limit the colors to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). make sure that each student receives one of each color.

5. instruct students to trace their hands with a pencil on each square of colored paper.

6. When they have finished tracing, instruct students to cut out the hand shapes.

7. on each hand have students write (or help them write)

one quality that they think is important for a friend.

8. on a large sheet of butcher paper, arrange the hands so that they form a large rainbow. Keep each student’s handprints together so that their chosen qualities are grouped together.

9. Have students glue their handprints on to the butcher paper.

10. Hang the rainbow in the classroom under the heading “rainbow of Friendship.”

extensions/Modifications

assessment

Students will:

• identify qualities that make a good friend.

• create a colorful visual display that features their selected qualities.

• Use finger paints to make the rainbow. Have children cover their hands with paint andcarefully place them on the sheet of butcher paper to make a rainbow. Write the qualities offriendship on the handprints once they have dried.

• make a friendship collage. Have students go through magazines to find pictures thatrepresent the qualities of good friends. cut the pictures out and make a class collage, identifyingwhich quality of friendship each picture represents.

• Quality of participation.

activity 2rainbow of friendship

nMccSS:english language arts: Reading Standards for literature (ccSS.ela-literacy.rl): integration of Knowledge and ideas

Speaking & listening (ccSS.ela-literacy.Sl): comprehension and collaboration

 new Mexico content Standards:Fine arts/Visual arts: content Standards 2, 3, & 5

grades: Prek - 2

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 6

extension activitiesread other mike thaler …from the Black lagoon series books, i.e.: The Principal from the Black Lagoon, The Librarian From the Black Lagoon. Have students compare/contrast the stories with the one from the play. Brainstorm ideas for other titles and have students create stories and illustrate covers. display them on a “Black lagoon” bulletin board.

list the positive and negative attributes of Splat and Spike. Have the class divide into “pro Splat” and “pro Spike” groups and stage a debate in which both sides have to try to win the hand of Kitten.

discuss sequence: beginning, middle, and end. read Lilly’s Purple

Plastic Purse and have students make a list of all the different things that happen. Put the events of the story in chronological order. Have students create a sequence for an activity (i.e. making a sandwich).

Put each step on a separate slip of paper and trade with classmates to see if they can put the activity into the proper order.

list words that rhyme with “hat.” Write the sentence, “i want my __at back.” Have students try to find as many words as possible to complete the sentence. optional: have them illustrate a hat on one of the words they listed.

Writing about emotions: Pair Grumpy Bird with The Very Grouchy Ladybug or other titles. give students a writing prompt: “What

makes me grumpy/grouchy?” take a picture of each child making a grumpy face and paste it onto a ladybug or bird cutout (or other animal from different story) with their answer attached.

make a list of “Big” vocabulary and illustrate it. Find synonyms for big such as: enormous, monstrous, colossal, tremendous, etc. Have students choose a word and illustrate it with a picture of a monster of their choice.

discuss the difference between fact and fiction in stories. make a chart of what is factual in the Ant and the Grasshopper story (ants store food, grasshoppers make noise) and what is fictional (insects play instruments). add other facts students know about insects.

Bonus explorations

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The Teacher from the Black Lagoon & Other Storybooks Teaching guide Dreamcatchers 7

outreach activitiesABQ BioPArk http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark the aBQ BioPark Zoo, Botanic garden, tingley Beach, and aquarium provide fun, educational experiences and encourage environmental awareness and stewardship.

Resources weBsites http://www.storybird.com/about/ Free visual storytelling for everyone. a platform for writers, readers, and artists of all ages. teachers can start a class for free.

http://www.theatreworksusa.org the official website for this production. includes more lessons for each of the books presented in the show.

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals an excellent site for fun facts about all kinds of animals.

Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5u96lvVB-g Watch the story come to life in this little project cre-ated by young piano students. listen to the children read dav Pilkey’s book, Dogzilla, aloud and to all of the musical accompaniment that was provided by the students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5DMn_Muun0 a delightful take on jeremy tankard’s book, Grumpy

Bird. Watch this charming stop-motion-animation,

created over a two day period by students at elm-

wood School in ottawa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM1DgihkhVi Watch Walt disney’s musical adaptation of aesop’s

fable, The Grasshopper and the Ants, in this Silly

Symphony.

ABoUt the CoMPAny

http://www.theatreworksusa.org/history.cfm

the mission of theatreworks USa is to create,

produce, and provide access to professional theatre

for young and family audiences nationwide, including

disadvantaged youth and underserved communities.

Since their founding in 1961, they have presented

more than 90 million children and their families with

opportunities to enjoy their theatrical productions in

49 states and canada.

CoGitAtionsafter seeing the show, ask your students to answer these questions:

• Before seeing this show, i didn’t know that…

• this show made me think about…

• the part that most grabbed my attention was…

• While watching the show, the strongest feeling i had was…

• overall, the show made me feel…

• the question i have about the show is…

• one change i would make in the show is…

• if i could talk to the creative team or actors, i would say…

• after seeing the show, my friends and i talked about…

• Something i want to share with my family about the experience is…

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Popejoy hall, new mexico’s premier nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment.

ScHooltime SerieSAlways new worlds to explore.

Popejoy hall’s Mission: To provide access to the performing arts for all new Mexicans.

dreamcatchers are teaching guides produced by the education department of Popejoy Hall, new mexico’s premier nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment located in albuquerque, new mexico. Selected dreamcatchers teaching guide materials

provided by theatreworksUsA and other resources noted within this guide.

the Popejoy Schooltime Series is a program of the University of new mexico.

The Schooltime Series is a proud member of

The Popejoy Schooltime Series is supported in part by awards from:

the eugene and marion castiglia Popejoy children’s

Schooltime endowment

the Popejoy Schooltime education endowment

about the Popejoy hall Schooltime SeriesWe present national and international touring com-

panies and performers that you will not see anywhere else in or around albuquerque. these companies are selected with youth and family

audiences in mind, from titles and materials that reflect the cultural diversity of our global community. these professional performing artists create educational experiences designed to encourage literacy, creativity, communication and imagination.

etiquettethe performing arts - theater, music and dance - are all

collaborative endeavors. they require the cooperation of many skilled people: playwrights, directors, perform-ers, designers, technicians, lyricists, choreographers, musicians and the audience. live performances can transport you to other times and places but to do so, they require you, the audience, to listen, observe, discover, and imagine. the inside of a theatre is called a “house.” there are

rules inside the house to make the experience smooth and enjoyable for everyone. a poster of theatre etiquette is available on our website. Please post it and discuss it with your students before attending this show.

house Policies Please visit our website for detailed information about

house Policies safety, special needs, food and drink, backpacks, cell phones, photography, recordings, and more.

Find us at: schooltimeseries.com schooltime@popejoypresents.com

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