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Many students struggle with remembering and explaining what they have read, especially when confronted with new and unfamiliar material. In Putting a Tale on Its Feet, students interact wi... Read more

Many students struggle with remembering and explaining what they have read, especially when confronted with new and unfamiliar material. In Putting a Tale on Its Feet, students interact with the text to discover and communicate meaning. Movement and acting exercises promote imagination and creativity as students work individually, with partners and in small groups to build comprehension and retention. Going beyond reading and telling to being and doing; they create the setting, develop characters and sequence the action of short stories, folk tales, fables, myths, legends, biographies or poems. The focus on exploration rather than performance assures equal participation by all students throughout the creative process.

What students will do:

Students participate in a series of simple improvisation and movement activities. Drama activities naturally nurture self-regulation skills as the students work "alone together" (focusing on their own participation and allowing others to do the same) and are guided to discuss, reflect and give/receive feedback. Based on a reading of the selected text, students explore physical transformations into a wide array of characters, animals, objects and living/nonliving components of the setting. Rather than "casting parts" , students initially have the opportunity to portray all elements of the story or poem leading to each class collaborating and problem-solving to create its own unique way of sharing the text. Students gain a clear understanding of Who, What and Where and may go deeper into When, Why and How.


Consider these popular selections or choose your own:

Mossy by Jan Brett - Home and Habitats
Skippy Jon Jones by Judy Schachner - English and Spanish dialogue
George and Martha by James Marshall - Friendship
A River Ran Wild by Lynn Cherry - Civilization's Effects on a River
Thirteen Moons on Turtle"s Back, by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London - Seasons and Phases of the Moon
Patience Wright, America"s First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea - Colonial America/Revolutionary War

*See Additional Notes for more texts/topics

Five, 45 minute sessions with a Sharing (no additional production elements required) or other culminating project for individual classes or the entire grade level during the fifth session ... Read more

Five, 45 minute sessions with a Sharing (no additional production elements required) or other culminating project for individual classes or the entire grade level during the fifth session

Classes are typically held once a week. However, at the discretion of the teacher(s) the program may be completed in 1 or 2 weeks or spread out further to allow time for completion of classroom activities/assignments designed by the Teaching Artist with the Classroom Teacher(s).

The program can be designed and scheduled to introduce, integrate throughout or serve as a follow-up to the selected curricular unit.

*If the school calendar does not allow for 5 visits, the Teaching Artist can provide an adjusted version of the residency with 3 or 4 sessions.

Copy of any additional stories if selected from outside of the curriculumProps needed for Drama activities to supplement available classroom resources Originals for... Read more

Copy of any additional stories if selected from outside of the curriculum

Props needed for Drama activities to supplement available classroom resources

Originals for handouts or prompts to be used with activities during class or conducted by the classroom teacher to deepen student learning between sessions

Original of script created by the class for student or teacher use

Easel and large pad of paper, if availableGrades 3-5 - non-lined paper and pencils for each studentCopy of selected text from the classroomCopies of scr... Read more

Easel and large pad of paper, if available

Grades 3-5 - non-lined paper and pencils for each student

Copy of selected text from the classroom

Copies of script for students, if needed.

Open space in classroom or multi-purpose space large enough for entire class to participate on their feet simultaneously or spread out to work in small groups.If selecting a Sh... Read more

Open space in classroom or multi-purpose space large enough for entire class to participate on their feet simultaneously or spread out to work in small groups.

If selecting a Sharing for the entire grade, will need a large enough space for all classes to meet together to present and view. Could be a stage, but not required. Should be scheduled for each class individually in session 4 and for the entire grade for session 5

I can identify the literary elements of character, setting, events and/or theme and describe them in a grade-level a story.I can use body, gesture and/or voice to create the se... Read more

I can identify the literary elements of character, setting, events and/or theme and describe them in a grade-level a story.

I can use body, gesture and/or voice to create the setting and communicate characters from a grade-level story.

I can collaborate with peers to apply elements of dramatic structure to a grade-level story and create a drama/theatre work to share informally with an audience.

Text and theme are flexible, working equally well with class favorites or challenging texts from the grade level Language Arts or Social Studies curriculum.Additional samples i... Read more

Text and theme are flexible, working equally well with class favorites or challenging texts from the grade level Language Arts or Social Studies curriculum.

Additional samples include:

Charlotte"s Web by E. B. White, recreating portions of the book
Poems by Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky and Douglas Florian, emphasizing character and dialogue
Nature Themes such as the Four Seasons, using a variety of books, poetry and music
Native American Legends ("How the Butterflies Came to Be" or "How the Fawn got its Spots" ), exploring animals

Most often, younger children act out the story as a teacher or their peers read it aloud and older children narrate or create their own dialogue.

The program may also be designed to connect with and serve the goals of the Art or Music curriculum. To explore this option include Arts Specialists in the initial planning meeting.

*All ACTive Learning programs have been developed and implemented by a professional Theatre Educator in collaboration with Classroom Teachers and Arts Specialists.