Class Play Planning - Week One

Writing and putting on a play with twelve children in twelve days... let's do it!

Day One - Monday, December 2

• group introductions
• "Number Rhyme" game by Joan Marcus (with the number 12) from The Waldorf Book of Poetry, p.291
• review Hawaii's location, size, and shape; look at paper map of the United States and the location and size of Hawaii and Alaska; look at plate 29 from Ready-to-Use Outline Maps of the U.S. States and Regions; discuss scale; explain Scale Map of ALL U.S. States project
• look at the Ring of Fire and plate tectonics on paper map of This Dynamic Planet, discuss the location and formation of Hawaii
• discuss the settling of Ancient Hawaii and its closest cultural neighbors (Polynesian culture and Māori culture), look more closely at Oceania on the map, explain Batik and Papier-Mâché Mask projects

  

• review the plot of our two legends from Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky (The Time of Deep Darkness, Spears of Lightning)
• casting discussions for gods, goddesses, people, and monsters
  Kane - god of creation
  Ku - god of forests
  Lono - god of growing things
  Kanaloa - god of the sea
  Pele - goddess of volcanoes
  Hiiaka - goddess of lightning
  Red Earth Man - first man
  Ke Aka / Living Shadow - second man
  Hopoe - best friend of Hiiaka
  Fern Maiden - travel companion of Hiiaka
  Singing Thrush - travel companion of Hiiaka
  old woman - person helped by Hiiaka
  warrior chief - person helped by Hiiaka
  Forest Demon - monster
  Lizard Women - monster
  Man-Eater Shark - monster
  Great Mo-o - monster
  Little Mo-o - monster

  

• initial costuming, backdrops, props, and sound effects discussions
• list food restrictions to consider in our reception of Hawaiian foods
• break up into small groups and begin to write rhyming dialogue
• read The Man Who Was Going to Mind the House by David McPhee

Day Two - Tuesday, December 3

Morning

• first group work with Ms. Anna to batik panels of Hawaiian motifs

Afternoon

• "Number Rhyme" game by Joan Marcus (with the number 12)
• review yesterday's brainstorm session, make final casting decisions
• play improv game "Four Index Cards"
• small group breakout sessions - write/sketch ideas for costumes, blocking, sound effects, props, backdrops, etc.; work on dialogue

For our first improv game, we focused on thinking about how our character would move. I had the children work in four groups and I gave each group six index cards. One group wrote down six animals, one group wrote down six adjectives, one group wrote down six actions, and one group wrote down six adverbs. Children volunteered to hop up on stage, and then I read a random combination of cards which they had to act out. Here were some of our favorites:

• little elephant climbing creepily
• large cow squeaking lovingly
• upside-down giraffe running swiftly
• goofy dog hopping slowly
• unorderly mouse falling noisily
• dangerously smelly koala singing gracefully
• loopy komodo dragon swimming slowly
• purple ant giggling sleepily
• coughing worm rolling sadly

Day Three - Thursday, December 5

Morning

• second group work with Ms. Anna to batik panels of Hawaiian motifs

Afternoon

• "Number Rhyme" game by Joan Marcus (with 13, 12, 14)
• explain and show a control panel from The No-Fault Classroom; discuss the state of "Calm Alert" versus your thermometer being too hot or too cold; do "Shake It Out" energizer
• play improv game "Yes, And..."
• play Pacific Nutrition Bingo



• review yesterday's brainstorm session, make final backdrop decisions
• small group breakout sessions - write/sketch ideas for costumes, blocking, sound effects, props, backdrops, etc.; work on dialogue

newer series of Pacific Food Leaflets, B&W (published by the Healthy Pacific Lifestyle Section of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

1 - Dessert banana

2 - Cooking banana

3 - Breadfruit

4 - Coconut

5 - Taro

6 - Pandanus


older series of Pacific Food Leaflets (published by the Community Education Training Centre of the South Pacific Commission)

1 - Taro: A Pacific speciality

2 - Pawpaw: A food for everyone

3 - Mango: A favorite fruit

4 - Guava: A nutritious tropical fruit

5 - Cassava: A popular plant

6 - Green Leaves: Nutritious Pacific plants

7 - Banana: A tropical treat

8 - Coconut: An island food

9 - Breadfruit: A food for all seasons

10 - Pineapple: Delicious and refreshing

11 - Citrus Fruits: Fruits with flavor

12 - Pumpkin: A valuable food

13 - Sweet Potato: A store of goodness

14 - Yam: A status food

15 - Nuts and Seeds: A variety of tastes and uses

16 - Legumes: Exciting new foods

17 - Fish: Food for life

18 - Seafoods: Riches from the sea


Komodo Dragon Fact Sheet from the World Animal Foundation

Day Four - Friday, December 6

Morning

• small group breakout sessions - write/sketch ideas for costumes, blocking, sound effects, props, backdrops, etc.; work on dialogue

Afternoon

• assemble and show rolling dressing rack for backdrops
• show how to make a lei with silk flowers
• show blank masks as well as fern stencil (Lono mask), craft feathers (Ku mask), and other available supplies

  

• have everyone finalize full-color sketches, submit project supply lists
• play improv game "Don't Press the Red Button!"

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