Using Circle Time to Learn about Stories [1 ed.] 9781446266243, 9781412922524

Citation preview

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Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories

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Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories

Craig Deed Bob Bellhouse Glenda Johnston

Paul Chapman Publishing

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© Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston 2007 First published in Australia in 2005, ISBN 0 9757204 30 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. Rights to copy pages marked as handouts, certificates or overhead foils are extended to the purchaser of the publication for his/her use. The right of the Authors to be indentified as Authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. Paul Chapman Publishing A SAGE Publications Company 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 www.luckyduck.co.uk Editorial Team: George Robinson and Barbara Maines Illustrations by Patricia Headford Library of Congress Control Number: 2007921362 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-4129-2252-4 Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India Printed on paper from sustainable resources Printed in India by Replika Press Pvt, Ltd

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Contents CD-ROM Contents

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Introduction

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Story time

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Part One: Activities

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Warm-up games Turning questions into games – silent statements Turning questions into games – complete the sentence Questions about context: time and place Activities about context: time and place Questions about patterns: plot and possibilities Activities about patterns: plot and possibilities Questions about analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs Activities about analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs

9 13 14 15 15 18 19 21 22

Part Two: Stories and sample activity formats

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Flowers and Apples (younger primary school) Sample activities for ‘Flowers and Apples’ A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow (younger primary school) Sample activities for ‘A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow’ The Dancing Pig – A Love Story (younger primary school) Sample activities for ‘The Dancing Pig – A Love Story’ (younger primary school) Monkey Boy! (middle to senior primary school) Sample activities for ‘Monkey Boy!’ George gets into Trouble (middle to senior primary school) Sample activities for ‘George gets into Trouble’ Mango the Mad Motorbike (middle to senior primary school) Sample activities for ‘Mango the Mad Motorbike’

29 30 36 38 44 47 51 53 59 60 63 65

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CD-ROM contents Stories and illustrations Flowers and Apples (younger primary school) A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow (younger primary school) The Dancing Pig – A Love Story (younger primary school) Monkey Boy! (middle to senior primary school) George gets into Trouble (middle to senior primary school) Mango the Mad Motorbike (middle to senior school pupils)

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When a day passes, it is no longer there. What remains of it? Nothing more than a story. (From Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus, by Issac Bashevis Singer, 1973)

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Introduction Being read to and reading are traditional classroom activities. Reading stories to a group of young children can be a pleasurable, calming and engrossing experience for both the reader and the listener. Stories are also a powerful means of developing thinking and learning skills. Stories: •

are an easily accessible medium that can arouse curiosity and wonder in children – the all-important first ‘spark’ of the learning process

•

contribute to the development of imagination, language and a love of reading

•

allow children to learn about other people’s lives and see how they deal with problems, relationships and feelings.

The eagerness of children to talk about and share their own stories is a motivation for this book. The use of story allows students to get their ideas out and about. Although our fundamental philosophy is that stories must be enjoyed, stories are not just told and then forgotten. A story is a starting point in a longer journey; a bigger story. Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories brings the ‘story’ as a basis for learning into the open. The reading of stories to students is an enjoyable and intrinsically worthwhile activity. We have found the same reaction whenever we read to our own children, or when we use stories as part of classes or lectures. A sense of calm and focused intensity envelops the room. As educators, we want to make use of this potential learning-energy. Story time is therefore about creating a working space for young people to make meaning and develop an understanding of their own and others’ lives. If learning has at its source the search for meaning, then stories are a pre-packaged way of introducing children to this educational journey. Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories is an approach that helps students to immerse themselves in the rhythms, patterns and cultural traditions of stories. The activities presented emphasise the social nature of learning. Children are engaged in the moment through collaborative activities that are fun and simple, yet challenging. This is a recurrent paradox in this work – the complexity of making ideas appear ‘simple’. The engagement of children through stories generates a shared passion 1

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for, and understanding of, stories. The approach aims to engage children in the moment, learning from each other by subtly managing the group dynamic. The sample activities allow the children to be playfully bound together while allowing difference to emerge. The first step is to read interesting, relevant and engaging stories to students. We believe that children are active participants. Hearing a story immediately creates thoughts, ideas and feelings. One of the sample stories in this book is ‘A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow’. This story is based on an actual incident in childhood. Although written and illustrated in a humorous style, students have many different responses. Some think of it as a funny story, while others express feelings of sadness. The sample activities ask students to explore their feelings by considering how problems can make them feel. In this instance, a simple story can be used to introduce students to the relationship between emotions and logic while considering the dynamics of solving a problem. Children are helped to develop an understanding of ideas, values and feelings by active exploration of the stories. After or during reading, the teacher might pose one or more questions about a key idea or concept within the story. Students respond thoughtfully when given time to think and make comments or ask their own questions. Discussion allows children time to develop and build ideas. Through the variety of activities in Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, students are encouraged to explore their beliefs and feelings about the events, characters and ideas in the stories. Imagination and engagement in learning are strongly linked. While a single story is being read, there are multiple interpretations, extrapolations, and distortions by enquiring minds. One story has become many. Bringing these multiple stories into the classroom requires openness to ideas – where young people can be both creative and critical thinkers. Openness involves accepting that thinking and learning are sometimes messy and random processes. Another sample story is ‘Monkey Boy!’ During the reading of ‘Monkey Boy!’ each student is creating his own personal meaning. Such individual meanings are multi-faceted interpretations of the story and include: music and sound; movement and emotion; colour and perspective; and words and metaphors. Many of the activities in Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories encourage the elaboration and sharing of these ideas. In this sense, individual meanings are used to develop common understandings of differing perspectives. 2

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The development of thinking skills occurs when stories, discussions and activities provide students with opportunities to practise: •

listening when other people talk

•

sensing and exploring emotions

•

expressing ideas and opinions

•

identifying patterns within and between stories

•

asking questions about something curious or puzzling

•

using imagination

•

creating logical sequences

•

making predictions and speculating about possibilities

•

making judgements about ideas

•

experimenting with different strategies for thinking and learning

•

reflecting on learning

•

collaborating with other students.

Such higher-order thinking involves not just identifying multiple views, but analysis and evaluation of the values, beliefs and theories behind these views. The sample activities encourage individual exploration of constructed meaning. Stories are explored through the themes of context (time and place), patterns (plot and choice) and analysis of characters, feelings and beliefs. Some activities in this book ask students to recall, describe or summarise information. Building on these basics, other activities require analysis, questioning, criticism, judgement, elaboration, creation and application of story knowledge and techniques. The sample lesson provided for ‘Mango the Mad Motorbike’ asks students to create, using story statues or other media, an alternative story ending. This is an example of a multi-dimensional approach, where students develop both an appreciation for the inherent structure of the story, while at the same time having their personal insights and interpretations validated. Finally, each sample lesson includes a space for reflection. Simple questions are suggested such as, ‘Something I enjoyed about the story was . . . ’ or, ‘Something I learned today was . . . ’ Reflection contributes to improved performance on academic tasks. It gives learning resonance, encouraging ideas to linger, being adapted for more universal application and relevance. This meta-cognitive aspect 3

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of the Circle Time process helps students to develop an awareness of their own learning or, put another way, of their own journey. This is central to becoming a self-regulating learner, which in turn is essential to the nurturing of intrinsic motivation and expertise. From a social learning perspective, when the Circle Time process facilitates thoughtful reflection, students are encouraged to make choices and set learning goals, make a contribution to the classroom learning environment, develop effective teamwork, plan, organise and share. This contribution by students to the pool of ideas will influence the culture and future direction of the classroom learning experience – an experience that is deep, respectful, inclusive and meaningful for all. We hope you come to feel as enthusiastic about this little book as we do. Craig, Bob and Glenda

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Story time Reading stories to a group of young children can be a pleasurable, calming and engrossing experience. Stories: •

are an easily accessible medium that can arouse interest in children – the first stage in learning

•

contribute to the development of imagination, language and a love of reading allow young children to learn about other people’s lives and see how they deal with problems, relationships and feelings

•

are one of the traditional methods used by teachers to develop thinking skills.

How this book works The activities in Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories emphasise the social nature of learning. Children are engaged in the moment through collaborative activities that are fun and simple, yet challenging. In this way a shared passion for, and understanding of, stories are created. The approach aims to engage children in the moment, learning from each other by subtly managing the group dynamic. All children are playfully bound together, all equal and all belonging. The strategies used in this resource are presented in three sections: 1. Context: time and place. 2. Patterns: plot and choice. 3. Analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs.

Children are helped to develop an understanding of ideas, values, and feelings by actively exploring the stories. After or during reading, the teacher might pose one or more questions about a key idea or concept within the story. Students respond thoughtfully when given time to think and make comments or ask their own questions.

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Discussion allows children time to develop and build ideas or think about reasons for their beliefs and feelings about the events, characters or ideas in the stories. The development of thinking skills occurs when stories, discussions and activities provide students with opportunities to practise: •

listening when other people have something to say

•

sensing and exploring emotions

•

expressing their ideas and opinions

•

identifying patterns within and between stories

•

asking questions about something they think is curious or puzzling

•

using their imagination

•

creating logical sequences

•

collaborating with other students

•

making predications and speculating about possibilities

•

making judgements about ideas

•

experimenting with different strategies for thinking and learning

•

reflecting on their own learning.

The process of story time has other benefits. Its methodology is based on the popular programme, Circle Time. Circle Time has three main benefits: •

Learning about self

•

Learning about others

•

Learning about groups.

Children will develop this knowledge and these skills and behaviours in story time.

How to use this book We suggest that children should begin by playing some enjoyable games to build a positive group dynamic, and to help focus attention. Some suggested games are provided in Part One. They may be related

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to stories, or they might just be games. Keeping children moving and learning how to touch each other gently and appropriately will help to build a friendly and inclusive group. Touch is an important part of story time, since it is a powerful form of communication and social interaction. Teachers need to discuss with children what is friendly touch (e.g. handshake, pat on shoulder), and what is unfriendly (inappropriate) touch (e.g. hand on face, slapping). Movement is another method employed in story time. As teachers become more adept at using movement they will begin to realise how it helps to manage the group dynamic, as well as keeping energy and concentration levels high. Prior to reading stories, as well as during stories, students are encouraged to become creatively involved. In Part Two (the ‘Sample activities’ sections), we have provided pictures that may be copied for pairs of children to put into sequence. Children might then speculate about the plot of the story. Teachers may use other methods that help children to speculate about stories by showing pictures from a story-book, exploring the meaning conveyed in a title, or reading out the chapter headings. Children use these hints to offer suggestions about: •

what might happen

•

why a book might be interesting

•

whether they will enjoy the book.

Predicting is one way of helping children to develop an understanding of how stories work and, eventually, the mechanics of how stories use plot to create interest and intrigue. After reading a story to the class, a menu of activities is provided to further build understanding and meaning. Story time generates a list of generic questions, games and activities that may be adapted for use with many different stories. It is suggested that teachers select those questions and activities that are appropriate to their aims and the particular story they might be sharing with children. We have included a set of sample activity plans for six stories: three for younger primary children, and three for middle to senior primary students. These samples are provided to demonstrate how story time might work. However, teachers will find many combinations, and will develop activities to suit the needs of their students.

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Rules of story time All participants:


say positive comments and avoid criticising others




listen when another is speaking




have a right to pass.

How to use the CD-ROM The CD-ROM accompanying this book contains PDF files, labelled Illustrations and Stories that contain the illustrations and stories used in this resource. You will need Acrobat Reader version 3 or higher to view and print these resources. The documents are set up to print to A4 but you can enlarge them to A3 by increasing the output percentage at the point of printing using the page set-up settings for your printer. To photocopy the worksheets directly from this book, set your photocopier to enlarge by 125% and align the edge of the page to be copied against the leading edge of the copier glass (usually indicated by an arrow).

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Part One: Activities Warm-up games Warm-up games are fun, build a sense of belonging and team spirit.

Mixing games Mixing games create movement, help children to interpret and comprehend stories, and encourage them to mix beyond their friendship group. Mixing games can be used prior to a story. The teacher goes around the circle and gives children a character in a story (usually three groups). For instance, in the case of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, the teacher might proceed around the story allotting names: Little Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf, Grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf, etc. until each child has a name. The teacher then calls out one of the names, and those children change seats. If the teacher calls out ‘Smorgasbord’, everybody changes seats. After reading the story, teachers might use mixing games for comprehension and interpretation, by once again allotting each child a character, and saying things like: •

change seats if you were frightened when

•

change seats if you get eaten

•

change seats if you are hairy

•

change seats if you are sneaky.

Another version of a mixing game is to ask children to pair up with someone who: •

ate something the same as them for breakfast

•

has the same colour hair

•

has a hobby the same

•

likes the same book, movie . . .

•

has gone on a holiday to the same place.

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Other mixing games Do you like chocolate? All players sit in a circle apart from one who sits on another player’s knee. The player without a seat asks one of the other players, ‘Do you like chocolate?’ If the answer is ‘yes’, all players move places in either direction. The player who asked the question attempts to find a seat, and if successful, another player who is without a seat asks the next question. If, when asked a question, the response is ‘no’, the player without a seat asks, ‘What do you like?’ The person answering then says a physical trait (e.g. eye colour, length of hair, shoes, boy/girl). Those with that physical trait change seats.

Name game Children toss a ball to each other in the circle, calling the child’s name to whom they are throwing. The child catching says the name of the thrower, and then the name of the person she is throwing to. Children must throw the ball to someone different from whom they received it. A ball of wool could also be used, with children holding onto their link, while the ball is tossed back and forth. In the latter instance, the wool should be thrown to someone who is yet to have a turn until everyone is connected.

Rounds Rounds help to develop group cohesion and a sense of belonging. There are many variations. Children might hold hands and pass a squeeze or a pat on their neighbour’s knee, pass a smile or a wink, pass a welcome, a flutter or a wiggle. Rounds can be developed into games that require coordination and sequencing. One child claps, the next taps his feet, the next claps, the next taps, claps, taps . . . Increase the speed. Then begin the ‘clap and tap’ both ways around the circle, testing how fast and for how long you can maintain the sequence. There are many variations on these games.

Quick switch (This game is an adaptation of ‘Ko na Ko na’ a popular game among children in Pakistan.) Place enough mats in a square for all but one of the players. One player will stand in the middle and be the person that is ‘it’. The other players will each stand on their mats. The object is for the players to communicate which players will switch places without being tagged. 10

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On the first switch, two players change mats. On the second switch, three players change mats and so on. The aim is to have the highest number of players switching without being tagged.

Memory games Alpha memory You play this game in a circle and your memory counts. One person in the circle will start the game off by saying, ‘I’m going on a holiday and I’m taking an apple’. The next person will have to repeat what the person next to her said and then add something new from the next letter in the alphabet: ‘I’m going on a holiday and I’m taking an apple and a back-pack’. You keep this going around the circle until someone forgets an item. The game can be adapted for many different topics: ‘I’m getting married . . . ’; ‘I’m going to a party . . . ’; ‘I’m playing sport . . . ’; ‘I’m going to Mars . . . ’; ‘I’m going sailing . . . ’ and so on.

Name sequences The first child tosses a ball into the air and calls another child’s name who then has to catch it. The thrower holds his hand outstretched in the air. The catcher throws and calls another child’s name. Once again the thrower holds her hand outstretched in the air. The process continues until all players have hands in the air. Players then drop their arms and repeat the process in the same sequence. To add another level of complexity, the players could begin to move out of the circle around the room, while still maintaining the original sequence.

Opposites Everyone stands in a circle. The leader performs an action. The person next to the leader does the opposite in both directions. The next two children do the opposite of the people next to them. And so on around the circle, with the leader constantly changing his actions. For instance: •

The leader steps forwards, the child next in line steps back, the children next in line steps forward . . . and so on.

•

The leader steps to the left, the next child steps to the right, the next two children step to the left . . .

•

The leader crouches down, the next jumps up, the next two crouch down . . .

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Mimicking games One child leads and the other children copy. The leader can choose any movement: shake, twist, sway, clap, tap, blubber. To add interest, one child closes her eyes while the leader is chosen. The child then opens her eyes and stands in the middle of the circle until she guesses the leader. The leader then moves to the middle of the circle, closes his eyes, and another leader is chosen.

Listening games A bell is placed in the middle of the circle. A volunteer sits in the middle of the circle and is blind-folded. Another child creeps from the circle and picks up the bell, returning to her seat with it. Once she has concealed the bell, the blind-fold is removed and the volunteer guesses who has the bell. Read a piece of writing where children listen for a particular word, e.g. ‘the’. They count how many times it appears in the piece of writing. Read a piece of writing where children listen for two words, e.g. ‘a’ and ‘the’. When they hear ‘a’ the whole circle moves one step to the left; when they hear ‘the’ the whole circle moves one step to the right.

Word games One Make up sets of cards with single letters. Form children into groups. Give each group the same combination of letters. The task is to make a word with as many letters as possible.

Two Begin the same as in game one, but this time children can either make up a real or a made-up word. They explain what their word means to the rest of the circle. The circle decides whether the word is real or made up.

Three Make up sets of cards with words on them. Form children into groups. Give each group the same combination of words. The task is to make up the longest sentence possible.

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Turning questions into games – silent statements Silent statements encourage children to express beliefs about stories without having to explain their answer. They are a non-threatening way of expressing opinions and joining in. Teachers should inform children that they will not be asked to justify their opinions. Some suggested silent statements are: Change seats if you believe: Younger primary you liked the story the story made you feel . . . the character you liked best was . . . the character you liked least was . . . the story took place at/in . . . the story is about . . . the main character is . . . Middle to senior primary X is an important character because . . . when X did ‘so and so’ he was feeling . . . the story made you feel . . . it would have been better if X had . . . X wants to . . . you would have acted the same as X you agree with what X did you believe X was in the wrong when . . . you believe X made the wrong decision when . . . the most important decision was when . . . the most important event was . . . X was the hero in the story the main message in the story was . . . you enjoyed the story.

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Turning questions into games – complete the sentence Children form a circle. Children proceed around the circle and complete the sentence. Teachers should inform children that they do not have to explain their opinions. Sentence beginnings might include: Younger primary Something I remember about the story is . . . Something that happened in the story was . . . I like the story because . . . The best thing about the story is . . . The story made me feel . . . I felt . . . when . . . The character I liked best was . . . The character I liked least was . . . A good name for the story would be . . . Middle to senior primary I think the story is about . . . I think the main character in the story is . . . The main character made me feel . . . The story made me feel . . . This story reminds me of . . . The main character reminds me of . . . If I was a character in the story, I would like to be . . . I think . . . will happen next Instead, the character could have chosen to . . . I think, the reason the character did . . . was . . . If it had been me, I would have chosen to . . . The most powerful character in the story was . . . I think the story should be called . . . I think the main message in the story is . . . I think the most important part of the story was . . .

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I liked the story because . . . The best part of the story was . . . What puzzled me most in the story was . . . The story was interesting because . . . The story was special because . . . Something I would like to change in the story is . . .

Questions about context: time and place Where does the story take place? When does the story take place? Describe where the story is set. Describe the weather/scenery/surroundings in the story. How is the setting for the story similar/different from where you live? At what time of year is the story set? How might the story change if it was set in another place/time? What sort of music would sound good in this story? What kind of song/play/poster could you make about the story?

Activities about context: time and place Sharing imaginary worlds As each student is listening to a story being read he is creating images in his mind. Such individual images are multi-faceted interpretations of the story and include music and sound, movement and emotion, colour and perspective, words and metaphors, and spatial and architectural design. Each of these images can be shared in a non-threatening way using the circle. Students sit in a circle after listening to the story. Each question asks students to say what they remembered from the story. Students will rely on their memory and images they created while listening. Some student responses may not actually have been in the story but will have been part of the images they created while listening. The teacher might ask students in the circle to say one:

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•

word that they remember from the story

•

emotion they remember from the story

•

sound they remember from the story

•

colour they remember from the story

•

building they remember from the story

•

landscape feature they remember from the story.

After going around the circle several times the students can work in groups of two. One student can describe a favourite moment and the other student can draw this image. At the side of the image the student can write down some or all of the key words associated with the image: word, emotion, sound, colour, building and landscape. Then the students can swap around. These images could be displayed around the room.

Remembering things One Ask children to do a drawing of the story. They are to include as many characters and objects from the story as they can remember. Children present their drawings to the class who identify the different objects. Make a list on the board, and re-read the story, ticking those characters and objects that were remembered, and noting any characters and/or objects that were missed.

Two Ask children to do a drawing of the story. They are to include as many characters and objects from the story as they can remember, as well as some characters and objects who were not in the story. Children present their drawings to the class who identify the objects in the story, and those objects that were not in the story.

Guessing game In turns, students write down secretly on a piece of paper an object from the story. They tell no one, and must answer only ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘please explain’. Other students in the circle ask questions, trying to guess the object.

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Talking maps Inside a circle, create a talking map using students as props (these could be enhanced with decorations). Each prop could explain the part of the story they appeared in.

Memory game Prepare pictures of objects from the story (20–48 depending on age and number of objects in the story) on cards. Place half the nouns on the floor for two minutes, and ask the volunteers to remember them. After two minutes remove the cards and check how many objects students remembered. Now place the remaining cards on the floor and ask children to form these into groups (and explain why they are grouped that way). Label the groups. (Give students about the same amount of time as previously.) Remove the cards and ask children to write down the number of objects they remember. Compare how many more cards they remembered in the second instance. NB: Understanding enhances memory. Putting objects into groups builds understanding. Teachers might make the point that when children understand information, they are more likely to remember it than if they cannot make sense of information.

Venn diagram Draw a Venn diagram on the floor in the middle of the circle. One circle is labelled ‘Story’ and the other circle is labelled ‘My Community’. The facilitator lists weather/scenery/characters/things one after the other, and in turn, the students write them into the relevant circle. If the item is common to both the story and the local community, the student writes it into the area where the circles intersect.

Rating game Make a list of nouns from the story. Rate in order of: •

size

•

importance

•

appearance in the story.

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Soundtrack Create a soundtrack to go with the story that mimics combinations of things like: •

wind (whoosh)

•

rain (patter of hands on knees)

•

thunder (stomping feet)

•

animals (mimicking sounds)

•

rustling trees (whistling sounds).

Questions about patterns: plot and possibilities Who remembers what happened in the story? What happened in the beginning/middle/end? What could have happened? What should have happened? What could happen next? What if that happened far in the future (or past) instead? What if ‘such and such’ had happened instead? What if ‘such and such’ had not happened? What is the decisive moment in the story? What choices or decisions have to be made? Who has to make the choices? What choices were made? What were the consequences? Were they the right choices? Was there anything special about the story? Could you tell the story in a different way? Can you think of a title for the story? What would you say the story was about? Is there anything puzzling about the story? What does this story tell us? What is the message of the story?

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Activities about patterns: plot and possibilities Speculating about plot One Show children the cover of the book. Ask them to offer thoughts about what happens in the story. If it is a picture book, show the pictures without reading the story. (Initially show these in order, and as children become more experienced at predicting, begin showing them out of order.) If it is a book with chapters, read the chapter headings. Ask the children to speculate about: •

what is happening in the story

•

what the characters are doing

•

what is the story-line

•

whether the children will enjoy reading the story.

As a class, create a narrative. Then read the book. Compare the story with the predictions.

Two Make up a set of six pictures from the story. (NB: This is time consuming, unless you can photocopy illustrations from the story.) Produce enough pictures for each pair of students. Mix each set up. One set of pictures is distributed to each pair. Prior to reading the story, hand out the picture sets. Ask each pair to put the pictures into the correct sequence. Present the sequences to the group. Try to arrive at an agreement among all the participants in the circle about the correct sequence. Then as a group develop a commentary about the story. This might be achieved by taking turns around the circle to describe each picture, and what is happening in the story. Read the story to the class. Consider how closely it relates to the one created by the circle.

A new ending Students work in small groups. Read a story but do not read the ending. Half the groups have to develop a likely ending; the other half have to develop an unlikely (or plain weird) ending. Tell them they can use their imagination – anything is possible, except they cannot

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introduce new characters. The group should present their endings as a short play, with each play to last about two minutes only. The groups should begin by presenting a likely ending, then an unlikely ending.

Plot sequences Each student is given a few sentences from a part of a story. The teacher asks the students to illustrate their part of the story. When students have completed their pictures, they return to the circle and mingle in a group. The teacher then asks them to form a line from beginning to end, so the pictures are placed along the line in the correct sequence that they appear in the story. Beginning with the first student in the line, the children progress through the story, telling the story by explaining their illustrations. NB: This activity may be used prior to reading a story, with children speculating about the plot, or it may be used after reading a story, with children comprehending and building meaning.

Sentence sequences Write sentences from the story onto cards. Place the sentences on the floor. Each child takes turn in picking up the sentences in correct sequence as they appear in the story. Once all the sentences have been picked up, the children progress around the circle, retelling the story, and filling in those parts of the story not represented by sentences. NB: Once again, this activity may be used prior to reading a story, with children speculating about the plot, or it may be used after reading a story, with children comprehending and building meaning.

Page number bingo Tell the children the number of pages in a story. (If a story is very short, this might be the number of sentences instead.) Read sentences at random from different parts of the story. Children guess the page (sentence) number. After reading out 10–15 sentences, the teacher reads out the answers. The first child to get three correct numbers yells ‘Bingo’.

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Role-playing stories Break students into pairs. Each student is given a section of a story. They develop their part of the story into a mime or a short role play. Children present their mime (or role play) in story (plot) order. Other children are asked to narrate or interpret the mimes/role plays. (NB: Children will require significant direction with this activity initially.)

Story-time dance Choose a character, animal, object, feeling, etc. from the story. For instance: wind, rain, a monkey, space ship, wolf, fear. Ask children to perform (some or all of) the actions listed below like that character/animal/object/feeling. Once they have practised, build a repertoire of movements to create a dance: •

Walk, skip, hop, jog, climb, roll

•

Spin, twirl, pirouette

•

Nod, punch, wave, stretch, lift

•

Drop, dive, crumple, straighten, raise

•

Be still.

Questions about analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs Who is in the story? Who is the story about? Who is the main character? Why is X an important character? How did you feel about X? How did you feel when X . . . ? How did X feel about . . . ? How was X feeling when . . . ? How would you feel if that happened to you?

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Who were friends in the story? Who were enemies in the story? How did X behave when . . . ? Why did X behave like . . . ? What is the relationship between the characters? Are there characters like this in other stories you have read? What character in the story would you choose to be? Why? What does X believe? What does X want? What does X want others to think? What does X think that Y should do? Do you believe/want/think the same as X? Why? How would you change the characters or events?

Activities about analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs Imagination: story statues The aim of this activity is to allow students to experiment with one aspect of a story through the use of imagination and play. The teacher should select a prop from one of the stories. For example, in our stories you could select an apple from ‘Flowers and Apples’. In this example, the teacher could bring a large apple to class. Students in groups will create a moment in time (like a photo or a statue) that is a key moment in a story. The story the group selects could be the story they have just listened to or an alternative or extended part of the story. The group has to experiment with the prop until they have made up a story and a story statue. For example, if they had an apple, a tall student could be a tree holding the apple up high and the others can be reaching for the apple. When all the groups have their story statue figured out the first group goes into the middle of the circle. The group poses in their

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story statue and holds that pose – motionless and silent. Students in the circle have to guess or discuss what the story statue could mean. The statues cannot comment. The teacher should emphasise that each story statue could have multiple meanings which may be different from that intended by the actual group. There is no right answer. After a while the teacher may ask the story statue group to relax their pose and comment on their ideas. Then the next group can have a turn. Other possible activities include: •

Getting the students in the circle to think of a title for the story statue.

•

Allowing the story statues to act out a brief scene and then return to silence.

•

Asking students to predict what could happen next.

•

Asking students to comment on the feelings of different individuals within the story statue.

Feelings games •

Using cards with characters’ names on them, rate the characters according to their feelings (e.g. most to least happy/sad/angry/calm).

•

Give each student a card. Draw a Venn diagram on a large sheet of paper and label each circle with a feeling. Children stand in the circles of the diagram holding their character cards. The circle they choose to stand in will depend on what their character was like. (If they exhibited both feelings, children stand where the circles intersect.) To add movement, the teacher could keep changing the labels.

•

Write different feelings on cards and give each child a card. The teacher places a ‘Most Common’ sign at one end of the circle and a ‘Least Common’ sign at the other end of the circle. Taking turns, children place their feeling card along the continuum depending on how often the story made them feel like the feeling on their card. Children give explanations for their ratings.

Feelings doctor Students work in small groups. They choose a central character and event from a story. They have to complete the following diagnosis and prescription form:

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•

How did the character feel?

•

What was the cause of the feeling?

•

What are the symptoms of this feeling?

•

What could be possible treatments?

Character cards – silent statements Seat the children in a circle. Give students a piece of paper/card with the name of a character on it (there could be repeats of names). Ask students to change seats if their character came in: •

at the beginning of the story

•

in the middle of the story

•

at the end of the story.

Ask students to change seats if: •

their character was kind to other people

•

their character was mean to other people

•

they really liked their character

•

they really disliked their character

•

their character was funny

•

their character was sad.

Character cards – order of entry Ask students to line up in the middle of the circle from BEGINNING at one point to END at another point, according to where their character appeared in the story.

Miming game Ask the MIDDLE and END students to sit back in the circle and the BEGINNING group to remain in the middle and to take turns to mime something that happened in the beginning of the story. Those remaining in the circle have to guess what it was. Repeat the process with the MIDDLE and END groups.

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Charades Put cards with characters’ names on them in a pile. Students take turns in choosing a card from the pile. Without revealing their character to the rest of the group, they act out the character. The other students try to guess the character.

Which way? Ask children to stand next to each other in two lines of equal numbers. Name one line after one character in the story, and the other line after the other character. When the teacher calls out one character’s name, that line runs and touches the nearest wall (or some other marker). When the other character’s name is called, the roles are reversed, and the line with that character’s name flees, while the others chase. The tension in the game occurs from not knowing whether you are the hunter or the hunted. Once children have got the hang of the game, complexity can be added by giving clues rather than just names. For instance, if one line is the ‘Big Bad Wolf ’ and the other line is ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, the teacher might yell out ‘You are hairy’, or some other clue from the story that describes a character’s appearance, feelings or behaviour.

Detectives Put cards with characters’ names on them in a pile. Students take turns in choosing a card from the pile. The other students attempt to guess the character by asking questions. The student with the card answers ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘unsure’ until someone correctly guesses the character’s name. When a student guesses the character’s name, she explains how she managed to work it out.

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Part Two: Stories and sample activity formats Flowers and Apples (younger primary school) Sample activities for ‘Flowers and Apples’ A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow (younger primary school) Sample activities for ‘A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow’ The Dancing Pig – A Love Story (younger primary school) Sample activities for ‘The Dancing Pig’ Monkey Boy! (middle to senior primary school) Sample activities for ‘Monkey Boy!’ George gets into Trouble (middle to senior primary school) Sample activities for ‘George gets into Trouble’ Mango the Mad Motorbike (middle to senior school pupils) Sample activities for ‘Mango the Mad Motorbike’

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Flowers and Apples (younger primary school) Amy lived with her parents and two big sisters in a very large house surrounded by a high brick wall. The garden was filled with apple trees. The apples from the trees were big and red and shiny and juicy. Amy ate apples all the time. Tan lived with his parents in a little house with a falling over fence. In his garden grew beautiful flowers. When Amy went to school she noticed that Tan did not have anything to eat. The next day she brought him the biggest and shiniest red apple she could find. This made Tan happy. The day after, Tan brought Amy some flowers. Amy smiled and thought, ‘Thanks Tan. These flowers are beautiful.’ Amy asked Tan to come and play at her house. Tan was pleased. Amy had more toys and a much bigger television than Tan. Amy and Tan became good friends. They played together often. They always played at Amy’s house. Until one day, Amy got a new dog. It was big with sharp teeth. The dog barked at Tan and jumped on him. Tan was frightened. He ran away. Tan stopped going to Amy’s house. So Amy went to visit Tan. She brought a juicy apple as a present. ‘Come outside and play, Tan,’ she said. Tan was happy. He went outside with Amy and they made necklaces out of the flowers in the garden.

Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, Paul Chapman Publishing, A Lucky Duck Book © Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston, 2007.

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Sample activities for ‘Flowers and Apples’ .

Purpose: This sample format helps children to interpret the story, and to develop the theme of friendship. 1. Play a mixing game (described in ‘Warm-up games’ in Part One). •

Change seats if you eat apples.

•

Change seats if you like flowers.

•

Change seats if you like flowers and apples.

2. Think of the colour of your favourite flower. Find a partner who has the same favourite coloured flower as you. Think of your favourite fruit. Find a partner who has the same favourite fruit as you. 3. Read the story, ‘Flowers and Apples’. 4. Play ‘Silent statements’ (explained in ‘Turning questions into games – silent statements’ in Part One). Ask the children to change places if they: •

enjoyed the story.

•

think Amy was friendly.

•

think the story was about good friends.

5. Place pictures 1–4 on the floor. Ask the children to look closely at them. Place them in the correct sequence. 6. Discuss: •

Why did Tan run away?

•

How might Amy have felt when Tan ran away?

•

Why did Amy go to Tan’s house?

•

Why did Amy take Tan an apple?

•

How might Tan have felt when Amy came to visit?

•

What might have happened if Amy did not go to visit Tan?

7. Ask the children to form two lines. One line is called ‘Tan’; the other is called ‘Amy’. Play ‘Which way?’ (explained in ‘Activities and analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs’ in Part One). Additional words to add interest could include: ‘boy’, ‘girl’, ‘you grow flowers at your

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house’, ‘you grow apples at your house’, ‘you were chased by a dog’, ‘you have a new pet’, ‘you stopped going to your friend’s house to play’, ‘you visited your friend and asked him to play’. 8. Ask the children to complete the sentence: A good friend is someone who . . . 9. Reflection: •

What makes a good friend?

•

Who made some good suggestions today?

•

What did you enjoy most about today?

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A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow (younger primary school) When I was about three years old we lived in a farm-house in the country. Dad bought a little calf. We fed it milk in a bottle and when it got bigger it ate grass, hay and lots of vegetables. It got bigger and bigger and bigger. One day Dad said to Mum, ‘That cow is too big. It’s time to sell it.’ Then he thought, ‘How am I going to get it to market?’ He decided to try to take it in the back of his old pick-up truck. He drove his old pick-up into the paddock near where the cow was eating. I was watching through the fence. At first Dad tied a rope around the cow’s neck and tried to pull it into the truck. He pulled and he pulled but the cow would not get into the pick-up truck. Then Dad got behind the cow and pushed and pushed and pushed! The cow would not move. Dad scratched his head. ‘How will I get this cow into the truck?’ Then Dad got angry. He yelled at the cow. ‘You dozy beast!’ He cursed the cow. He shook his fist at the cow and then up at the sky. He jumped up and down and he whacked the cow with his hand. ‘Why won’t you get in the pick-up truck?’ But the cow kept eating grass and would not get into the pick-up truck. Mum suggested tempting the cow with some hay. Dad did this and the cow wandered over and hopped into the pick-up truck to eat the hay. Dad quickly jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He took off like a rocket. The cow got a terrible fright!

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The cow jumped back onto the ground, stumbled and began to charge towards an open gate. I was standing on the road and the cow was charging in my direction. It was about one hundred times as big as me. Mum and Dad were both running after the cow and yelling. I closed my eyes and the cow whooshed by. It missed me. Mum and Dad whooshed by as well. They were still yelling at the cow. Dad eventually caught the cow and had to walk it all the way to market. We decided not to get another cow.

Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, Paul Chapman Publishing, A Lucky Duck Book © Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston, 2007.

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Sample activities for ‘A Special Memory – Dad and His Cow’ Purpose: This sample format explores the theme of problem solving with a focus on the emotions of the characters, as well as the emotional responses of the audience. 1. Place the pictures in the middle of the circle. Ask the children: •

What is happening in the slides?

•

What is the location?

•

How are the characters feeling?

•

Who has a problem? What is the problem?

2. Put the pictures into a sequence and create a story. 3. Read the story, ‘A Special Memory – Dad and his Cow’. 4. Play ‘Silent statements’. Ask the children to change places if they: •

feel the story was funny.

•

feel the story was sad.

•

feel the story was funny and sad.

5. Discuss: •

Do problems often make you feel: frustrated? angry? frightened?

•

What are some of the problems you have had?

•

How did you feel about these problems?

•

How did you solve these problems?

6. Give a set of pictures to each pair of students, and ask them to put the slides into the correct sequence as they occurred in the story. 7. After agreeing on the correct sequence, ask each pair to decide what was Dad’s problem. Then ask each pair to rate Dad’s ideas from best to worst. Proceed around the circle, asking each pair to explain their reasoning. 8. Reflect:

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•

Do you think Dad should buy another cow? Why?

•

Who made some good suggestions today?

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Activity

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The Dancing Pig – A Love Story (younger primary school) Pig loved to dress up, To gel and spike her hair, To paint her face, To put on her jewellery, Her stones, her bracelets and bangles, Her studs, her earrings and dangles. When Pig was dressing up And brushing and spiking And painting and putting And bangling and dangling, She was happy. Very happy.

In the afternoon Pig would drive in her sports car To the Pig Star nightclub Where she would practise her singing and dancing Until night would fall, When she would perform in a show For all the coolest dudes around the town.

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Sometimes the cool dudes Became so excited They would clap and they would clap, And perhaps even cheer the cheeriest of cheers. They might even throw flowers And sometimes some money. While Pig and her partners Would curtsy and blow kisses, Poke out their bottoms, And blow out their cheeks, And tell the cool dudes They would see them back the next week.

Ever since Pig was a Piglet She had wanted to be a singer and a dancer. The highlight of her life Was as a chorus singer for the Piggles. They were a famous dance band. A very famous dance band. Pig had gone to the Piggles party after the concert. One of the Piggles, Johnny, had said, ‘You think you’re beautiful.’ Pig had said, ‘I don’t think, I know I’m beautiful.’

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Pig liked to say nice things, Especially about herself. Johnny had agreed. He had said, ‘You’re nice Piggo. Very nice.’ Pig had smiled a big smile. A very big smile.

Then she had said, ‘You think you can dance?’

And Johnny Pig had said, ‘I don’t think, I know I can dance.’

And Pig had said, ‘Would you like to dance with me?’

So they had danced,

All night.

Pig and Johnny Piggle,

Under the moon and the stars.

And it was dreamy.

Very dreamy.

Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, Paul Chapman Publishing, A Lucky Duck Book © Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston, 2007.

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Sample activities for ‘The Dancing Pig – A Love Story’ Purpose: To use a story as a starting point for using the imagination to create a performance. 1. Read ‘The Dancing Pig – A Love Story’ to the class. 2. Discuss with the students: • Who remembers what happened in the story? • What happened in the beginning/middle/end? • What could happen next?

‘The Dancing Pig’ performance 3. Masks: Use the pictures to create masks for students to wear during the performance. (These might also help students to relax.) 4. Create a narrative: • Copy the story into six sections. • Form the students into groups. Each group develops a performance for their section of the story. • Ask the students to form a line with the story in the correct sequence, the beginning of the line being the first section of the story, and the end of the line being the end of the story. • Ask the students to read their section of the story in turn, to check they are in the correct sequence. • Remaining in sequence, form a circle so that all the players may see each other. • Beginning with the first sequence, the players step into the middle of the circle and perform their piece. 5. Story-time dance: Ask the children to perform (some or all of) the actions listed below like a pig. Once the children have tried a few different movements, choose one that seems to work best. Build a repertoire of movements to create a dance: • Walk, skip, hop, jog, climb, roll. • Spin, twirl, pirouette.

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• Nod, punch, wave, stretch, lift. • Drop, dive, crumple, straighten, raise. • Be still. 6. Soundtrack: Create a soundtrack to go with the story that mimics combinations of things like: •

wind (whoosh).

•

rain (patter of hands on knees).

•

thunder (stomping feet).

•

animals (mimicking sounds).

•

rustling trees (whistling sounds).

7. Put the dramatic interpretations together to create a performance.

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Monkey Boy! (middle to senior primary school) Once a family spent a long day at the zoo. There was a mum and a dad and six noisy children. They had a lovely time, but they were so tired they made a big mistake! A very big mistake! Somehow, everything became very confused and mixed up. Somehow the family left their little boy ‘Mo’ behind. Instead they went home with a monkey!! Can you believe it? Mo didn’t mind. He had fallen asleep under a tree and was dreaming of eating a pile of bananas. As he slept he scratched himself on the stomach. Mum, who was tired from a long day out, told all the children to get into the car! No one seemed to notice that Mo was not there. No one seemed to notice that a monkey was sitting on the backseat. And no one seemed to notice that the monkey was very smelly. Dad was busy watching the traffic. Mum was having a snooze. Mo’s brothers and sisters were all talking about their day at the zoo. Nobody was listening. Everybody was talking over the top of each other. No one noticed the monkey gibbering and whooping. He just fitted in with the throng. Until the littlest brother wanted some more room. He pushed Monkey. Monkey pushed him back. So littlest brother jumped on top of monkey and put him in a headlock. Their faces were very close together. Little brother wondered how his brother had suddenly become so hairy. And so smelly! ‘Mum,’ said Little Brother, ‘there’s a monkey in the car.’ All the other brothers and sisters joined in. ‘Monkey! Monkey!’

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Mum thought the children were being silly. She didn’t open her eyes. ‘Don’t call your brother a monkey,’ said Mum. ‘But he is a monkey,’ the children yelled, ‘a great big hairy monkey.’ Monkey gave a big screeching whoop. ‘Stop making all that noise,’ said Dad. Monkey thought Dad wanted to play. So he gave him a slap on the back of the head. Then he looked at the children and had a big chuckle. Dad got very cross. ‘Who did that?’ he said. ‘Keep your eyes on the road,’ said Mum. But Dad had already turned around. ‘There’s a monkey in the car!’ he yelled. Mum looked around. She screamed. All the kids screamed. ‘There’s a monkey in the car!!’ yelled everyone. The monkey scratched himself and grinned.

Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, Paul Chapman Publishing, A Lucky Duck Book © Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston, 2007.

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Sample activities for ‘Monkey Boy!’ Purpose: To share imaginary worlds, and the effect of the audience’s imagination on stories. 1. Read ‘Monkey Boy!’ to the class. 2. Play ‘Sharing imaginary worlds’ (explained in ‘Activities about context: time and place’ in Part One). As each student is listening to a story being read he is creating images in his mind. Such individual images are multi-faceted interpretations of the story and include music and sound, movement and emotion, colour and perspective, words and metaphors, and spatial and architectural design. Each of these images can be shared in a non-threatening way using the circle. • The students sit in a circle after listening to the story. Each question asks the students to say what they remembered from the story. The students will rely on their memory and images they created while listening. Some student responses may not actually have been in the story but will have been part of the images they created while listening. • The teacher might ask the students in the circle to say one:

word that they remember from the story. emotion they remember from the story. sound they remember from the story. colour they remember from the story. physical feature they remember from the story. 3. After going around the circle several times the students can work in groups of two. One student can describe a favourite moment and the other student can draw this image. At the side of the image the student can write down some or all of the key words associated with the image: word, emotion, sound, colour, building and landscape. Then the students can swap around. These images may be displayed around the room. 4. Lay out the pictures. Ask the students to place them in order and look at them carefully. Ask them to identify the similarities/differences with how they imagined the story.

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5. Reflection: •

What is the decisive moment in the story?

•

Was there anything special about the story?

•

What was puzzling about the story?

6. End the session with a sentence completion: Something I enjoyed most about the story was . . .

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George gets into Trouble (middle to senior primary school) George was eating his lunch in the playground. He was saving his muesli bar for last. George liked to eat muesli bars. The teacher on duty was looking the other way. Sue, who was sitting near George, reached over and grabbed his muesli bar. George was shocked. He didn’t know what to do. The other kids laughed when Sue took a big bite from the muesli bar. Then she spat it out and threw the rest of the bar on the ground. George tried to pick it up and Sue stood on his hand. George pushed her out of the way. Sue screamed. ‘He pushed me over!’ The teacher ran over. ‘George, you know you are not allowed to push in the playground.’ George had to sit outside the head teacher’s office for the rest of lunchtime. Sue walked past and laughed.

Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, Paul Chapman Publishing, A Lucky Duck Book © Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston, 2007.

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Sample activities for ‘George gets into Trouble’ Purpose: To consciously apply analytic and creative thinking skills in the interpretation of a story. 1. Read the story,’ George gets into Trouble’ to the class. 2. Lay out the picture on the floor. Ask the children to look closely. Ask them to identify any inaccuracies in the picture compared to the story. 3. Describe: •

What happened in the story?

4. Proceed around the circle and ask the students to complete the sentence: George getting into trouble makes me feel … 5. Change seats if you think that: •

George should take revenge on Sue.

•

George should refuse to sit outside the head teacher’s office.

•

Sue should not have laughed at George.

•

Sue should get into trouble.

•

The teacher was being unfair to George.

•

Sue is cruel.

6. Discuss: • What is curious about the story? • Does anything about Sue’s behaviour puzzle you? • What assumptions you have made about George and Sue (e.g. George is innocent and Sue is nasty). 7. Now ask the class to reverse some of their assumptions. Propose to students: • What if Sue is not cruel? • What if George is not innocent? • What might be some possible explanations for Sue’s behaviour?

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8. Break the children into groups and ask them to develop the story by either speculating about what happened before or after Sue took George’s muesli bar. They then role play their stories using mime. The other children attempt to guess what is happening. 9. Reflect on the lesson: • What was the most important thing you learned today? • Who made some good suggestions today?

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Mango the Mad Motorbike (middle to senior primary school) Mango was a motorbike. He was big and loud and beautiful. On a sunny day, he was at his dazzling best. So dazzling, all the other bikes would stop and stare. He would cruise around the streets. And he would cruise into town. And when the traffic stopped, The cars would grit their grills And the trucks would wheeze, cough, splutter and snarl. And Mango would give them all a wink And accelerate along the gutter And onto the footpath Ducking and dodging Swerving and weaving While pedestrians and shopping trolleys Babies and prams Dogs, cats, mice and rats, Would all be leaping and screeching. Mango poked out his headlight, Wiggled his exhaust pipe, Did wheelies And screechies. He grinned at the on-lookers Gaping and googling, Gasping and grasping.

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When there were protests Mango poked out his headlight, And wiggled his handlebars. He thumped with his pistons, He bounced up and down, He revved and he blew, And he laughed so loud His fuel tank nearly burst. Until a shop-keeper put a padlock on his wheel Which made Mango angry. So angry, he was frightening. He threatened to smash windows, To shake lamp-posts and buildings, To derail trains, erupt volcanoes and explode into a blazing inferno! In fact, he threatened everyone and everything. Until he had nothing more to threaten! Except . . . The police. When they arrived he threatened them too! Which was silly. Very silly. Very, very, very silly. Mango got a lift home in a police car. And Mango was very, very, SAD! Until he had a great idea!

Using Circle Time to Learn About Stories, Paul Chapman Publishing, A Lucky Duck Book © Craig Deed, Bob Bellhouse and Glenda Johnston, 2007.

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Sample activities for ‘Mango the Mad Motorbike’ Purpose: This sample format uses the story to explore the link between feelings and behaviour (in this instance – anger). 1. Show the students the ‘Mango the Mad Motorbike’ picture. Ask them to describe: •

Who is in the picture?

•

What is happening?

•

What feelings are being expressed?

2. Ask the children to speculate about the story, ‘Mango the Mad Motorbike’. 3. Read the story. 4. Discuss: •

Why did Mango get angry?

•

What happened when Mango got angry?

5. Play ‘Silent statements’. Ask the children to change seats if: •

they believe everyone gets angry sometimes.

•

some people never get angry.

•

some people get angry more often than other people.

•

it is hard to think when they are angry.

•

they sometimes get frightened when others are angry.

6. Discuss: What makes us angry? 7. Brainstorm: Ask the students, ‘What might have been Mango’s great idea?’ When the students have a list, break them into groups and: (a)

Or:

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Create a story statue that shows the end of the story. Ask the audience what they think the story statue represents. The group then describe their ending to the story. (NB: See ‘Activities about analysis: characters, feelings and beliefs’ for more explanation of story statues.)

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Ask the students to break into pairs and write a story ending. Then proceed around the circle with each pair telling their story ending.

Or: (c)

Break the students into groups where they develop their own story ending and mime it for the audience. The audience interprets the mime. The group then describes their mime performance.

8. Reflection: •

Are you most likely to have great ideas when you are calm or angry? Why?

•

What should you do when you are feeling angry (e.g. Stop – Think – Do)?

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