Storytelling and Drama
методическая разработка по английскому языку на тему

Storytelling and Drama

Storytelling and Drama share a number of features which make it integrate them during lessons. Both build on children`s innate capacity for fantasy and imaginative play and even young children can differentiate between the conventions of a story or drama and real life. Through stories and drama, children develop understanding of themselves and the world around them.

The ant and the grasshopper

One summer day, there was an ant and a grasshopper in a field. The ant worked very hard collecting food for winter and the grasshopper played. The ant said, ‘Grasshopper , why do you play all the time? You should work and collect food for winter like me. The grasshopper laughed and said, ‘I don’t like work. It’s much more fun to play. I can work and collect food tomorrow.’

Every day of summer was the same. The ant worked and worked collecting food for the winter. The grasshopper played and played. He didn’t collect any food.

Soon it was winter. There was snow in the field and it was very cold. The grasshopper went to see the ant and said, ‘Hello, ant. I’m hungry and it’s cold. ‘No, grasshopper. Sorry. You had a chance to work and collect food in the summer. But you only played. I collected food for myself. I don’t have any sadly and thought, ‘Oh, dear. What a fool I am in the summer I played and played. Why didn’t I work like the ant? Where can I find food now?”

Procedure

1. Use this activity to remind children of a story they have already listened to once. Select key words that are repeated several times in the story, eg ant, grasshopper, work, play, food. 
2. Divide the children  into five groups and assign one word to each group. Teach the children to respond to the words they have been assigned in the following way:

in response to ant children should say: busy, busy, busy

in response to grasshopper: hop, hop, hop

in response to food: yum, yum, yum

in response to play or played: hee, hee, hee

in response to work or worked: sigh, sigh, sigh.

3. Say, Ant! / Food! Etc in random

order and practice getting the

children to respond in chorus

with their group quickly and rhythmically.

4. Explain that you are going to tell the story again. Ask the groups to listen and respond every time they hear their word in the story. Put a slight emphasis on the words  at first.
5. Ask the children how many times they think they heard their word in the story and listen to their response. Either tell the children the answer or, with older children, if you have copies of the story, ask them to scan the text to find and underline their words and then count them to check the answer (grasshopper 8; ant 8; food 10; work 8; play 8). This can then act as a lead-in to further detailed comprehension work on the story.

The boys and the bear

One day two boys, David and Alex, were going for a walk in the forest. Suddenly they saw a big, brown bear coming towards them. David ran away quickly and climbed a tree. But Alex didn’t have time to run away.

The bear came nearer. Alex was terrified. He lay down on the ground, held his breath and pretended to be dead. The bear looked uncertain. It walked up to the boy lying on the ground and touched him its paw. Alex didn’t move. Then the bear walked round sniffing the boy’s body but still Alex still didn’t move.

Finally the bear put its mouth near the boy’s ear and sniffed several times. It then walked away into the forest. Alex waited until the bear disappeared and then stood up. He was shaking with fear.

David climbed down from the tree. He asked Alex what the bear said to him before it walked into the forest. Alex looked at David slowly and replied, ‘The bear said to be careful of friends who abandon you when you are in danger.’

3. Words in the story

Aims: to predict a story from key words; to create interest and attention in listening to the story; to listen and compare the story with predictions.

Language focus: in the example: vocabulary from the story, present simple, making predictions with perhaps, maybe.

Alternatives: past simple

Materials Essential: a copy of the story/ Optional: flashcards or pictures of key vocabulary.

Procedure:

1. Introduce and write a selection of key vocabulary from the story on the board. For example, for a story about the mythical sea creature, the Kraken, you could use the words: monster, sea, island, sailors, boat, fire. If you like, draw pictures or use flashcards to illustrate the words.
2. Ask the children to predict what they think happens in the story based on the vocabulary on the board, and listen to their suggestions, eg. I think some sailors are in a board./ There are big waves in the sea./ The sailors fall in the sea./ They nearly drown./ I think they swim to an island./ Perhaps there is a monster on the island./ Maybe the monster breathes fire. Be ready to help the children express their ideas and encourage them to be as imaginative as possible.
3. Then say Let`s listen to the story and find out! Read or tell the story once. Get the children to compare what happens with their prediction.

The Kraken

There was once an enormous sea monster called the Kraken. The Kraken was more than two kilometers long. It had an enormous head, big eyes and hundreds of tentacles.

The Kraken was a peaceful, quiet monster and it usually lived at the bottom of the sea. But it sometimes swam to the surface and stayed there for eight or ten years. Then trees and plants grew on the Kraken and it looked like an island in the sea.

One day a boat sailed near the island. The sailors decided to stop and explore. They took lots of food and drink with them and rowed to the island on a small boat.

The sailors climbed on to the island and had a party. They ate lots of good and told stories. They sang songs and they danced. At night it was very cold and they lit a big fire.

Suddenly, there were big waves and the whole island began to move and shake. The sailors shouted for help. Was it an earthquake? No, it was the Kraken.

The Kraken was no longer a peaceful, quiet monster. It was a fierce and furious monster. The Kraken was angry with the sailors because the fire hurt its back.

The Kraken made a loud noise. It threw the sailors into the sea and they all drowned. Then the Kraken dived down to the bottom of the sea and disappeared. No one ever saw the Kraken again.

Comments and suggestions

This prediction activity encourages children to develop their imaginations and express their ideas freely through hypothesizing what the story is about. In some cases, you may find that the children`s suggestions are more imaginative than the story you propose to tell!