Dawn
by Uri Shulevitz
Theme: New Year, change, newness
Materials:
-
overhead projector (we found one for $3 at a garage sale; we’ve also borrowed
one from church)
-
sheet (hang in a doorway or across another space visible to the audience)
-
overhead transparencies: light blue transparency sheet (color a clear one
blue with a light blue marker or cut blue cellophane and tape the edges
to a transparency sheet or to a black frame cut from construction paper);
yellow transparency sheet (made as described above); a transparency brightly
colored with markers to include sun, water, mountain; a oval blue lake
(cut from transparency paper and colored or blue cellophane); a purple
mountain (made as described for the lake)
-
tape or CD of "Morning Has Broken"
-
black cutouts in the shape of: tree, man, boy, blanket, bird, bat, frog,
fire, and two figures in boat.
Summary: a boy and his grandfather welcome dawn as they awake near
a lake and put their boat out on the water. The book includes simple text
and beautiful watercolor illustrations.
Early preparation: This was done in front of our church congregation.
A simpler version would be ideal for homeschool. I would have the kids
make shadow puppets or stick puppets to hold up in front of the sheet as
I read. The following description tells what was done at church.
I hung a sheet in a doorway. Behind the sheet I positioned an overhead
projector on the floor so that it would shine on the sheet, providing a
"screen" that all could see. I asked someone to read the book in front
of the screen (to one side) without showing the illustrations. Instead,
I stayed hidden behind the screen and brought the illustrations to life
for the entire congregation by putting transparencies and cutouts on the
overhead.
Procedure: The first Sunday of the New Year, the storyteller
welcomed the children to the front and talked with them about new beginnings--of
days, weeks, and years. She told them that the beginning of a new day is
called "dawn." She said, "Since this is the dawn of a new year, I am sharing
a story called Dawn."
Text to the book is in italics (I've included cue words and phrases.
The entire text is not printed here.) Inside the parenthesis I've listed
what was included on the overhead.
[Light blue transparency covers overhead. Switch overhead "on." ] Quiet.
Still. It is cold and damp.
Under a tree by the lake [tree cut-out and lake transparency positioned
on top of blue transparency] an old man and his grandson curl up in their
blankets. [man and boy lay down with blanket over their legs.]
The moon lights. . . .The mountain stands guard,. . . .[mountain transparency
added to overhead.}
Nothing moves. Now a light breeze. [Storyteller asks kids to blow. Begin
tape of "Morning Has Broken" on a quiet setting.] The lake shivers. Slowly.
. . A bat. . .[Add bat to overhead.] A frog. . . [Add frog.] A bird. .
. [Add bird.]
The old man wakes his grandson. [Remove blanket. Make figures stand
up.]
They draw water. . .light fire. [Add fire to overhead.]
They roll up. . .push boat into water. [Remove man and boy. Put boat
on water.] Alone, they move. . . [Cover entire overhead scene with a clear,
yellow transparency.]
Suddenly [Remove all from overhead and replace with the overhead which
includes sun, lake and mountain in bright colors] the mountain and lake
are green. [Let music play out to a natural conclusion. Leave on the last
overhead.]
Storyteller says, "I'm happy God gave us this new day and this new year."
The storyteller reads from Psalm 118: 24, and then invites the children
to say the scripture again along with her.
Additional Notes: Practice with the storyteller to time the illustrations
with the text.
Although this takes more preparation than most stories, it is well worth
the effort. The visuals combined with the music are very powerful and provide
a unique way to introduce the dawn of a new year. The children didn't take
their eyes from the "screen." After the service I was approached (separately)
by five men who commented on how powerful the presentation was. The book
and the storytelling method spoke to multiple generations. I highly recommend
it!
Owl
Babies by Martin Waddell (Cambridge, Mass., Candlewick,
1992)
Theme: Love, Mother’s Day
Materials: simple costumes and props if desired.
Summary: Three baby owls try not to worry when they wake up and
discover their mother gone.
Introduction: Have you ever woken up in the morning and thought
that your mother (or father, grandmother) was missing?
You might want to add your own personal story here. For example: one
morning my children woke up and were almost in tears because they thought
I was missing. When they found me in the computer room they told me of
all the theories they had about where I must have gone.
Procedure: Ask two readers and one nonreader to play Sarah, Percy,
and Bill. Write down Sarah and Percy’s lines in the order they fall in
the book. Tell Bill to always say, "I want my mommy!" each time the other
two owl babies talk. Read the book aloud. Have the three child actors read
their lines. At the end you should swoop down behind the three baby owls
and give them all hugs. My children (ages 9, 4, and 3, at the time) caught
on after only a couple rehearsals. They enjoyed building their own nest
(of blankets and socks), making their own branch (a brown blanket), and
finding their own costumes (everything from bath robes to slips). After
we rehearsed for family, the children presented at the public library during
story time.
Nonrehearsed version: If you don’t have time to rehearse, ask all the
children to help you say, "I want my mommy!" each time that Bill’s lines
are said. |
