I Believe in Unicorns

Theatre Alibi
I Believe
in
Unicorns
Michael Morpurgo
from the book by
Adapted by Daniel Jamieson
Teachers Resource Pack
Written & compiled by Dorinda Hulton
Making Paper Sculptures
Written & compiled by Sandie Hicks
Theatre Alibi · Emmanuel Hall · Emmanuel Road · Exeter EX4 1EJ
+
% fax 01392 217315 · info@theatrealibi.co.uk · www.theatrealibi.co.uk
Theatre Alibi
I Believe in Unicorns Teachers Resource Pack
This year’s education pack has been specially designed and developed
to accompany Theatre Alibi’s performance of I Believe in Unicorns.
It’s intended as a resource for teachers of children at Key Stages 1 and 2 and
may be used either before, or after, the performance. Aspects of it are especially
relevant to PSHE, Literacy, History and Art. We have also included pages
suitable for photocopying for classroom use. These pages are marked with
borders so that you can spot them easily. Activities aimed at younger and older
children are colour coded. We hope you find the pack useful. Dorinda Hulton
Contents
Magical stories ............................................................3
LITERACY
Making a Noah’s Ark book .........................................4
LITERACY ART
Reading stories aloud ...............................................6
LITERACY
Storytelling ..................................................................7
ORACY
Sharing memories of when you were younger ........8
HISTORY
Images of war and the real thing ...............................9
PSHE HISTORY
Why are books precious? ........................................14 PSHE HISTORY LITERACY
Helping hands ...........................................................16
PSHE LITERACY
Libraries.....................................................................18
LITERACY
A wish for peace & Making a ‘wish scroll’ ..............19
PSHE
Making Paper Sculptures .........................................21
ART
Finding out about books from around the world...31
LITERACY
Finding out about Michael Morpurgo......................36
LITERACY
Adapting a story for acting out................................37
LITERACY
Creating a storyboard...............................................38
ART
Sequencing the story ...............................................39
LITERACY
Responding to a performance
of I Believe in Unicorns ............................................40
LITERACY
Extract from I Believe in Unicorns ..........................41
LITERACY
Resources..................................................................44
2
Magical stories
In I Believe in Unicorns, there’s a boy called Tomas who has lived in the same mountain
village all his life. Tomas likes playing outdoors and says he hates stories. His Mum wants to
take him to the library because there’s a new librarian who tells wonderful stories.
The first story that Tomas hears the new librarian tell is ‘The Unicorn Story’. It’s a retelling of the
Noah’s ark story in which the last two unicorns on earth are accidentally left behind by Noah.
They swim and swim in their efforts to try and catch up with the ark – and in the end, they swim
so far that they become transformed into narwhals. Tomas is so amazed when he hears this
magical story that he never wants it to end.
Ask the children in a big group if they can remember any stories about unicorns, or other
magical creatures. The stories could be ones they’ve read, or seen, or been told. Invite a
number of children, each in turn, to retell a part of his, or her, most amazing magical story
to the rest of the class. If they want to, they can transform the story itself, as they retell it.
Read a simple story about a
magical creature to younger children
and ask them to retell it in their
own words. Unicorn Dreams
by Dyan Sheldon and Neil
Reed, for example, easily lends
itself to retelling. This story was
kindly recommended by Lindsay
Hirst as being popular with
Reception Class children. It’s about
a young boy who is teased by the other
children in his class because he keeps
seeing a unicorn in unexpected
places. In the end, when Dan
gets to tell the class his
unicorn stories, no one
laughs – because suddenly
they can all see a unicorn
in their imaginations too.
Older children can find out
more about other strange and
wonderful creatures from the Natural
History Museum’s website about extinct
creatures http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureonline/life/dinosaurs-other-extinct-creatures/
and http://science.discovery.com/creatures/10-extinct-species.htm Invite each of the
children to choose an animal and make up their own magical story about that animal.
3
Making a Noah’s ark book
Younger children can make a ‘zigzag’ or ‘accordion’ style book to tell the story of Noah’s ark in
pictures. This style of book can be spread out to make a display around the classroom.
There is an excellent website - with free downloadable PDF files – which shows you how to
make this kind of book, as well as several others. It’s at:
www.makingbooks.com/freeprojects.shtml
Writing and Making Books by Moira Andrew is another great resource. It’s packed with
accessible and inspiring ideas for book making and storytelling with 5-7 year olds. An
adaptation of one of these ideas is included below.
To create the content for Noah’s ark book, begin by telling the
children the story of Noah and how he was supposed to rescue all
the animals on earth by taking two of every kind into the ark. Then
divide the children into groups, and suggest that each group
chooses, for example, eight kinds of creature for their book.
Between them, the children can draw, colour, and cut out their
pictures of animals queuing up to enter the ark. On each page,
they could simply write the name of the animal, or a short
patterned phrase, for example, ‘Noah took two giraffes’. The front
cover should include the title of the book, and perhaps a picture of
Noah and his wife looking up anxiously at a cloudy sky. The back
cover could perhaps show a rainbow, and the animals peeping out
of the windows of the ark. Each page could be liberally splattered
with raindrops…
As a follow up to the zigzag book idea, Moira Andrew suggests that younger children could
make a long class book about Noah, with each child taking a page to draw and write about
a different pair of animals.
The Noah story in both the Jewish and Christian traditions has a parallel in the Islamic
tradition, and below are a couple of images dating from the 15th and 19th centuries. Older
children can compare these images, spotting differences, as well as similarities. They can
also be encouraged to appreciate and celebrate the fact that we all learn from, and enjoy,
stories in different ways, according to what is important to each of us. Stories help us to
dream and imagine, as well as to understand more about how other people think and feel,
about magic, rescue and the possibility of transformation… the list is endless.
4
Noah’s Ark, 1405-1447, Iran (Afghanistan)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah's_Ark
Noah’s Ark, Edward Hicks, 1846, Philadelphia Museum of Art
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.artunframed.com/images/artistusa8/hicks2.jp
g&imgrefurl=http://www.artunframed.com/edward_hicks.htm&h=598&w=750&sz=144&tbnid=ZO
j3l6iM_qXEVM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=113&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnoah's%2Bark%2Bpainting%2Be
dward%2Bhicks%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=noah's+ark+painting+edward+hick
s&usg=__VQkNn1PgYOYsZQG-9HssMtNeMw0=&docid=SRKHf8g0wDzTM&sa=X&ei=uim3UbP0JaPG0QWXlIGADA&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAA&dur=5616
5
Reading stories aloud
At the beginning of the story, Tomas is a young man. He’s a writer of stories himself, now, but as
a child, he remembers being scared stiff of being asked to tell a story, and also being asked to
read a story aloud.
It’s the new librarian, the Unicorn Lady, who helps Tomas overcome his fear of reading stories
aloud. She helps him when he gets stuck with longer words, and praises him when he’s
finished. All his terror and dread disappear when he feels that everyone is LISTENING…
not to him, but to the story...
Children can help each other develop confidence in reading aloud by developing their
awareness of what it means to be a good LISTENER. In his excellent book Brave Tales:
Developing Literacy through Storytelling, Will Coleman suggests developing children’s
listening skills by asking them the question:
“What do good listeners do?”
Coleman notes that even very young children will come up with suggestions such as:
Use your ears to LISTEN,
LOOK at the person speaking,
Keep QUIET, and sit nicely.
Older children might add suggestions such as REACT and THINK.
Theatre Alibi might add IMAGINE …
If it is appropriate, older children can be encouraged to listen to each other reading stories
aloud in pairs, and to help each other.
Perhaps they can begin by reading the poem Slow Reader by Allan Ahlberg.
http://itwillallbefine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/wednesday-words-slow-reader-allan.html
The version on
the right is
trickier as
children will need
to start at the
bottom and read
from right to left!
.ti – etah
I – ni – ma – I – lla
Si – that – puorg – sre – daer
Wols – eht – ni – ma – I
Yalp – sam – tsirhc – stnaf – ni
Eht – ni – nam – esiw – a
Saw – re – htorb – elt – til
Ym – rev – res – a – si
Ret – sis – ym – meat – llab
Toof – eht – ni si – re
Htorb – ym – puorg – sre – daer
Wols – eht – ni – ma – I
6
Also – to give older children some idea of what it feels like to have difficulty reading even
simple words – ask them to try reading the sentences below. This time each word has been
written in the correct order but it has been printed backwards! They can try this game in
pairs, noticing how they feel when they’re struggling to do something they find difficult.
Then they can share their observations about their feelings with the rest of the class.
Nehw naD tog emoh morf loohcs that noonretfa, eht nrocinu saw
gniyl no eht ssarg. ti doots pu nehw ti was naD. ehT slleb no sti
enam delgnaj sa ti dewollof mih ni ot eht tfil. ‘uoy t‘nac emoc ni’
dias naD. tuB eht nrocinu tnew ni yawyna. naD dna eht nrocinu tog
tuo no eht htneetriht roolf. ‘uoy t‘nac emoc ni’ naD dolt eht
nrocinu sa eh denepo eht rood ot sih talf. ‘enoyrevE syas uoy
tn‘era laer.’ tuB eht nrocinu tnew ni yawyna.
The above funny incident is adapted from a moment in Unicorn Dreams by Dyan Sheldon
and Neil Reed. Ask older children to make up their own funny short stories, about an
unlikely place where a unicorn might be spotted – and then to try writing the words
backwards for a partner to read aloud. They can take it in turns to be ‘pupil’ and ‘teacher’.
This time, ask them to help and encourage each other whenever they might need it.
Storytelling
At the Library, the Unicorn Lady draws
the children into the world of stories,
and the imagination, through being a
wonderful storyteller herself.
Storytelling, however, can be as challenging as reading aloud is for some children (as well
as for some adults). To develop children’s confidence in storytelling, Will Coleman (Brave
Tales: Developing Literacy through Storytelling) sums it all up by saying:
Storytelling is interactive!
Coleman suggests developing children’s awareness of storytelling techniques by asking
them the question:
“What do good storytellers do?”
7
Again, he notes that the quality of responses, even from young children is often impressive.
Their answers could include:
Eye contact
gestures
good words
facial expressions
lively voices
suspense
Ask children in pairs, or small groups, to retell their favourite stories to each other.
Encourage them use as many good storytelling techniques as they can, and to notice, and
praise, each other’s use of them.
Sharing memories
of when you were younger
Tomas remembers the toys he used to play with when he was
younger, as well as the stories he loved listening to…
Invite children to ask an adult they know well to tell them
about the toys they enjoyed playing with when they were
younger, as well as the stories they loved listening to.
Share one or two stories about your own childhood with the children. Also, bring in a
childhood teddy or baby photo of yourself to show the class. Invite children to bring in
photos of themselves as babies, too. If some of them don’t have a baby or toddler photo of
themselves to bring in, perhaps they could bring in an old toy to show the rest of the class.
Invite other teachers in the school to bring in photos of themselves as children, and others
of themselves now. Younger children can spend some time in small groups matching each
childhood photo with an adult one. Perhaps each member of staff can also write a true
story of a childhood memory (5 or 6 lines long will do). These short stories can be typed out
on pieces of card, and older children can try to match them with the photos.
Ask older children to work in pairs and tell each other true stories about their own
memories. These memories can be as simple, or as dramatic, as they like. Can they
remember something that happened to them this morning, yesterday, last summer and last
year? What is their earliest memory? Can they can remember something they used to be
scared stiff of when they were younger, but aren’t now? Their partners can help them to
choose a memory to write down, or to tell the whole class. Perhaps together, the class can
create a memory album of their own histories.
Invite an elderly person to visit the school so that children can ask questions about life in
the past. This might provide an opportunity for the children to learn true stories from a
different culture as well. Spend some time preparing the children for the visit by discussing
suitable questions to ask.
8
Images of war and the real thing
Tomas remembers one summer morning when war came to the village. For some time he’d
seen pictures of soldiers and tanks on TV, but he hadn’t known what it all meant. Then, when a
plane came and dropped bombs on his own village and destroyed the homes of people he
knew, everything changed.
Older children can be encouraged to empathise with what it might feel like to be in a real
war, to lose your home, and to wonder about people you love who may be missing.
According to the Save the Children website, three out of four children have lost a loved one
as a result of the current conflict in Syria.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=8486803&c
t=13020737.
Here is a photograph from the Save the Children
site of a five year old girl from Syria called ‘Marian’*.
Divide the children into groups and ask them to
wonder what Marian might be thinking and feeling.
Here are some questions to start them off:
What might Marian be wishing?
What might she be afraid of now?
Who might she be looking for?
Where might she want to be?
*Her name has been changed to protect her identity
Marian, 5, at a refugee settlement
near the Syrian border. Syrian
refugee children are under
constant risk of malnutrition,
disease and trauma as the twoyear Syrian conflict continues.
Invite the children to imagine a safe future for Marian and to give her story a happy ending.
Perhaps they can draw a picture to illustrate her story, showing her as a young woman.
Where might she be? Who with? What might she be doing?
Many children will have seen pictures of real wars in different parts of the world on TV.
Many will also have seen reconstructed, images of war in video games. Older children can
be encouraged to discuss the difference between the two different kinds of image.
Below are some images which show the blurring between reality and the virtual world.
These fascinating pictures are selected from the BBC’s site http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/inpictures-16745015. Ask the children to examine each pair of photos carefully. Can they
describe what they see in each photo? Can they work out which photo shows ‘the real
thing’ and which photo shows a virtual world? Can they explain their choices?
9
Spot the difference
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-16745015
Which photo shows the real thing?
US soldiers clearing bombs in Ramadi, Iraq (top)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-16745015
10
Compare the two. John Cantle’s photo
(top) is faithfully recreated in a scene
from the Arma 2 video game
A US soldier searches for insurgent
(rebel) positions in Ramadi, Iraq (top),
and a still from Arma 2 video game
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures16745015
11
Iraqi militia wait for orders to advance through a city block in the Ta'meem district of Ramadi,
Iraq (top) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-16745015
Invite the children to discuss whether it matters, or doesn’t matter, that reality and the
virtual world often become blurred in our understanding of what war means.
12
Older children can also discuss the difference between pictures of real wars they may have
seen on TV – and images of war in films. Have they seen the film adaptation of Michael
Morpurgo’s War Horse for example?
Encourage children to appreciate that stories can sometimes help us to learn about – as
well as empathise with – people who have been affected by war. On the other hand, the
way images of war are sometimes used can allow us to think that war is just like a game…
and then we forget that real people, as well as other living creatures, may be hurt in wars.
13
Why are books precious?
After the bombing raid on his village, Tomas runs to the village to search for his Dad. Eventually,
he finds his Dad helping the new librarian carry armfuls of books out of the library. She’s
shouting to him that they must go back into the building and rescue more books. The upstairs of
the library is on fire, and fire engines are there with their hoses. ‘I won’t let them burn the
books… I won’t’, she insists.
Invite children to think about why books are precious and how they influence us all. Show
the children a favourite book of yours and ask them to talk about their own favourite books.
The new librarian has a favourite book. It’s the one her father gave her when she was a little girl.
The cover is burned and when Tomas asks her how that happened, she tells him the true story
of how it came to be, and how her father rescued it
from a mountain of books that soldiers had piled up to
be burned.
On the right are some photos related to book
burning in Germany during the 1930s. Discuss
with older children the symbolism of that action,
and how the people responsible thought it was a
way of controlling what people think about.
Scene during the book burning in Berlin's Opera Square. Berlin, Germany, May 10 1933.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005852
Book burning in Berlin. May 1933
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1933-may-10-berlinbook-burning.JPG
14
Examples of books burned by the Nazis on display at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Israel
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yad_Vashem_Books_burned_by_Nazis_by_David_Shan
kbone.jpg
Ask older children to list ten things – including books – they would want to save if their own
house was burning down. When each child has chosen ten things, divide the class into
small groups with the task of agreeing on a final list of 10 items. Once they’ve done this,
ask the groups to compare their lists and discuss the similarities and differences between
their choices.
Make your own list of ten things (including books) that you would want to save in a fire, and
share your list with the children. Explain to them the significance of each item you’ve
chosen, and ask them to explain the significance of the items they’ve chosen as a group.
Encourage the children to understand the difference between what is valuable in monetary
terms, and what might be truly valuable in life, what is replaceable, and what is
irreplaceable.
The burning of books in 1930s Germany took place in a society where people were not
supposed to ask questions, or think for themselves, but do what they were told. Invite the
children to think about what it means to live in a free society, about equal opportunities for
all, irrespective of race, colour, beliefs, or gender. Older children can be encouraged to
appreciate that the denial of freedom to think and question and dream and learn is still
denied to some people, and that this denial of freedom deprives people of a fundamental
human right.
15
Helping hands
Tomas and the other children in the village help to rescue the books from the library by making
a human chain. They pass the books from hand to hand and only stop when the library begins
to burn out of control. The librarian tells them not to worry because they can build the library
back – but the important thing, now, is to find somewhere safe to store all the books they’ve
helped to save. She needn’t have worried as everybody in the village who still has a roof over
their heads, offers to take a wheelbarrow of books home to look after.
Invite the children to discuss the benefits of working together especially when a community
is struck by disaster, whether natural or man-made. Here are some pictures of children in
Japan helping adults clear mud from the town swimming pool after the tsunami of 2011.
These images and others may be seen at http://give2asia.org/?p=14650#more-14650
(give2asia.org/?cat=307) The story behind them is that in order to clear the mud, the
community first had to work out how to clear the mud. Then someone had the idea of
pouring saw dust into the sludge which made it easier to shovel up and bag.
16
Encourage children to think about people
they can offer to help, and how best to
help. Ask them in groups to make a list of
all the different ways they can think of to
help, and for each child to choose
something from the list that they would
really be glad to help with.
Then ask each group to choose
something they would all like to do
together as a team.
Younger children can be encouraged to
recognise all the people who help us in
different ways. Here are some questions
to start them thinking: Who are the people
who help us in the community? Who are
the people who help us at school? Who
are the people who help us at home?
Who couldn’t we manage without?
http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc
eid=navclient&aq=&oq=firemen+&ie=
UTF8&rlz=1T4SVEE_en___GB438&q=fire
men+images&gs_l=hp..5.0i10j0l3j0i10j
41.0.0.1.73777...........0.-83Uk02U3xg
Divide the children into small groups and
give each group a large sheet of paper
and colours. Ask the children in groups to
make a ‘picture list’ of all the helpful
people they can think of. Then ask each
group to explain to the rest of the class
something about what all the people in
their pictures do to help.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc
eid=navclient&aq=&oq=dinner+la&ie=
UTF8&rlz=1T4SVEE_en___GB438&q=din
ner+ladies+images&gs_l=hp..5.0l5j41.
0.0.0.6614...........0.xB_GHuTs2P4
17
Libraries
I Believe in Unicorns celebrates the library in Tomas’s village, as much as it does the books
within it. Children can be encouraged to find out more about libraries and to appreciate what an
amazing and enriching resource they are for the whole community. Below are some ‘facts’ about
libraries in the UK. Ask the children in pairs to decide which of them is true for most libraries,
and which is false.
1. At the library, you can listen to Story time.
2. At the library, you can surf the internet.
3. At the library, you can read books.
4. At the library, adults have to pay to read newspapers and magazines.
5. At the library, there’s no one to help you.
6. At the library, the librarians, and library assistants, help people who
need to use special equipment like ‘hearing loops’. These ‘hearing loops’
are for helping people with hearing aids to hear more clearly.
7. At the library, you can send emails.
8. At the library, there are story tapes.
9. At the library, you can find out more about the town or city you live in.
10. At the library, books used to be chained to the shelves.
11. At the library, there are large print books making it easier to read.
12. At the library, you have to pay for your membership card.
13. At the library, there are DVDs, and computer games, for people to hire.
14. At the library, all the books are jumbled up.
Answers
1.True, 2. True, 3. True, 4. False, 5. False, 6. True, 7. True,
8. True, 9. True, 10. True, 11. True, 12. False, 13. True, 14. False.
The true facts are included in a wonderfully straightforward ‘Helping Hands’
publication At the Library by Fairclough and Morrish.
18
A wish for peace and Making a ‘wish scroll’
After the bombing, an old man from the village called Mr Liban wanders up to Tomas in a daze.
Tomas asks him ‘Have they broken your house Mr Liban?’ and Mr Liban replies, ‘Something
much worse than that Tomas. Peace. They’ve broken the peace’.
Invite the children to discuss what Mr Liban means by ‘breaking the peace’. Here are a few
thoughts about ‘peace’ from some famous people. Ask the children to discuss the meaning
of what each person said, and see if they can put it into their own words:
“I was once asked why I don't participate
in anti-war demonstrations. I said that
I will never do that, but as soon as you
have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.”
Mother Teresa
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/838305.Mother
“An eye for an eye will only make
the whole world blind.”
Mahatma Gandhi
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5810891.
Mahatma_Gandhi
“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not
the only one. I hope someday you'll join us.
And the world will live as one.”
John Lennon
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19968.John_Lennon
19
Invite children in small groups to make up their own wish for peace in different parts of the
world. Below is a poem by the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu that older children can copy
out, or respond to for inspiration.
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbours.
If there is to be peace between neighbours,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
Lao Tzu
You can find instructions showing how to make a small ‘Ethiopian wish scroll’ on Susan
Kapuscinski Gaylord’s inspiring site www.makingbooks.com/freeprojects.shtml . For
detailed instructions about making the container please follow this link
http://blog.susangaylord.com/2011/09/wish-scroll-for-new-giveaway.html
Perhaps each group can write their wishes out on a big scroll, and display it somewhere
safe in the classroom.
20
Making Paper Sculptures
This is the wonderful set model for
I Believe in Unicorns made by
designer Trina Bramman, showing
a unicorn.
Children in your class may like to
have a go at making their own
mythical creature.
Mythical creatures are often a
hybrid of two or more animals.
You could start by showing the
class examples.
Here are a few
SPHINX. Head of woman, body of lion
and wings of eagle. Made in marble.
Greece 560 BC
https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=U
TF8&safe=off&q=Naxian+Sphinx&sa=Search
&biw=1280&bih=875&sei=MrUfUqyGMonatAb
D8IH4Ag&tbm=isch#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc
=vBBTdbtgS_ke_M%3A%3BwNIt3J
Griffins… body and hind legs of lion,
wings, forefeet and head of eagle
http://www.atanser.co.uk/media/carving/trinitycollege-griffin-carving.jpg
21
Marble winged lion
http://shard2.1stdibs.us.com/archi
vesB/upload/1stdibsC/060209_sb
/CoteJardinDC/11/_DBR6958.jpg
Head of Griffin
http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/ps321798_m.jpg
Others examples are:
Dragons · Manticores · Minotaurs · Mermaids · Chimeras
22
Fact or Fantasy?
Children might be interested to see images of some unusual animals that exist today
and some prehistoric ones
Here are a couple
Duck billed platypus
http://www.creationscience.com/onlineb
ook/webpictures/lifesciencesplatypus.jpg
Armadillo
http://www.infoontheweb.net/arma/new/
images/uploaded//Armadillo%5B1%5D.
png
Triceratops
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c
ommons/1/1e/Triceratops_BW.jpg
Stegasaurus
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c
ommons/a/af/Stegosaurus_Heinrich_
Harder.jpg
Dragon Lizards
http://www.reptilechannel.com/images/care-sheets/sailfin-dragon-500.jpg
http://naturescrusaders.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/frilled-neck-lizard4d.jpg
23
Children could have fun suggesting different animal combinations and deciding what
they might be called. Names could be completely imaginary or a mix of animal
names... Crococat, a creature that’s a hybrid of a cat and crocodile might also be
called by a name that tells you something about the creature... a Swampfurry
Children can start by making sketches for their own mythical creature.
Get them to think about which animals/birds/reptiles have the following and which
they might use for their creations.
Fur Feathers Scales Spines Hide Skin
Encourage children to choose 2 or more of the above.
You might like children to make individual pieces or this could be an opportunity for a
whole class project, or for children to work in groups. There might be one large
mythical creature that all can contribute to, or it might be more practical to divide into
groups to make four or five pieces. One group might be the Feathers / Scales group,
another Fur / Spines and so on.
Paper is a very versatile material.
You can cut it; fold it; crumple it; tear it; shred it etc.
Add it to glue for Papier Mache and it’s tough and strong.
Here are some examples of effects that can be achieved.
Tissue paper glued – down with PVA…good for WRINKLY SKIN.
24
Shredded paper…good to create FUR effect.
Fold paper in different ways…for Wings.
25
For scales
or feathers.
Spines and
backbones.
26
Cut paper texture by SIOBHAN LIDDELL.
27
Children may enjoy
making these paper
effects in groups. It
could be fun and more
practical to arrange
groups into ‘factories’ so
that there are separate
tables for making – the
Feathers Factory, or
the Skin Factory, for
instance. They could
swap around at intervals
so that they each had a
‘go’ at all the effects.
Think of this as the
outer skin of the
mythical creature. First,
the children need to
build the armature/s or
framework.
A visit to a scrapstore
will provide you with
all the basic shapes
you’ll need…
boxes, tubes, cones
and so on.
Children can make their own leg shapes, for example, by rolling paper into tubes of various
lengths and widths and securing it with pieces of tape. Cones can be made by cutting into the
centre of a circle and folding it around itself before taping into place.
Talk about shape...
Show the children pictures of animals and ask them to spot what shapes they can see.
What shapes can they pick out on Theatre Alibi’s unicorn?
Talk about 3D shapes, spheres and cones. Show them how a circle can be cut and folded to
make a cone
Before starting to make, children could get together and play with available card shapes as well
as making some tubes and cones.
What would be a good shape for a bird head, for example?
Or a fishy tail ?
28
Simple animal armature using cardboard and rolled paper tubes.
Children may need help to assemble basic shapes or could work in pairs.
Making your sculptures all white will show up shadows and light and can
give your creatures a magical look… like this marble winged horse.
29
The armature will be mostly covered by various paper effects but, this may
be the time, if desired, to paint or spray the basic shape white before the
children stick on their feathers, fur, scales or skin.
Children can now begin to stick on the pieces they’ve made in their
‘factories’ for
Fur Feathers Scales Spines Hide or Skin
Here’s ‘one
I made earlier’.
My mythical
creature shows
some examples
of ways to use
the various paper
effects.
30
Finding out about books from around the world
Below is a child friendly article included here by kind permission of Susan Kapuscinski
Gaylord, creator of www.makingbooks.com Older children can refer to it to find out more
about different kinds of books from around the world. They can also be encouraged to read
the article at the site itself, as there are a number of links to related topics such as: learning
how to write Chinese characters, learning about how palm leaf books are made, and so on.
Books Around the World
When we go the library, we see lots of books. Some are big; some are small. Some have
pictures; some don't. They are different sizes and shapes and are about different things, but all
the books are made the same way. The books with hard covers are made with folded pages that
are held together by stitches on the inside. The paperback books are held together with glue.
Are these the only ways to make books? Absolutely not.
Books can be made of pages that are tied together, strung on strings, folded, rolled, and sewn
in different ways. Today we use paper to make books but when people first started writing, there
was no paper. They used whatever materials they could find around them – wood, leaves, clay,
cloth, bark, metal, and animal skin. The way the pages were put together depended on the
material being used.
Slat Book
Slat books, or jian ce, were the first kind of book
made in China. They were made of strips of wood
or bamboo that were held together by cord. This is
where the Chinese custom of writing from top to
bottom began. The books were rolled, or folded
like an accordion, when they were stored on
shelves in libraries. Since slat books have not
been made since the 4th century, I made this
example by copying a picture of an inventory or list
of weapons that was made in 79 BC during the
Han Dynasty.
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids/slatbook.jpg
31
Palm Leaf Books
Books made from the leaves of palm trees were first made in India and then in Indonesia and
Southeast Asia. The long, narrow shape of the page comes from the shape of a palm leaf. The
leaves are boiled in water or milk to make them stiff and strong. The pages have holes in them.
They are strung on cords with knots or coins at either end to hold them together. In the photos,
I have spread the pages out so you can see more of them. If you were reading the book, you
would hold the pages in a stack and flip one page at a time.
Palm Leaf Book from Thailand
This book came from a
shop in Thailand that sells
things for people who are
learning to be Buddhist
monks. Buddhism is the
main religion in Thailand.
The person who bought it
for me said it was a parable
(a story that teaches a
lesson) about a frog. When I showed it
to a Cambodian Buddhist monk, he said
it was Buddhist poetry. Since I can't read
the language, I don't know which is
correct. The writing in this book is
printed by machine.
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids/
thailandbook.jpg
Palm Leaf Book
from Bali, Indonesia
This picture book tells part of the
Ramayana, a Hindu story about the god
Rama, his girlfriend Sita, and his brother
Lakshman. There are pictures on the
front of each page and writing on the
back. A stick with a needle in the end
was used for drawing and writing. After
scratching the pictures and writing into
the surface, ink was rubbed over the
page. It went into all the scratches. The
extra ink was then wiped off the top
surface. Isn't the detail amazing?
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids/
balibook.jpg
32
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids/papyrus.jpg
Papyrus Scroll from Egypt
I bought this piece of papyrus from Egypt at a flea market. It's new, but I have it as an example
of an ancient Egyptian scroll which it imitates.
Scrolls were made in ancient Egypt from papyrus, which is made from the papyrus plant that
grows in the Nile River. The stems are cut and sliced into thin strips which are laid on top of
each other in two layers, one horizontal and one vertical. They are then pressed so that the
layers mesh together. Our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
This piece is like a section of a scroll. The large pictures are the illustrations. The small black ones
are hieroglyphs which was the writing in ancient Egypt. Most scrolls were much longer than this,
often 25 to 50 feet long. Scrolls were also used as books in ancient Greece and Rome but there
were no pictures, just writing. Scrolls are also made of different materials around the world: silk
and paper in China, Japan, and Korea, leather in Israel, Africa, and the Middle East, birchbark by
some Native American tribes. I've even seen pictures of scrolls made of gold from India.
Accordion Book from China
I purchased this one in
Chinatown in Boston.
It is written in Chinese
and English and is called
Long Established
Customs at Chinese
Festivals. The illustrations
are on paper with a cloth
border around each one.
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids/chineseaccordion.jpg
33
Accordion Book from Mexico
Accordion books were made in
Mexico and Central America by the
Maya and the Aztecs. Their books
were made from deerskin or amate,
a paper made from the inner bark of
trees. In Mexico, in the village of
San Pablito, they still make the
paper today in the same way. Strips
of the inner bark are boiled in lye to
soften them, then laid on a stone in
two layers, one horizontal and one
vertical. They are beaten with a
stick until the fibres mesh together
and form the paper.
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids/
mexicanaccordion.jpg
This book was made by Sr. Alfonso Garcia Tellez who is the shaman♦ of the village. He performs
ceremonies with the cut out amate figures and makes books about them. This book is An Offering to
Bring the Rain which is about figures used to bring the rain and make the crops grow. The figures
are gods of different plants. You can see the Dios de Piña, the God of the Pineapple, in the picture.
♦ A shaman is a person who is believed to have access to, and influence in, the world of spirits,
especially among some peoples of northern Asia and North America
Sewn Books from China and Japan
This style of sewn books was first made in China, then spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
These books have soft covers and you can see the stitches on the outside of the book.
The book is made by stacking folded pages and sewing them together along the open edge.
The reason for this style of binding
was because the writing was done with
a brush and ink on thin paper. Since
the ink could bleed through the thin
paper, the writing could only be done
on one side of the paper. Notice the
way the books open. They open in the
opposite direction from western books
because Chinese is written from right
to left. The closed book is from Japan
and contains the text for a Noh play.
The open book is a Buddhist book
from the Mahayana Buddhist Temple
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/ki
in South Cairo, New York.
ds/orientalsewn.jpg
34
Sewn Books from Europe
The early sewn books in Europe had pages made from animal skin and covers made of wood.
Sections of vellum (calfskin) or parchment (sheep or goat skin) were folded in half and sewn
along the fold. This one is made from vellum which is calfskin. These books are the direct
ancestors of the books we use today.
Shown here is a page from a Choir Book
that was made in Spain in about 1600 and
used by monks in a monastery for singing.
The writing was done with a reed pen. The
square marks are the notes. The words
are in Latin which was the language used
by the ancient Romans. It was used in
Roman Catholic churches until about 30
years ago.
© 1999-2013 Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord
skgaylord@makingbooks.com
www.makingbooks.com
http://www.makingbooks.com/images/kids
/choirbook.jpg
35
Finding out about Michael Morpurgo
Here is a photo of Michael Morpurgo – the author
of the story – sitting on the statue of a horse. If the
children have already read the book I Believe in
Unicorns, or seen Theatre Alibi’s adaptation, ask them
if it reminds them of anything special in the story.
Michael’s tip on writing stories is:
“When I write I don’t pretend. When I’m feeling
serious I will write on serious topics, and when
I feel silly, I do silly stuff!”
Some of Michael’s books like Mulpuddle Farm, are
http://michaelmorpurgo.com/a
funny, as well as fun, and some are sad and serious.
bout-michael-morpurgo
One of Michael’s most famous stories called War
Horse is about a farm horse sold into the army in
World War 1. I Believe in Unicorns is also about
war – and people and animals affected by war – but it’s about other things too, like
the joy of sharing stories whether they’re funny and fun, sad and serious, magical and
mysterious – or even a mixture of all these things. Invite the children to discuss what they
think the story of I Believe in Unicorns is ‘about’. Also, how would they describe their
responses to the story? Which bits made them feel different things?
Children can find out more about Michael and his
stories via the link
http://michaelmorpurgo.com/about-michaelmorpurgo. Invite them to listen to an engaging
video interview with the author, browse
through the site, select one or two quotes
from it – according to what interests them
most – and write about their own individual
responses to the author and his stories.
36
Adapting a story for acting out
Daniel Jamieson adapted I Believe in Unicorns for
Theatre Alibi. Dan has lived and worked in the West Country
for more than half his life now since coming to study Drama
at Exeter University in 1986. He’s worked for Theatre Alibi
as Artistic Director, actor, writer and adapter. As well as
writing for the theatre, Dan has written five plays for BBC
Radio 4.
Dan’s tip on adapting stories to act out is:
"When you adapt a story to act out, think about all
the events in it that would be exciting to actually see happen – the really important
conversations between people, the most exciting action. It‘s fun to think about
including action in your version that might seem impossible to show on stage, like a
plane flying over for example – there are imaginative ways to show everything on
stage – you just have to help people imagine.”
The process of adaptation
The story in the play I Believe in Unicorns is essentially the same as the story in the book but
it’s told in a different way using the language of theatre – actions, words, music, props, puppets,
costumes and stage design.
In the process of adapting I Believe in Unicorns, Dan tried to stay faithful to the feel of the
original story, not write his own version of Michael Morpurgo’s book. He began by choosing
important moments from the story and then wrote them into a play script. In the process of
adaptation, Dan’s play script was transformed into theatre images by other members of Theatre
Alibi’s creative team
including the director (Nikki
Sved), actors, musicians,
designer, prop maker, and
stage manager. It’s their job
to make sure the story
comes alive for audiences.
Theatre Alibi’s I Believe in
Unicorns by Michael Morpurgo,
adapted by Daniel Jamieson.
From left Derek Frood,
Ben Worth & Cerianne Roberts.
Photo by Steve Tanner
37
Creating a story board
Choose a story and create a storyboard, using Dan Jamieson’s tip for adapting
stories on page 27. Draw 4 pictures in the rectangles below showing what you
think are the most important events in each stage of the story. Can you think of
interesting, funny, or exciting ways of acting out those events in the story? If you
haven’t yet seen Theatre Alibi’s I Believe in Unicorns you could choose Michael
Morpurgo’s book.
Beginning
Build up
BEGINNING
BUILD
UP
Climax
End
38
Sequencing the story
Below are ten events in the story of I Believe in Unicorns. If you’ve read the book, or
seen the play, cut each of them out along the dotted lines. Then, stick them in order, one
below the other, with the latest last.
✁
Tomas hides in the forest with his father
✁
Tomas thinks he’s seen a real unicorn
✁
Tomas sees the fire fighters running out their hoses
✁
Tomas drinks milk fresh from a cow
✁
Tomas hears the sound of a plane flying low over the village
✁
Peace comes to the country again
✁
Tomas sees tanks and soldiers moving through the streets
✁
Tomas hears the Unicorn Lady tell a story
✁
Tomas and the other children help to rescue the books
✁
The library in the village is rebuilt
✁
39
Responding to the performance
of I Believe in Unicorns
In a large group, encourage the children to discuss how different moments in I Believe in
Unicorns made them feel. Were there exciting moments? Or funny ones? Or sad ones?
Were there moments when they all felt the same thing? Discuss the similarities and
differences between their responses. Reassure them that it’s fine to have a different
point of view.
In pairs, or small groups, ask the children to choose their own most vivid memories
of the performance. Were they linked to the acting, a prop, a costume, the music, a
sound effect, or the set design? Or a mixture of them all? Between them they can
make notes or draw pictures and use these to help them share their choices with
the rest of the class.
In pairs, or small groups, ask the children to choose a moment from the
performance that they think could have been done in a different way – not
necessarily better. Encourage them to discuss other ways of telling that part of the
story, perhaps by changing the acting, a prop, a sound effect or an aspect of the set
design, costume or music. They can note down their own creative ideas and add
drawings to help explain them. Then each small group can share them with the rest
of the class.
Ask the children to write a review of the performance and send it to Theatre Alibi.
They can include their own creative ideas as well as tell the company what their
favourite moments were, and why, and how each moment made them feel.
An extract from the I Believe in Unicorns play script is included below. Ask the
children to work in small groups and to compare it with page 11 to 16 of Michael
Morpurgo’s book (up to “distant wolves I longed to see but never did”). What
differences do they notice?
40
Extract from I Believe in Unicorns
based on the book by
Michael Morpurgo Adapted by Daniel Jamieson
(A young man enters carrying a cardboard box marked “TOMAS’S STUFF”, accompanied
by three storytellers. The young man sets down his box and starts to rummage through,
inspecting the contents.)
Tomas
MY ACCORDION! (He’s fished out a very battered, old toy accordion. To us,) I
haven’t seen that for twenty years! Do you want to hear the sound of my childhood?
(He plays it a bit, then passes it to another of the storytellers who carries on
playing it.)
Cool, eh?!
(He carries on rummaging through the box.)
St.
This is Tomas Porec.
St.
He’s clearing all his old stuff out of his mum and dad’s…
Tomas
MY HAT! I used to wear it all the time when I was nine! I think I even wore it in the
bath once… well it was cold in our bathroom.
St.
He’s lived in this town all his life.
St.
It’s a nice little mountain town tucked away in a remote valley.
St.
Sleepy little place…
Tomas
MY GIRAFFE!
St.
He‘s not long moved into this flat.
St.
Right opposite the library it is, lovely view across the town square…
Tomas
Mr Liban
Tomas
Mr Liban
Tomas
MY HELICOPTER! (He’s fished out a handle and a toothed length of plastic.)
Least, it was. You know? You pull this and a propeller thing whizzes in the air?
I used to play with it out there in the square… WHIZZZ! (He demonstrates,
without the helicopter.) Only one time it went so high it came down in old
Mr Liban’s garden and chopped up one of his precious flowers.
(Popping up, holding the propeller,) Is this yours?
(Nodding sheepishly,) Yes Mr Liban.
(Holding up a damaged flower,) This is mine. What a shame, eh?
A flower is like a person, Tomas. It only has one life to live.
Sorry Mr Liban…
(Mr Liban pinches Tomas’s nose, pretends to pull it off, shows it to him,
41
sticks it back on and shuffles off.) (To us,) He never gave back my helicopter.
DOG BISCUITS! Dad wouldn’t let me have a dog.
Dad
Don’t be daft Tomas! It’d kill all our hens straightaway. Think about it!
Mum
(To Tomas, as a boy,) Pssst! Never mind him… (She gives him a huge box of
dog biscuits.) You take this into town and you’ll make friends with a hundred dogs
in no time at all!
Tomas
She was right! Soon every dog in town wagged his tail when he saw me coming!
She was ace, my mum…
CANDLEWAX! (He’s rummaged out the stub of an old candle.) See that groove?
That’s from me and my dad rubbing wax on the runners of our sledge to make it go
faster! My dad was ace too, really, even though he wouldn‘t let me have a dog.
Dad
Tomas
Mum
Tomas
Mum
Tomas
Dad
Tomas
Dad
Tomas
Psssst…
(Dad has appeared without Mum seeing. He puts his fingers to his lips and
holds up a sledge.)
Sometimes on Sunday…
(Putting on her posh headscarf in a mirror,) Tomas? Are you nearly ready for church?
…me and Dad used to sneak off together…
Grandma’ll be blue as an iceblock waiting for us if you don’t get a move on…
…and go sledging on the hillside!
(Dad and Tomas sneak away from Mum and run to the top of a snowy hill.)
WAHOO! This is more like it eh, Tomas? Here, get a last bit of wax on… (Dad
holds up the sledge and Tomas rubs the candle on the runners.) Look at that
perfect hill of snow! Doesn’t it make you loop the loop inside?!
Yeah, Dad!
Ok, that’s enough. We’ll go down like a rocket! Ready…
Steady…
Dad and Tomas
Go-go-go-go!
(They run like an Olympic bobsleigh team, jump on the sledge together and
shoot down the hill.)
D&T
Dad
Tomas
Wooooooooo!
Maybe we should put less wax on next time, Tomas…!
I think we’re heading for that tree!
42
Dad
Tomas
Dad
Get ready to bail out!
What does “bail out” mean?
It’s an official way to say “fall off”! Three, two, one… GO!
(They fall off in a flurry and get up, faces full of snow. Tomas blows some out
of his mouth.)
Dad
Tomas
Dad
Tomas
Dad
Ready for another go?
Yeah yeah yeah!
Good man…! Listen…
To what…?
Shhhh.
(A distant howl.)
Tomas
Dad
Tomas
Dad
A wolf!
(Dad howls back.)
What did you say to him?
I don’t know. I don’t speak wolf.
Have you ever seen a wolf, Dad?
No! They keep to themselves, Tomas. Can’t blame them really, can you? I’d keep
away from humans if I was a wolf. Angry monkeys with red faces we must look like,
always chopping and burning and shouting and firing guns… Must be peaceful out
there, away from us…
Thanks to Michael Morpurgo and Daniel Jamieson for permission to include this extract.
I Believe in Unicorns Book © Michael Morpurgo 2005
I Believe in Unicorns Script © Daniel Jamieson 2013
43
Resources: Books and websites
Note to teachers: Every effort has been made to ensure that the websites listed in the pack
and/or below are suitable for children. However, it’s impossible to guarantee that the
content of the sites will not be altered. We therefore recommend that internet access is
supervised at all times.
Stories and Storytelling
I Believe in Unicorns. Michael Morpurgo.
Published by Walker Books Limited, 2005. ISBN 978 1 4063 0204 2
Michael Morpurgo’s website
http://michaelmorpurgo.com/about-michael-morpurgo
All about Michael Morpurgo. Shaun McCarthy.
Published by Heinemann, 2004. ISBN 0 431 17985 9
An interview with Michael Morpurgo. Joanna Carey.
Published by Mammoth, 1999. ISBN 0 7497 3866 9
The Unicorn and other Magical Animals. Margaret Mayo.
Published by Orchard Books, 2008. ISBN 978 1 84616 519 1.
Unicorn Dreams. Dyan Shedon and Neil Reed.
Published by Random House, 1997. ISBN 0 09 963681 6
Covering the Curriculum with Stories. Sharon Ginnis and Paul Ginnis.
Published by Crown House Publishing Limited, 2007. ISBN 190442497 X
Brave Tales: Developing Literacy through Storytelling. Will Coleman.
Published by Network Continuum Education, 2007. ISBN 987 1 85539 225 0
Learning through Story. Val Emblen and Helen Schmitz.
Published by Scholastic Limited, 1991. ISBN 0 590 76437 3.
Photocopiable activities for Language and Literacy. Irene Yates.
Published by Scholastic Limited, 1988. ISBN 0 590 53880 2
Storytelling workshops at the British Library
http://www.primaryworkshopsforschools.com/storytellingworkshops.htm
44
Books
A Book-Loving School
Children’s author Michael Rosen has written about what makes a book loving school
www.michaelrosen.co.uk/booklovingschool.html
Making books with children
www.makingbooks.com
Writing and Making Books. Moira Stewart.
Published by Scholastic, 1995. ISBN 0 590 5350 9
At the Library. Chris Fairclough and Louise Morrish.
Published by Wayland, 2008. ISBN 978075 025 2478
Librarian. Rebecca Hunter.
Published by Evans Brothers Limited, 2005. ISBN 184 234 3017
PSHE and SMSC
Books marked with an * have a spiritual dimension which some people may not think is
appropriate to all children.
A look at Prejudice and Understanding. Rebecca Anders.
Published by Lerner Publications Company, 1976. ISBN 0 8225 1306 4
Collective Worship in the Primary School.* Julie Grove and Louise Tellam.
Published by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, 2001. Education Department,
PO Box 20, Council House, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3QU Tel: 0121 704 6636
Personal and Social Development. Hannah Mortimer.
Published by Scholastic Limited, 1998. ISBN 0 590 53758 X
Safety. Jean Harrison.
Published by Evans Brothers Limited, 2004. ISBN 0 237 525526
Sharing Time and Assemblies. Max de Boo.
Published by Scholastic Limited, 1993. ISBN 0 590 53035 6
History
Primary Teacher YEARBOOKS. Edited by Lucy Hall.
Published by Scholastic Limited, 1998. ISBN 0 590 53818 7,
ISBN 0 590 53819 5, 1SBN 0 590 53821 7, ISBN 0 590 53823 3, ISBN 0 590 53824 1
45