learning resource pack draft 1

Learning Resource
Pack
Contents
Welcome
More information and connecting to Hiccup Theatre online
Preparing for your trip to the theatre
Read the poem
Things to do after reading the poem
Drama Activities
Other Activities
Remember the Characters
Remember the Story
The Owl and the Pussycat activity sheet and programme (please note all
children will be given a free printed copy of this at the end of the show. )
Other Edward Lear Online Resources
WELCOME
We hope you and the children enjoy your trip to Hiccup Theatre’s production
of The Owl and the Pussycat. This learning reosurce pack offers some ideas
for things to do in the class afterwards and also gives you pictures of the
show to use in the classroom. You can also log on to our website to hear the
songs again (Go to our Tune Up page).
Hiccup Theatre also run workshops for theatre, nursery, school and youth
settings. So please feel free to contact us if you are interested in booking a
workshop.
Please also check our website to find out about future productions.
“This is the best activity we have ever undertaken in our nursery, the
creativity and the language the children used in this workshop was
extraordinary” Buckingham Playgroup, Shoreham by sea.
“You engaged them all the way through” Teacher, Norwood Primary
School
“The workshop hit key literacy targets but was fun and engaging for
even the most challenging children” Teacher
“I liked playing the piggy and the Owl it was really funny” reception class
pupil
“I liked the bright colours and all the songs” Reception class pupil
“That lesson was fun, can we do it again” Year 3 pupil
Pupils from Norwood Primary School taking part in a Hiccup Theatre workshop
More information and connecting to Hiccup Theatre
online
See our Piggy on tour photo blog
See our “piggy-wig on tour” blog. We take photos of our
Piggy on tour at your venue and around the town for
audiences to log into after the show. See our facebook
page for more details. Children can leave a message
for Piggy and he will reply.
Visit our website
www.hiccuptheatre.co.uk
On child friendly website you can see more photos from the show, hear our
songs and learn more about the company.
Look at our Youtube account
http://www.youtube.com/user/Hiccuptheatre?feature=gui de
On our You Tube account you can see the trailer for the show and other
trailers we have created.
See our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hiccup-Theatre/165534656809924
You can leave us a message and also follow our “piggy on tour” blog
Chat to us on Twitter
@HiccupTheatre
Email us
hello@hiccuptheatre.co.uk
Preparing for your trip to the theatre
Children’s first trip to the theatre can be exciting and inspiring but if not
handled properly it can also be boring and a little bit scary. Here are some
tips to help your children prepare for their first ever visit.
1. Ask if any one has ever been to the theatre before. Ask the children to
describe what happend / how did it make you feel / what was the best thing/
the worst thing. Explain that every theatre visit is different, make sure they
understand that this time they will see different things.
2. Ask the question - what is theatre? A place that shows plays and
performances
3. Ask the question what is a play? When people play at being someone else.
4. Show the children pictures of the theatre they will be visiting ask them to
imagine what the seats will feel like, what the theatre might smell like, what
colours they might see, what noises they might hear.
5. Contact the theatre’s eductaion team prior to attending and ask if they run
workshops to help children engage with their first theatre experience or
child- friendly tours.
6. Look at the theatre company’s website for more information on the show
before you go.
Pupils from Norwood Primary School watching a Hiccup Theatre show
Read the poem
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"0 lovely Pussy, 0 Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried,
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
Things to do after reading the Poem
Questions to ask which test our understanding
1. How many animals are mentioned in the poem?
2. How long did the Owl and the Pussycat sail for?
3. Where do the Owl and the Pussycat get their ring?
4. Who maries The Owl and the Pussycat?
5. How do they celebrate their wedding? what do they eat? where do they
dance?
Questions to ask to help our imagination
1. If you were going to sail away for a year and day - what one object or thing
would you take with you?
2. Why might the Owl and the Pussycat take money with them - what will they
buy?
3. Why might the Owl and the Pussycat take honey with them?
4. What might they see as they sail for a year and a day?
5. What does Bong Tree Island look like?
6. Who might they invite to the wedding?
7. Where might Owl and Pussy-cat travel to next and why?
Drawing activities
Edward Lear was an artists as well as a writer. Look up some of his
drawings, in particular his nonsense botany pictures.
Guittara Pensilis by Edward Lear
Draw a picture of a wedding present for an owl and a pussycat
Draw a picture of all the animals in the poem.
Draw me a map of Bong Tree Island
Draw a wedding invitation to the Owl and the Pussycat’s wedding.
Look at the pictures of Edward Lear’s drawings of nonsense plants and
flowers - make up and draw your own.
6. Draw a nonsense wedding cake.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Writing activities
1. Write a diary entry for Owl and Pussycat when they were on the boat.
2. Write a list of the nonsense flowers in the pusycats bouquet.
3. Write the reciepe for your nonsense wedding cake.
Rhyming activities
1. Say the words boat and note to the class. Ask them to tell you what is the
same about the words (they rhyme/have the same ending sound).
2. Discuss what other words that rhyme with boat and note (coat, float, goat,
tote, quote, and so on). Have them say each word.
3. Say the following words : sea, owl, star, sing, wed, day, pig, hill, moon.
Pause after saying each word and have them say other words that rhyme
with each word. Allow them to list as many words as they can for each word
you say.
Other Ideas
1. Invite a musician who plays a guitar to visit the class and play for them and
to explain how the guitar works.
2. write a list of words you do not understand or know. Look them up in a
dictionary.
3. Circle all the rhyming words in the poem.
4. Write your own rhyming poem
Drama activities
Warm up
1. Stand in a space on your own. make the biggest shape you can, make the
smallest
2. Make the biggest face you can, make the smallest.
3. Make the biggest face and biggest body, make the smallest face and
smallest body
4. Look at the spot you are stood in, see exactly where it is, what are you
near? who are you near. In a moment when I say go for a walk thats what
we’ll do but when I say SPOT you have to get back to your spot as soon as
is possible.....
5. Now this time we’ll go for a walk and when I say GO! you need to shake 3
people’s hands and touch the floor 3 times thn when i say SPOT you have
to get back to your spot as soon as possible
6. Now this time we’ll go for a walk and when I say GO! you need to hoot like
an owl, jump like a cat, oink like a piggy and display your feathers like a
turkey. When i say SPOT you have to get back to your spot as soon as
possible
Thinking about the Poem / Play
1. Stand in a space of your own and make the shape of the piggy-wig / the
owl / the turkey / the pussycat. How does that animal (character ) stand?
How do they walk? If they could talk, How do they talk? How do they greet
each other ? walk around the space like this saying hello to others.
2. In a circle stand forward and introduce yourself in character - what noise
might you make? Will their voice be high or low? slow or fast?
3. The Owl and the Pussycat need to pack for their long journey. Either in
pairs, or in one large circle where the suitcase is in the middle - decide
what the owl and the pussycat might pack. Start with “I am the pussycat
and I will pack.......” then mime what you will pack or “I am the Owl and I will
pack .......” then mime what you will pack.
4. The Owl and the Pussycat sail away for a year and a day. Lets imagine we
are on a ship. Lets start by standing in the shape of a ship- you decide if
you stand as an owl or a pussycat. Now lets move like we are on a ship.,
first lets start swaying gently from side to side in a calm sea, then lets think
about how we might move if we are tossed by the waves in a stormy
ocean. How will the movements change? Now lets play Captains Coming
Captains Coming! Port is the left hand side of the ship Starboard is the right
hand side of the ship When you call out ‘Port’ the children must all run to the
left. When you shout ‘Starboard’, they must run to the right. Introduce some
other actions connected to parts of the ship (e.g. Climb the Rigging! (mime
rope ladder) Scrub the Decks! (mime washing the floor) The Captain is
coming! (mime standing to attention), Look out from the Crow’s Nest etc)
5. The Owl and the Pussycat land on bong tree island. Lets walk about the
space as if we are just discovering this strange island for the first time.
Look! there is something buried over there..... lets dig it up..... now lets put
it infront of us and one by one when i tap you on the shoulder tell me what
you have found.
6. In the poem the Owl and the Pussycat “danced by the light of the moon”
How do they dance? Does the Owl and the Pussycat, the Turkey and the
Pig dance differently? Can you show your character through their dance?
Remember The Characters
The Owl
The Pussycat
The Storyteller
Describe them
Describe their clothes
What expression is on their face? What
might they be thinking?
At which point in the play do you think
this might be ?
If they were to speak - what might they
say?
Tell me something you notice about them
What can you see in the background?
Remember the story
After the children have seen the show, show them these pictures to help them
remember.
In each of these pictures, tell me
1. what are the characters thinking or feeling?
2. which part of the story might it be?
3. what might the characters be saying?
Other Edward Lear Online Resources
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/
http://teachingnonsenseinschools.wordpress.com/
http://www.readinga-z.com/newfiles/levels/
lesson_plans/h/owl_and_pussycat/
owlandthepussycat_print.html
www.hiccuptheatre.co.uk