Resource Guide: - The Flying Bookworm Theatre Company

Transcription

Table of Contents
Resource Guide:
Primary School: Prep-2
Artistic Director: Peter Stephenson Jones (Dip. Ed)
Executive Director: Willem P. E. Tetro (BA)
The Flying Bookworm
Theatre Company
PO Box 1124G, Balwyn North Vic 3104.
Phone: 9816-4129; Fax: 9857-6437
www.flyingbookworm.com.au
[email protected]
Registered Proprietor: Woodstock Coal P/L (ABN 65 005 514 947)
© Copyright 2000
Revised and updated 2007
© 2000 Flying Bookworm Theatre Co.
© COPY RIGHT NOTICE...............................................................................................................................ii
IMPORTANT NOTE .......................................................................................................................................ii
COPYRIGHT NOTICE ...................................................................................................................................ii
Artistic & Executive Directors .....................................................................................................................ii
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................1
About this kit ................................................................................................................................................1
But the story changed..................................................................................................................................2
Tips on drama in the class room ................................................................................................................2
Fun with Books ............................................................................................................................................3
PRIMARY SCHOOL PREP-2 PROGRAMME ................................................................................................3

The Triantiwontogongolope ...............................................................................................................3

The Market Square ..............................................................................................................................4

The Circus ...........................................................................................................................................4

Bad Sir Brian .......................................................................................................................................4

Tidalick the Frog .................................................................................................................................4

Puppy And I .........................................................................................................................................5

The Little Engine That Could ..............................................................................................................5

The Little Red Hen ...............................................................................................................................6

Jack and the Beanstalk.......................................................................................................................6

The Ant Explorer .................................................................................................................................7

Who Sank the Boat..............................................................................................................................7

The Ginger Bread Man ........................................................................................................................7

The Shoe Maker and the Elves ...........................................................................................................7

Goldilocks and the Three Bears.........................................................................................................7

Caps for Sale .......................................................................................................................................8

Wombat Stew ......................................................................................................................................8

The Gigantic Turnip ............................................................................................................................8

The Three Billy Goats Gruff ................................................................................................................8

The Three Little Pigs ...........................................................................................................................9

The Tale of Custard the Dragon .........................................................................................................9

Bossy Boots ........................................................................................................................................9

Mother Goose Rhymes .......................................................................................................................9

The Very Hungry Caterpillar ...............................................................................................................9

Edward the Emu ................................................................................................................................10

A Pet for Mrs Arbuckle ......................................................................................................................10
No, we are NOT a puppet show .................................................................................................................10
The Bookworm Style ..................................................................................................................................10
It looks fast .................................................................................................................................................11
We don’t mean to rush ...............................................................................................................................11
Your feedback ............................................................................................................................................11
Is There a Decline in Educational Theatre ................................................................................................11
Why are the Bookworms so cheap ...........................................................................................................11
Our Actors ..................................................................................................................................................11
Discounts ....................................................................................................................................................12
When you grow up .....................................................................................................................................12
We're All Going to a Fabulous place.........................................................................................................12
The Fabulous Place....................................................................................................................................13
Let’s Make a Bookworm ............................................................................................................................13
The Great Fashion Parade .........................................................................................................................13
The Memory Game .....................................................................................................................................13
Let’s make a Fairy Garden .........................................................................................................................13
Touching .....................................................................................................................................................13
General Activities .......................................................................................................................................14
Teacher Workshop .....................................................................................................................................14
Actors’ Showcase ......................................................................................................................................15
Balloon Graphic .........................................................................................................................................16
Let’s make a bookmark ..............................................................................................................................16
Flying Bookworm Graphic .........................................................................................................................17
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Published by the
Flying Bookworm Theatre Co.
PO Box 1124G, Balwyn North Vic 3104
Australia 3068
© First Published in Australia, 2003
Revised and reprinted 2005
Revised and web published 2007
This publication may be used and copied by a
qualified teacher for use within the class room of a
school only for the specific purpose of aiding instruction.
Notwithstanding the above this publication is supplied with the
express condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, re-sold,
hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any
form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a
similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.
Important Note:
Stories included in this guide have at one time or another been part of our presentations over the
years. They are included for the sake of completeness only. Therefore, inclusion of any particular
story in this guide does NOT signify that any particular story is included in our current
presentations, and any inclusion is at the sole discretion of the Artistic Director of the Flying
Bookworm Theatre Co., and will depend on artistic judgements and time constraints.
This resource guide is only intended as a post-show activity guide and may only be used by those
schools who have actually booked one of our productions. Portions of this guide may be photo
copied for classroom use purposes only. Use for any other purpose is prohibited. If you intend to
use this kit for any other purpose than that intended please write to us for permission specifying
your intended purpose.
Copyright Notice
We hope you can understand that to an actor their image is everything. This
company will therefore not allow an actors’ image to be recorded unless it’s done
under a strictly controlled studio environment. A badly recorded image can haunt
an actor for years to come and could be a source of much anxiety in the future.
Similarly our shows are also copyrighted. We appeal to your sense of fairness
and read this notice carefully and be on your guard of any illegal recording or
photographing that might take place during a session at your school. We urge
you therefore to read the following section carefully.`
It is strictly prohibited that any actor, show, or portion of our shows
be recorded by any means, electronic, mechanical, photographic,
digital, or any other means not mentioned or yet to be devised,
without the express and written permission of The Flying Bookworm
Theatre Co.
Artistic Director…
Peter Stephenson Jones is one of Melbourne’s leading drama teachers and an expert in
children’s theatre. As artistic director of The Flying Bookworm Theatre Co. he has
been responsible for the production of all our shows. His vast experience in theatre,
first in performing and later in teaching and directing has been a mainstay of this
companies’ success over the last twenty-eight years. Peter is passionate about
educational theatre and continues to work tirelessly to improve the image and real
influence of educational theatre in this country, especially amongst the various artistic
communities in Australia. This company is privileged to have Peter at the helm of its
shows and knows it can rely unconditionally on the delivery of quality productions
each year.
Executive Director
Willem Tetro has been the executive director of the company since 1997 when he
replaced long time director Norman Hancock upon his retirement. Willem gained his
BA in 1994 at La-Trobe University as a mature aged student. Willem immigrated to
Australia in 1970 from the Netherlands and after a successful career in various
businesses including his own he was persuaded in 1997 to step into the role of
executive director of Bookworm. His interests are varied but are probably summed up
by his commitment to children’s theatre and a special interest in science literature and
computing. He updated the company’s financial and booking system and oversaw the
introduction of the GST. His goal is to at least make the company self-sufficient and to
further expand the scope of the company. The Flying Bookworm has been fortunate to
obtain the dedication and experience of Willem.
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Introduction…
The Flying Bookworm celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 1999 and is
immensely grateful to its many loyal clients for the support that has been
extended to us over all those years. The going has been rough at times and
while we were very close to closing down a few years ago the support and loyalty
from our clients has enabled us to continue, with difficulty at times, in the sure
knowledge that the experience we bring to many children has been and
continues to be valued highly by the children of course, but also by their parents,
teachers, and other people involved.
Without the loyalty and support of the many former actors and other supporters
of the company over the years, many of whom continued to work for us in difficult
times and despite the fact that rewards were non-existent, this company would
have closed down many years ago. It is to those wonderful former actors, and
other supporters who provided their labour and creative input virtually free of
charge we would like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU! It is a testament to their
commitment and loyalty that the Flying Bookworm is today emerging as a major
Theatre in Education Company in this country.
I have prepared this kit both as a thank you and because I felt that many
educators/teachers would find something of value in this and to assist them in
their already difficult task in teaching and taking care of our youngest generation.
I have included a summary of many stories we have performed over the years
and some selected activities which can be altered to suit the individual
circumstances of different schools. The stories included in this kit are not
necessarily on our current program but have been included for historical
accuracy sake. Most stories can be found on the internet, just type in the title in
your search engine.
I am firmly convinced that with your support we can continue to provide our
wonderful programme to new generations of children every year. By supporting
our company you are helping to maintain a company dedicated to children’s
theatre. The Flying Bookworm is an Australian owned company employing
Australian actors, writers, directors, admin staff, and designers. It is with the
greatest pleasure and gratitude that I dedicate this kit to the many teachers who
have supported children’s drama and theatre and in particular this company over
many years…THANK YOU!
About this kit…
This kit is designed to give you, the teacher, a few follow up activities and story
summaries you can use within your own teaching structure after we have visited
your school. You will probably have many activities of your own and we would be
delighted if you could let us know of any you would like to share with us. Our
Artistic Director Peter Stephenson Jones worked for many years in children’s
theatre both as an actor and as a specialist in child drama. He was one of the
few full time drama teachers in Victoria and has often conducted workshops for
teachers.
In this kit we may refer to stories which at one time or another have been part of
our programme but not necessarily our current programme. We often introduce
new stories into our programme and/or reprise stories we’ve performed in the
past. We are constantly listening to your ideas and suggestions. Teachers often
request we bring a particular favourite back and if enough requests are received
we may do so provided it fits within our current view of our programme.
Willem Tetro
Executive Director
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But the story changed…
It is not unusual for children to give us unexpected responses and while we try to
get the story back to its original format we also aim to respect the imagination of
the children. The unexpected is respected! For instance, Hans and Helga might
not appear in the original version of the Billy Goats Gruff but these characters
make it possible to prevent the troll from being too scary for little children.
Sometimes children can take the story into new directions with new original
characters. We once had two billy goats and a dinosaur crossing the bridge…!
Great. Praise! Another strategy is to get children practice being dodgem
cars. Many drama tutors in teachers colleges are out of touch saying
there should be no rules in drama. Nonsense! These tutors often sent
teachers crazy, because drama lessons ended up in chaos and the poor
teachers were in despair. Children do not object to simple, logical rules!
Whenever I say this at workshops I conduct for teachers I hear a loud
sigh of relief from teachers. You have rights!
Shy children…
¾ In the early stages avoid the audience factor. Have total participation. In
other words let’s all do it together. Eventually you will find the children
grow in confidence. Give easy work to the shy child and give plenty of
praise. Drama is a wonderful way of building the self-esteem of some of
the academically slow children. Avoid competition and sense of failing.
The dress-up box…
¾ This is a great aid to drama. Parents are a great help. Not just old
clothes but fabric as well. A prop box is great too. Make sure that all
material and clothes are washed and clean.
Tips on drama in the class room…
Have rules…
¾ In the early days practice a few limitation exercises. Have a drum and
stress that if there is one loud beat of the drum you must all stand very
still and quietly. ‘Let’s walk around the room.’ One beat. ‘Look how still
Tom is.’ The rest will get the point. Many drama classes end in chaos
because these simple limitation exercises are not carried out. Remember
you have rights as a teacher. Do not accept bad behaviour. When you
beat the drum and ask children to stand still you’ll find lots of falling down
when you say stand still. Rather than being negative say ‘look Tim was
able to stand still without falling over’. Praise good behaviour. You will
also find lots of bumping. Who can move around without bumping?
The show off…
¾ Be very careful. Don’t judge the world of child drama by your standards.
Children find some things very funny that we as adults do not always
agree with. This is why some of the humour in our shows eludes adults.
The children may laugh but adults think it is silly. Try not to discourage it
too much and try to steer children to more interesting choices. There is
no way of avoiding value judgements. I find that if I let children use their
ideas they will follow mine as well. Never accept violence though or bad
language. Drama is not a free time to work out aggression. There is a
difference between the show-off and the confident child. I believe if you
show little reaction it is better than showing displeasure. It’s an issue you
will have to decide on. Above all be very careful you do not destroy
confidence.
Let yourself have fun…
¾ I think this is most important of all. Be prepared to a bit silly. For some
teachers this is very hard. Look at these important words…
‘Thou shalt not be afraid to be corny!’…In any decent drama
school this is the first rule of comedy taught to students. There might
be popular sophisticated comedy but the most universal and most
loved is the art of corn! All great comedy is corny be it Charlie
Chaplin, The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Basil Faulty, Robin
Williams and I am sure you can think of many more. Watch our
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Bookworm actors. Grown men in drag, women playing dogs or pigs;
it’s all about letting yourself play. Our artistic director spends a lot of
time training serious actors to do this. If you don’t have a lot of
confidence, remember we are not all the same. Be yourself, have
fun. It is best to just have the children in the room with you and no
cynical adults. Often after a visit from the Bookworms children are
already motivated and ready to go! We motivate the children and
apparently many teachers as well! (By the way you can organise a
workshop with us for teachers)
Fun with books
1. Ask a pupil to read a story to the class using different voices for the
various characters, it doesn’t matter if they pretend to read
2. Name five places you can find books. eg. library
3. Pretend that you have your own library. What are your rules? Pretend
games are fun. One child can be the librarian and the others borrow
books. Make your own library cards with the children
4. Get a collection of books and set a group task by getting children to
categorise the books. Put them in different piles and find out what the
children thought the links were. Eg. Books about fairies together, books
by a certain author together
5. Let’s cover a damaged book in a nice new cover to protect them
6. If you were on a desert island what five books would you take with you
7. See if you can make your own mini book
8. Let’s look at family photo albums!
9. Let’s make our own grade magazine. This is great because it can cater
for varied interests. A girl or boy might have their own fashion, sports,
movie or cooking section!
10. Pretend pupils are famous authors and other pupils interview them
Primary Prep-2 Programme
The Triantiwontogongolope… by C.J. Dennis
The teacher can read this famous C.J Dennis poem and after the children have
seen the Bookworms perform they often feel very motivated and full of ideas.
Read the poem to the children and the children can perform the actions together
as you read.
Triantiwontogongolope is a big word. Did you notice how the actors from
Bookworms exaggerated. What does that mean?
Invent your own very, very, big words. This can be a fun way to teach
phonetics!
Draw your own ‘made up animal’
A weird collage: Find pictures and cut out various body parts. Have fun
creating weird animals using cut and paste. A kangaroo with a pigs body, a
lions tail. The only limit is our imagination.
Trianti Rap: Read Trianti as a rap song and children move in rap style. Great
fun and movement game!
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The Market Square…by A.A. Milne
The Market Square is another story the Flying Bookworms sometimes perform.
What else did he write? Read some of the other wonderful stories by A.A Milne.
Have an excursion to a real market. Discuss your visit to a market. What
smells did you notice? What did you see? And did you buy anything at the
market? Did you notice people who looked different?
Let’s make our own market. Set up tables and let’s sell pretend fruit, meat
and vegetables. This can be great for maths with children giving correct
change using pretend money.
In our presentation we talk of a fish called mackerel. What other fish can you
buy at the market?
Have you got a pet rabbit?
Collect pictures of rabbits. Sing the Peter Rabbit song. Think of stories with
rabbits in them.
How do you care for a rabbit? Let's try to be a rabbit.
A man sells flowers. Can you name some different flowers?
Let’s pretend to smell a flower. Tell everyone about its ‘smell’.
The Circus…by C.J. Dennis
Another popular story we perform is the poem ‘The Circus’. Teachers can use
the following for discussion:
Is it cruel to use animals in a circus? Name the animals in a circus?

Have you been to a circus?
Can you be an India Rubber Man?
Let’s have our own circus parade. Mum can come and watch.
Let’s do our own circus tricks using mime.
What sort of food do you eat at a circus? Does the elephant eat more healthy
food than we do?
Let's be clowns. Put on clown make up and funny clothes. Let’s try to walk a
tight rope. Teacher can put a tight rope on the floor (any rope or string will
do) and lets try to keep our balance
Bad Sir Brian…by A.A. Milne

Another Bookworm story is about Bad Sir Brian.
Do you know any other stories and poems by A. A. Milne?
Have you ever met someone like Bad Sir Brian?
You can have fun with names such as:
Bad Brian; Happy Harry; Sloppy Sue; Jumping John;
Naughty Nigel; Silly Samantha; Lovely Leo; Friendly Frank etc.
Try making up some of your own.
Tidalick the Frog
What is a frog before it is a frog? Its great fun to watch tadpoles grow into
frogs and this is a wonderful nature study project. Frogs are in great danger
today. This is a good topic on conservation. WE must do all we can to protect
frogs from extinction.
What is a billabong?
Can you name some Australian animals? Collect some pictures of Australian
animals.
Let’s croak like frogs and let’s have a game of leap frog. If you think it is a bit
dangerous try the safe version we used in our performance.
Let’s make frog in the pond. Children love this. Simply make some green jelly
but before you cool it pour the jelly into plastic cups and pop a chocolate frog
in the green jelly.
What was the dream time? Perhaps you can tell the children some other
dream time stories or show the children examples of aboriginal art.
This is a story about a frog that drinks all the water and bush animals come
along to get the frog to give back all the water by making him laugh.
It maybe difficult to keep tadpoles today as sadly frogs are becoming rather
rare but some Aquarium stores may help. This is a wonderful nature study
/science activity and a good opportunity to talk to children about conservation
as well.
The animals in the story are native to Australia. Let’s collect pictures on
native animals.
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There are animals in the story with indigenous/ Koori names. Let’s compile a
list and learn some Koori words.
Divide the class in half. One group sits on the floor in a line. The other half of
the grade must do all they can to try to make the children sitting on the floor
laugh BUT there is to be no touching or tickling. Teachers don’t be surprised
if you end up laughing as well. Children can be wonderfully inventive and I
have never been able to conduct this little game without laughing myself!
This story can lead to a class discussion on saving water. What are things
we use water for? How can we save water?
Let’s make animal noises. Let’s croak like a frog. Lets be frogs. Let’s make
the sound of a kookaburra. What about a few other bush animal sounds?
Children are very good at creating sounds for animals we have never been
aware of e.g. the imaginary sound of an earth worm!
Let’s make frog in the pond. Make some green jelly and into each bowl add a
chocolate frog
Tidalick is a rather serious frog. We need to get him to laugh. Sit a child in
the centre of the circle. The children in the circle create the stages of
laughter. Start with one child making a tiny little snigger, next a little louder
and one by one we work towards a great big laugh. Laughter is quite
infectious. Did Tidalick laugh? Ask if Tidalick can do the stages of laughter by
himself.
Puppy and I
What sort of pet have you got? This delightful poem by A.A Milne is all about
a little boy who meets a puppy as well as several other great characters. The
Bookworm actors have a wonderful walking song.
WALKING WALKING
WALKING WALKING
WALKING ROUND THE ROOM
ITS MUCH MORE FUN THAN STANDING STILL
WHEN YOU’RE WALKING ROUND THE ROOM
How do you look after your pet?
In the poem we meet a man, a woman but what other characters do we
meet?
Let’s be rabbits. What do rabbits eat? Let’s have rabbit food for lunch.
Let’s be puppies. Can the puppies do any clever tricks?
Now try singing the song while you are walking the room. You can try
jumping, skipping as well. What else can we do?
What are some of the other characters that are met in the poem? Where was
the old woman going? Where was the man going? Where was the horse
going?
Have you got a puppy? Lets be puppies rolling and playing.
There are some rabbits in the story. Do you know the Peter Rabbit song? Are
there any songs you know about puppies? What about other rabbit songs?
Have your taken your puppy for a walk? Describe how you feel when you
watch your puppy happy playing?
The Little Red Engine That Could
Create a wondrous mural of bush animals.
This famous story is all about a little red engine that gets stuck on the track.
The red engine must deliver all the toys to the children in the village! What is
he going to do? Will any one help him?
The little red engine runs out of puff. Who refuses to help the little red
engine? Have you ever helped someone?
There are several different colours in this story. There is a red engine, a
black engine, a yellow engine and a blue engine. Let’s look around the room
for things that are those colours.
Now let’s be trains. The class can become different coloured trains. Make
sure we stay on the track. How could we go under a tunnel? If you have been
to Puffing Billy tell us about it.
Let’s sing our train songs. If you Google the internet for train songs there are
many wonderful choices!
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When the toys came along it was great fun! Bring your funniest toy to class
and tell the class why you love this toy so much. It should not be an
expensive toy just a toy that has special meaning to you. It might be a toy
Grandma gave you or a toy you could never give away!
Ask mum and dad if there are any toys we do not need and could we give
them to children who have no toys. We could give them to a charity!
We can make trains from boxes. What can we use as a chimney? Perhaps
rolled up card board.
If we are allowed to lets draw chalk tracks on our class room floor and we
MUST stay on those tracks all day! Children love this but it might send the
teacher up the wall with the children yelling out “You are not on the tracks
Miss!” Better check if it’s OK to draw chalk tracks though. They do come off
very easily though.
Let’s make the longest train we can. Let’s ALL hook up. WE could get other
classes to join us. Let’s measure the train with a long tape measure.
Teachers can help.
What is the difference between pushing and pulling? Let us pretend to push
something. Now let us pull something along the track.

Your mum and dad or guardian; Your teacher; Your friends
Hens are often called chooks. What do we get from chooks?
Let’s decorate some hard boiled eggs. This is great fun art Easter!
What are some ways we can eat eggs?
The story has what people used to call a “moral”. Many people still do. What
is the moral of the story?
What animals did we have on the farm?
Our actor played all the animals. Let’s see if we can be “all the animals”
Teacher calls out COW (children become cows) PUPPY DOGS (children
become puppy dogs).
Let’s make some real or pretend bread. Real bread is actually quite easy to
make. There are many good recipes available on the internet.
Let’s have some bread. Children put favourite spreads on a slice of bread.
Remember though that nut and other allergies need to be taken into account.
Let’s create a mural of farm animals. We can draw, paint or cut out pictures
on farm animals.
We could also create our own farm. List some of the jobs we would have to
do on a farm.
The Little Red Hen
This is a very old story about a little red hen who asks for some help to make
some bread but none of the farm animals will help her. Don’t forget to use the
actions.
Here are the songs we sing in our performance. You can ask the actors to
help you with the tune.
I plant the wheat, I plant the wheat
Soon it will be nice and tall
I plant the wheat, I plant the wheat
Without any help at all.
I cut the wheat, I cut the wheat
Look it’s nice and tall
I cut the wheat, I cut the wheat
Without any help at all
Grinding, Grinding, Grinding, Grinding
I’m a hen that’s red
Very soon we will have
Hot delicious BREAD!
The little red hen needed some help. What are some ways you can help?
Jack and the Beanstalk
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This much loved story is very popular. Our giant is not quite as scary as he is
in some productions. It tells the story of Jack who must sell his cow but
instead of getting money for the cow Jack gets beans. They grow into a huge
beanstalk.
Let’s be the seeds of the bean stalk growing into a huge bean stalk. Let’s
climb a huge bean stalk. Paint or draw a picture of the land of the Giant on
top of the beanstalk. Perhaps we can talk about what it might be like up
there.
If you had a goose that lays golden eggs. What would life be like? How can
we make ourselves look tall like a Giant? Let us chop down the beanstalk.
Let’s grow some seeds in the class room. How do you think Jack felt selling
the cow?
‘Ginger Bread Man’ can lead to a game of follow the leader.
Often local bakeries have no objection to children visiting on an excursion.
What sort of animals are in the story? Let’s try to be those animals.
The Ant Explorer
This delightful poem by CJ Dennis, one of Australia’s most loved poets, tells
the story of a little sugar ant who wanders far away from home. As you read
the poem to the children let them use their hands to perform the actions. Go
outside and find some ants. Look how busy they are. This can lead to great
discussions on science and nature study.
Ant farms can be purchased in many toy stores, they can be incredibly
interesting and a great way to learn about these fascinating little insects. How
many legs does an ant have?
What would it be like to be tiny like an ant? Draw a picture of how big
everything looks around you. Describe the world from the point of view of an
ant. What would it feel like to have ants in your pants? Show us.
You can make an ant out of balloons. Let us be tiny sugar ants looking for
food.
Who Sank the Boat…? by Pamela Allen
Who sank the boat? Children will often say the mouse! But the correct
answer is ALL OF THEM!
Get a baby bath and fill it with water. Let’s see what objects float and what
kind of objects sink.
What animals are in the story? Let’s try to be those animals.
Who wrote the story? Can you think of other stories she wrote.
Let’s get in our pretend boat and go sailing! Woops! I think we are sinking!
The Ginger Bread Man…
Let’s make and decorate our own ginger bread men. Cooking can actually be
a great science activity. A good supply of lollies, smarties etc can be used for
decoration.
The Shoe Maker and the Elves…
What sort of shoes do people wear? Let’s look at one another’s shoes. Let’s
look at pictures of shoes.
A visit to a shoe factory or shoe repair store.
Pretend to be the elves fixing and mending the shoes.
Can you tie up your shoes laces? This can lead to learning to do it properly.
Get some old shoes that no one wants and decorate them.
Have you ever met an old couple? Tell us about getting old.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears…

Can you guess why the girl’s name is Goldilocks?
What is the colour of your hair?
Look around you and notice the different hair colours?
What colour would you change your hair to?
How would you feel if you had purple hair?
Name things that are furry like bears. Look at pictures of bears.
7
The bears ate porridge. If teachers are prepared to help why not make some
porridge with the children. You can flavour it with honey just like the bears!
Great cooking class.
In the story we had Mother Bear, Father Bear and Baby Bear. Let’s talk
about families.
Let’s have a teddy bears picnic. Bring your teddy bear and let’s have teddy
bear biscuits and fruit juice/milk/water.
Whoops! The chair broke! Have you ever broken something? How was it
fixed?
How did Goldilocks feel when she woke up and saw the bears?

The monkeys liked to ‘Copy’. What does copy mean?
Let’s perform some actions and copy one another.
Get some pictures of monkeys. Where do you find monkeys?
Let’s have a monkey dance.
Wombat Stew…by Mariak Vaughn
This wonderful story has many more animals in it than we could have possible
used in our presentation because it would make it too long for little children. This
is your opportunity to talk with your children about all the other animals in the
story. For teachers: Why not list with the help of the children all the animals in
this story.
Let’s try to be these animals.
Look at pictures of the animals.
Have you ever seen a wombat or a dingo? Let’s make a very yummy stew.
How could we make a very yucky stew? Do you like cooking?
If you had a wombat to dinner what would you prepare?
What kind of foods do our bush animals eat?
We are losing many bush animals for lots of reasons, should we save them?
Is a dingo like your dog?
If you had a bush animal for a pet what animal would you choose and how
would you care for it?
Should we have bush animals as pets?
Have you ever seen kangaroo poo or wombat poo? (Teachers are warned
this can lead to long discussions).
The Gigantic Turnip…

Caps for Sale…by Esphyr Slobodkina
One of our most popular shows is Caps for Sale. The cap seller has to
balance the caps on his head.
Let’s all try to walk with a book balanced on our head. Try something else.
What is balance? Try walking along a chalk line.
The caps in the Bookworm performance, in order, were black, red, yellow,
white, and green.
Try to find lots of things in those colours and sort them out according to
colour.

What other things can you think of that are gigantic?
Why not collect or draw some pictures of things that are gigantic.
Can you think of other words for big?
There are many family members talked about in our performance of ‘The
Gigantic Turnip’. Let’s think about families.
Let’s have a photo gallery of your mum, dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents,
uncles, aunts and cousins.
Discuss what an uncle etc is.
Let’s make our own turnip soup. Children love cooking.
Invent our own recipe. Let’s plant turnips.
Pretend to pull a turnip out of the ground.
We are co-operating. What does co-operate mean?
The Three Billy Goats Gruff…an Old Norse Folktale
This story is one of our all time favourites. We hope you enjoyed meeting Hans
and Helga who told our story.
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Find things that are little. Find things that are middle sized. Try finding things
that are big.
The troll lived under the bridge. What does under mean? Let’s see how many
things we can go under.
Let’s cross our own bridge. What things do goats give us? Let’s try some
goat’s milk. (check for allergies)
What sort of fabric comes from goats?
Let’s draw a very scary troll. Let's be scary trolls.
Are trolls real?

Flash Fred couldn’t believe it when Abigail told him off. Is Abigail a hero?
What is a hero?
Lets all be in a coach together. All aboard. Let’s sing a song on the way.
The coach was a mail coach. What is mail? Let’s write a letter.
What is a stamp? Where do you buy them?
Tell the story in your own words.
Let’s look at some of the clothes that were worn in the old days in Australia.
The Three Little Pigs… as retold by Stephanie C. Oda
The Three Little Pigs is another very popular story that the Flying Bookworms
present in some years.
Let’s make our own pretend houses out of boxes etc.
Are wolves really nasty? Let’s get some pictures of wolves.
They are actually very beautiful animals we should be protecting.
Now lets all be pigs. Have you seen a pig?
The Tale of Custard the Dragon…
The tale of Custard the Dragon is another of Bookworms favourite stories.
Let’s draw a big dragon mural.
We can make a dragon out of egg cartons and boxes.
What is custard? Let’s make some. Children love cooking and it is very good
in science classes.
Let’s try writing our own poem. Sing the red wagon song.
What pets did Belinda have?
Bossy Boots…by David Cox
Have you ever met a bossy person? What’s the best way to handle a very
bossy person?
Where was the mail coach going? What was a mail coach?
Did you know that in the olden days horses were used instead of cars for
transport? Let’s compare some old fashioned transport to what we use
today. Pictures can be very valuable here.
What was a bushranger? Have you been to the bush? Let’s have a bush
picnic.
Abigail meets a coach driver, two old ladies and a businessman. Is your dad
a businessman? Have you ever been in a coach? Do you know any old
ladies?
Would it be fun to be old?
Mother Goose Rhymes…

What were the rhymes we used in our story?
Do you know any other rhymes?
These rhymes were often called nursery rhymes. Why?
Let’s do some of the rhymes in different ways. Let’s do one as a rap number.
Let’s do one as a new song we hear on radio.
Let’s change words to some rhymes.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar…by Eric Carle
Can you name the days of the week?
Let’s look at a calendar. What is a calendar for?
We can make a caterpillar from egg cartons.
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We could make bigger caterpillars. Just get a sheet, an old one, and cut
some holes in the sheet and put your heads through.
You might like to paint the sheet. Teacher can help with this and we can all
become the caterpillar looking for food.
What are the food groups? This can lead to chats on nutrition.
Let’s make butterfly wings. This is a great opportunity to talk about the life of
a caterpillar.
There are many books, which can help you.
A nature study walk is great fun; you might even see a butterfly or a
caterpillar.
Edward the Emu…
Edward wants to be popular by trying to be something he isn't. What do you
think of this?
Pretend you are an emu pretending to be something else in the zoo.
Try to draw an emu egg. To help you have a look at pictures or real eggs.
There are different kinds of eggs. What kind of eggs?
Let’s all walk around like an emu.
What sort of animals would you find in a zoo?
Pretend to be some of the animals you see in a zoo.
Are zoos a good idea?
Pretend are a zoo keeper.
What work did you do today?
A Pet for Mrs Arbuckle…

What was Mrs Arbuckle's cat's name?
What sort of animals were in the story?
What countries do these animals come from?
Some people say that if you are looking for something special you can often
find it right under your nose. What is meant by this?
Mrs Arbuckle is a bit of a character… have you met funny people?
No, we are NOT a puppet show…!
As many of you already know we are neither a puppet show; a magic show; nor
traditional clowns. We are a Theatre in Education Company (T.I.E.) presenting
theatre to children through participation. A child drama specialist and a team of
experienced performers make up the artistic component of the company. In
addition the company is headed by an experienced executive manager for the
day to day running of the company.
Our long standing philosophy is to use simple, basic props and costumes which
are not intimidating to children. It also demonstrates that you do not need an
enormous amount of scenery to make theatre happen. Although experienced
designers make our costumes they are made in such a way that children and
teachers can use similar ideas in the classroom. In other words while our
costumes often look simple they are not simple in design and intent.
The Bookworm Style…
The Bookworm style is based on acting styles and performance ethics relevant to
children. Our acting is at times a lot bigger, almost vaudevillian, than television or
other theatre, and at other times a little more understated, and to some adults our
presentation may look ‘over the top’. But then the show is not designed for adults
but for children! Many experts now agree that a great deal of children’s theatre is
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geared to and designed to be more interesting to the adults in an audience than it
is to the children for whom it is meant. Many child drama experts, and Bookworm
concurs, caution adults about falling into the trap of judging and evaluating
children’s theatre through the eyes of a vastly more sophisticated adult.
It looks fast…
To understand the Bookworm style of performing you need to see the show
through the eyes of the child. We believe that a great deal of educational theatre
in Australia is out of touch. Modern research tells us that children react best and
love a show that has pace and energy. As in every type of show there are parts
of our shows that are slower than other parts. Because of varying differences of
pace in a show the unsuspecting adult might think that in some parts the shows
almost looked rushed. Not so!
Our shows are the result of cognitive and psychological research, which strongly
indicates that children have a very different attention span than adults.
Remember the shows are geared to children and not to adults! Our artistic
director has observed an enormous amount of ‘children’s’ theatre over many
years, which dragged on for an hour or more with children inevitably becoming
bored and losing interest. We believe it is best to let children wanting more rather
than ‘we’ve had enough’! So if you think our shows look a bit faster than you
might have expected it’s because we have studied and incorporated the latest
concepts of children’s theatre very carefully in our presentations.
We don’t mean to rush…
You might think WOW they can’t wait to leave. Far from it! We believe performing
to children is a pleasure and a great honour. But we are the Flying Bookworms
and must fly away to our next eager audience. The Flying Bookworm has for
many years now been a very popular company and because of the demand for
our shows (we don’t like to disappoint anyone) we need to fit in as many shows
as we can. But we are also very concerned about the safety of our actors. We do
not want our actors to place themselves in danger and speed to their next
location. So after the show our actors must pack up, say a friendly good bye and
travel to their next show. If we could we would love to stay longer but there are
other schools waiting! In addition many schools need to fit us into their schedules
and/or use another location with limited availability which is placed in jeopardy
when we’re late arriving.
Your Feedback…
Much of what you see in our shows is a result of the feedback and suggestions
we have received from many teachers. The length of the show, performance
style, simplicity of sets and costumes has come from discussions with teachers,
psychologists, actors, parents, and of course children. We have learned so much
from our public. But we never stop learning. Your suggestions and ideas as well
as your encouragement are very important to us.
Is There a Decline in Educational Theatre…?
There are many offerings out there but these are often solo performers, story
tellers, or companies formed for a short term to give their members work while
they waiting for their big break! Because many do not have the background and
training to offer serious and relevant educational theatre we believe that all this
adds up to a serious decline in the standards of children’s theatre. Children’s
theatre IS the business of The Flying Bookworms. We don’t treat children’s
theatre as just something to do before we break into adult theatre. Children’s
theatre IS our big break, we’ve arrived! We believe in the philosophy of theatre
for children and make it our business to present the best quality children’s
theatre.
Why are the Bookworms so cheap…?
Because we are acutely aware of the limited funds available to many schools and
parents we have for many years kept, and continue to keep, our prices as low as
possible. Unlike other companies we have resisted for many years, and continue
to do so, to add a surcharge to our country tours. The cost of our shows must
cover remuneration, running costs, transport, and accommodation. In addition it
must cover the cost of our statutory obligations that many solo performers or
temp companies simply don’t comply with because they work in an unofficial,
unregistered capacity. The Flying Bookworm Theatre Co. does not receive a
penny in funding and it is only with the support of a very few generous sponsors
that our company is able to continue providing our shows at the prices we do.
Our Actors…
While our props are simple our actor training is not. Our actors are thoroughly
trained coming from schools such as VCA, NIDA, Actors’ Showcase and
elsewhere. But it does not stop there. Bookworm actors constantly review their
skills and use your feedbacks to develop their craft. We frequently conduct
workshops for our actors; constantly improving their skills. Many teachers remark
that our understanding of what children like is quite uncanny. This is probably
because our presentations are a very carefully planned programme with constant
reviews to devise a unique performance process. Running a team of actors is a
very intensive (and expensive) operation. Even though our shows run for forty
minutes apprx, our actors aim to arrive at a location (traffic permitting) half an
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‘When you grow up, when you grow up What will you be when you grow up?’
‘Yes Tommy’
‘An ambulance driver’
‘That’s right. He drives sick people to the hospital’
‘All right what does an ambulance driver do?’
‘Let’s all be ambulance drivers’
We’re all going to a fabulous place…
hour before show time. Add to this
the travelling from location to location
and it is easy to see the demanding
job of our actors.
This simple game can lead to many
interesting discussions and to
drama. It can be played often
because children can always think of
new and interesting occupations.
Discounts…?
In general our prices are set not only to enable us to recover cost but also to
maximise participation by the largest number of schools. We believe our prices
are not a barrier to most schools; indeed our research shows that most schools
find the cost of our presentations to be eminently reasonable.
Discounts will, in the end, only disadvantage other schools because we would
somehow have to recover the lost revenue to maintain our break-even point.
Remember that this company for most of the time is on a knife edge. When
prices no longer cover our costs we would have no choice but to close. We
believe then, that the question that really needs to be asked is: ‘How does drama
assist the development of our children and how will it affect their future
development if we don’t do anything about it because we (or parents) think we
can’t afford it?
When you grow up…
This is a game, which teaches children about jobs and occupations. It
gives you a wonderful opportunity to do some follow up work using
pictures and other teaching aids to learn about different jobs. We all
say this together…
Here’s a game that not only teaches about different kinds of transport
but children often invent their own. We start by walking around the
room.
TEACHER (children can join in)
We’re all going to a fabulous place, a fabulous place, a fabulous
place. We’re all going to a fabulous place, but my feet are getting
sore. How can we get there?
CHILDREN
• By car
TEACHER
Let’s drive our cars. All together: Were all going to a fabulous place,
a fabulous place, a fabulous place. We’re all going to a fabulous
place but oh no. What’s happened to our car?
CHILDREN
• (Listen to interesting answers) Flat tyre, crash, broken down.
TEACHER
• Well how can we get there?
CHILDREN
• Helicopter
TEACHER
• All right, into our helicopters...
¾ The rhyme continues and each time our transport stops for some reason.
You will find lots of interesting reasons from children. Ships sink; earwigs
eat the flying carpet; lots of reasons.
The modes of transport are great fun. Any idea is a good idea! Finish
by saying WELL HERE WE ARE. Where is our fabulous place
today? This can lead to many
Pick a child who has hand
activities. Children might say the
up to give an answer. You
beach,
the
show,
Moomba.
can also point to a child or
Anything.
name a child.
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The Fabulous Place…
The fabulous place itself can be a great place for many interesting activities
involving the whole class. If, for example, the children chose the beach you can
all make sand castles, go swimming, get chased by a shark or go yachting? The
possibilities are endless.
Let’s Make a Bookworm…
After your visit from the Flying Bookworm Theatre Company you can make your
own Flying Bookworm. Collect several egg cartons and cut them in half. This can
be the body of the bookworm. The head can be made using a couple of pipe
cleaners. Children love painting the bookworm.
The Great Fashion Parade…
Make sure you have a box of dress ups. All the dress-ups must be washed and
clean. The parents donate old clothes, material and hats etc. You never know
you might find a future Yves Saint Laurent in this fun game. Children get dressed
up using very creative fashion. You might like to show pictures of fashion to
children. Demonstrate to the children how to use the catwalk. And as they parade
their creations you start by commenting on the fashions. You can have funny
fashions as well.
TEACHER… “As you see John is wearing a lovely blue and red jacket with a pink
scarf. Notice the wonderful shoe he is wearing on his head, which is
so much more attractive than always wearing it on your feet” As children get
more confident, the fashions become more exotic and very soon the children
themselves take it in turns to do the commentary. Mum and Dad could even be
invited to watch a gala parade.
The Memory Game…
When the Flying Bookworm Theatre Company visited you today the actors
had to remember lots of lines. Here are a couple of memory games you
might like to try. The teacher puts 5 to 10 items on a table eg a lolly, crayon,
watch, pencil, scissors, ribbon, sock, whistle, sticky tape roll, ball of wool. Let
children have a good look. Now cover it with a tablecloth but make sure it is
not see- through. As children name the objects take them out from under the
sheet or tablecloth.
Another great game is for children to sit in a circle. Each child thinks of
something they like. First child says: My name is Jim and I like ice cream.
Jim pretends to eat ice cream. Next child says His name is Jim and he likes
ice cream. (Mimes eating ice cream) My name is Susan and I like horses.
(She gets up and gallops). Next child. His name is Jim and he likes ice
cream, her name is Susan and she likes horses (mimes action) my name is
Billy and I like jumping (he jumps)…. And so on. If it is a young group you
can stop half way and start again.
Let’s make a Fairy Garden…
Of course it would be wonderful to plant some flowers etc in a real garden
and if you can it’s a great way to learn about plants in nature study, but let’s
face it this is not always possible. Find a nice spot in the yard. Enclose the
spot with some rocks, stones, anything. Our fairy garden does not have to
last forever but you might find children often decorating the garden. Potted
plants are fine. You can also simply put flowers in the earth. Little garden
gnomes, fairies, ice cream containers filled with water with little toy boats or
even match boxes can be used for fairies to play in. You can leave fairy
bread out if you like for the fairies. The only limit is the imagination. Children
come up with wonderful ideas. The fairy garden becomes a wonderful place
and a great follow up when the bookworms visit your school. In some years
we include a fairy story in our programme. The fairy garden can become a
real focal point and a very special child only venue!
Touching…
These are great sense awareness activities. We will explore touch. Your activity
is to make a feely box. Children can add objects to the box and it can become a
lovely place to visit in free time.
Get large cardboard box. Put inside the box a series of interesting tactile
items such as felt, fur, satin, balloon filled with water, sticky tape. Use your
imagination. Now seal the box and cut a hole in the front. Children put hand
in the hole feel around and guess what’s in our FEELY BOX. Sit children in
circle.
Close eyes and pass interesting things around. Let them guess what it is.
This is great fun. YUCKY FEELS. A bowl of wet cold spaghetti; tell the
children it’s a bucket of worms, put your finger in the pirates eye but it’s really
a lemon. See if you can think of more! Put your finger in a bowl of custard; its
elephants poo.
Book-Week Ideas…
Of course in many primary schools no book-week is complete without a visit from
the Flying Bookworms. But you must book well in advance and as early in the
year as possible because mostly our timeslots for book-week (late August) are
filled by the end of term 1. Make sure your local library has booked the
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Bookworms. With the Bookworms, however, every week of the year is bookweek!
Lots of children like a book-week dress up and while that’s a great idea don’t
forget that some parents might not have the time or money to spend on elaborate
costumes. The dress up box is just as much fun.
Some ideas for book-week…

What is your favourite book?
Did you agree with the judge’s choice?
Why or why not?
Is there a book you think should be nominated?
Let’s have our own class book-week… Children can write their own books.
It’s best if each child wins a prize or medal, some examples:
Best book with aeroplanes pictures
Best picture book using the
colour blue
Funniest book
The sky is the limit and it’s great
fun. Be careful that you treat the
awards seriously as children are
very proud of awards.
Decorate a reading
environment. (Find a quiet
corner of the room and let the
children create a reading area)
Do a puppet show about a
book. (If children don’t have
puppets you can make them or
use cuddly toys)
Make Happy Book-Week
Cards
Ask mum and dad to name
their favourite books when
they were kids.
Write a class letter to our
bookworm actors
Imagine that the characters
from the book popped out and
came to life. Where could you
General Activities…
Sing the Bookworm song. It’s very easy and it’s sung to the tune of ‘Farmer
in the Dell’. We’re going to Bookworm Land; We’re going to Bookworm Land.
To read some picture story books. We’re going to Bookworm Land.
Let’s all make our own picture storybook.
Design your own poster advertising the Flying Bookworms or think of your
own theatre company name. Look at our poster.
Let your grade or class write a letter to the Bookworms. You must enclose a
stamped, self-addressed envelope. Please just one letter from class because
we are a small company, but we will write back to your grade.
The quick thinking story. Sit in a circle. You start…
¾ Once there lived a little old lady and she lived in a (children respond
pumpkin, house, you choose the most interesting answer) pumpkin and
she walked along a (bridge, roof, street) roof, because she loved walking
on the roof, etc. Its great fun for you too and children start to give
wonderfully quick creative responses the more they play. Soon children
can be the storytellers.
Teacher Workshop:…
The Flying Bookworm Theatre Co. also
provides an in-service ‘Teacher Only’ workshop program. This is great
opportunity for continuing professional teacher development, and keeping up
to date with the latest techniques for drama in the classroom. Melbourne
Metro Area Only. Contact our Artistic Director for more details.
go together for tea?
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Actors’ Showcase
Director: Peter Stephenson Jones
PO Box 1124G Balwyn North Vic 3104
Phone: 9857-6435
Fax: 9857-6437
_________________________________________________________________________
The Actors’ Showcase offers a thorough and disciplined introductory course of acting
training for the committed aspiring actor. The course is part-time of one year duration
culminating in a gala graduation performance. The part-time nature of the course enables
many to participate who would otherwise not able to enrol in a full day time course.
Benefits for the serious acting student includes:
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thorough grounding in acting techniques, stage craft, text work, rehearsal techniques,
co-operative approaches to acting, ensemble work, and associated personal discipline
principles
‘practical (do it!)’ training, of course we do not neglect the theoretical underpinning of
our program
receive training in a wide
range of acting disciplines with
a variety of experienced actors
and teachers
preparation and assistance for
NIDA auditions
improve audition techniques
extend chances for successful
auditions
win that first interview
widen professional & personal
contacts to assist career
negotiate with agents more effectively
get to know who are the main agents in the industry
Enrich your personal attributes with widely recognized acting skills
The course is centrally located in Clifton Hill, Melbourne. Classes are usually Monday &
Wednesday nights with Saturday workshops scheduled during the whole year of the
course. Prices are reasonable and a payment plan is available if needed. Contact us on
above address for our brochure and more information.
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Balloon Graphic
LIGHT BLUE
RED
Begin reading a new book
today
BLU
Open a new page every
YELLOW
day
GREEN
Let’s make a bookmark
Over the holidays, sit
(Teachers may copy this)
under a tree and read
Colour the Flying Bookworm
Graphic and decorate the book mark.
Cut along the dotted lines. Paste our
book mark onto cardboard and enjoy
reading without losing your place!
K
eep your book free from
dog ears, use our bookmark
Why not read to a friend
MATCHING
COLOUR
STRINGS
You may photocopy this graphic
for children to use as a colouring
template.
Organise a book club
Reading is a great way to
learn
Make sure you join your
local library
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Flying Bookworm Graphic
You are free to photocopy this graphic for your kids to use as a colouring
template.
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