Study Guide CHARLIE

Study Guide
Show: Charlie’s Choice
Synopsis:
Charlie is a boy who spends a lot of time working in his tools shed and eating
cream cakes. One day he is working on his new invention, when his friend Lindsay
comes in on her way to school. He shows her his latest creation, a “dog speech
translator”, but it doesn’t work yet. She scolds him for spending too much time in the tool
shed, and invites him to play in her kickball league game after school, but he makes no
promises. She heads off for school, and reminds him that there will be an assembly
program that day, called the Trim Fitbody Show. Next, another friend, Digby enters. He
has a pack of cigarettes he found, and wants Charlie to smoke with him after school.
Charlie tells him he might be playing kickball after school instead.
At the school assembly, Trim Fitbody introduces his cast of characters. Lucy
Lettuce, Fredo Tomato, Crusty McBread, and Peanut talk and sing about good eating
habits. Mr. Brain and Mr. Lungs demonstrate the importance of taking care of one’s
body. Then Trim invites a volunteer to be in the show and Charlie is selected. He is given
a chance to see his future by putting on virtual reality goggles. He sees himself playing in
the kickball game after school and not doing very well at it. But he persists, and ends up
having a good time and eating a healthy snack for a change. He sees further into the
future, where he is now an adult and married to Lindsay. He eats a variety of foods and
has an active lifestyle. He also works for NASA, which is using his Dog Speech
Translator to communicate with a dog in space. Charlie’s choices have clearly caused
him to have a mostly happy and successful life.
Back in the present, Trim offers to let Charlie see a different future, where he
makes different choices. Instead of going to the kickball game after school, he goes to
meet with Digby, where they smoke and end up burning down the shed. His invention is
lost forever and he loses his desire to keep inventing. Lindsay warns him he is on the
wrong path. Further in this alternative future he does not eat well or get any exercise, and
ends up living at home with his mother, watching reality shows like “Watch That Paint
Dry.” He regrets the choices he has made that got him to this point. He even reaches out
to his “past” self, warning him not to choose this path.
Returning to the present, Charlie is reminded that the future hasn’t happened yet,
and he has the freedom to make his own choices. He vows to choose wisely, so that he
can hopefully live a healthy life. Trim Fitbody and his cast of fruits, vegetables, and body
parts finish their show with a funny and upbeat song about making healthy choices.
Post show writing prompts/ideas for discussion:
Primary grades:
1. What would you do if you struck out in kickball? Can you think of a time when you weren’t successful
the first time you tried something new? What did you do?
2. If you had a friend who ate nothing but candy everyday, what advice would you give? Why would it be
unhealthy for someone to only eat candy or junk food?
3. Can you think of an activity that is considered exercise, but that is also fun? What makes the activity
fun?
4. Digby and Lindsey are two of Charlie’s friends. Which would you choose as a friend? Why?
5. Who was your favorite character in Trim Fitbody’s show? What do you know about that character?
6. At the end of the show, Charlie says he is going to play kickball after school and continue working on his
invention. What do you think Charlie will do the next day?
Intermediate grades:
Post show writing prompts:
1. Imagine that you are a newspaper reporter and you must write a review of the Trim Fitbody show for
your school’s newspaper. Who was in the show? What were the main points Trim and his friends were
trying to get across to the audience? Was the show a success?
2. Imagine that you are one of the characters in Trim Fitbody’s show. Tell your life story. Where are you
from? How did you become a star in Trim’s show? What are your likes/dislikes? Why are you important?
3. Pretend you are Charlie Ebert. How would you convince other children to make the changes you have
made? Why is it important to eat right, exercise and stay away from drugs and smoking?
Ideas for discussion:
1. Do Charlie’s friends, Digby and Lindsey have an influence on Charlie? How are thie influences
different? Does this happen in real life? How do we know which decisions are good and which are bad?
2. Trim Fitbody likes to play sports even though he is only good at badminton. Charlie strikes out in
kickball but keeps playing the game. What does this tell us about these two characters? How does it feel
when you don’t succeed right away when trying something new. Besides sports, what are some other things
that require practice?
3. Think of your favorite food. What do you think would happen if that was the only kind of food you ate?
Would you still like it? Why is it important to eat different kinds of foods each day?
4. What do you think was Charlie’s parent’s reaction to the burnt shed? Do you think the fact that he was
smoking had any affect on their reaction.?
Name:__________________________________________________
Charlie’s Choice Student Worksheet
Write a word that describes each of the following characters:
1. Charlie (at the beginning of the show)
2. Charlie (at the end of the show)
3. Lindsey
4. Digby
5. Trim Fitbody
6. Lindsey’s dad
Decide whether each of the following is a good choice and circle yes or no:
1. Eating the broccoli on your dinner plate, even though it’s not your favorite vegetable.
good choice?
Yes
No
2. Playing catch with your little brother after dinner instead of playing video games.
good choice?
Yes
No
3. Having a second doughnut even though you are full after just one.
good choice?
Yes
No
4. Practicing basketball even though it seems like you can never get it in the hoop.
good choice?
Yes
No
5. Watching television all day when your friends are out riding their bicycles.
good choice?
Yes
No
6. Eating the same food for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
good choice?
Yes
No
Word Search Puzzle
Healthy Choices
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Find these words:
ACTIVE
BIKE
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BRAIN
EXCERCISE
FIBER
FRESH
FRUIT
FUN
GRAINS
HAPPY
HEART
LUNGS
MEALS
MUSCLES
PHYSICAL
PROTEIN
RUN
SNACK
SPORTS
STRENGTH
VARIETY
VEGETABLE
ABOUT SADECKY'S PUPPETS
Sadecky's Puppets was founded by brothers Jay and Michael Sadecky, who
had an early interest in the art of puppetry. As children they developed and
performed skits for family and relatives. Some homemade puppets were made
in the mid 1960’s as a scouting project. By the year 1970 the Sadecky’s were
doing shows for private parties and holiday events. In pursuit of other
interests, the puppets were put away until 1981 when Jay decided to revive the
idea. He asked Michael to design and build a stage and construct some
puppets for 5 seasonal productions. In 1982 Jay & Michael became full-time
partners and for the next 5 years produced and rehearsed shows at home, until
acquiring an office and workshop in Tarentum, Pennsylvania in 1986. Their
sister Kathy and additional puppeteers were hired to perform shows (using 2
stages) simultaneously at different locations. Professional puppet makers and
scenic artists began to aid in production design. The sales staff started
marketing to nearby states and soon after that Sadecky's Puppets became the
touring company that it is today. Our puppeteer troupes now travel to 14
different states, performing over 700 shows per year!
The productions deal with many different topics, including character
education, storybook classics and holiday themes. We’ve created our storylines
based on annual client surveys and also written reviews received from
educators and audience members after each school performance. In this way,
the viewer evaluates our performances, and the teachers have the opportunity
to tell us what they would like to see in the future.
Having children of their own, both Jay and Mike recognize the importance
of the nurturing and character building of today’s children. Written into each
script are issues such as respect, peer pressure and honesty. We hope that in
this way the students will not only be entertained, but they will also learn
valuable life lessons.