ALG: Where the Wild Things Are!

From the Story Corner...

“If you want to hear a story, say ‘Story of the Day!’”... During circle time, we delight in the intrepid exploits of the family members, animals and superheroes who populate children’s stories. Storytelling allows children to safely explore real and imagined experiences, as well as supporting them to develop the sequencing and oral language that are the essential precursors to literacy.  Having a story read aloud honors a child’s words and helps her or him recognize that written language is a way of storing and retrieving those words.

But what about taking it one step further and having children act OUT each other’s stories?

This year three o’clockers have started taking part with Deborah and Melissa in what we have been calling “Vivian Paley Play,” so named for the educator who pioneered story dictation and acting in early childhood classrooms.  (She has written several fascinating books on the topic, including In Mrs. Tully’s Room and The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter.)  Playing out a story enables children to explore actions and emotions in a contained space, to practice self-regulation as they wait their turn to act, and supports their understanding of what contributes to a dynamic narrative.   

To practice playing out a story, we began with a unit on that classic tale of adventure and homecoming, Where the Wild Things Are.  Maurice Sendak’s resonant words and pictures offered us weeks of play and learning opportunities.  We started by reading the book aloud, and noting what happened on each page.  We then practiced moving through the story and being Wild Things, roaring our terrible roars and gnashing our terrible teeth and saying in chorus, “Oh please don’t go!  We’ll eat you up, we love you so!”   Next children took turns acting the parts of Max and the Wild Things.   They got to be physically and vocally exuberant during the Wild Rumpus—but also to “Be still!” on Max’s command.  They named emotions and practiced physical and facial gestures, such as Max feeling lonely as he sits with head in hand outside his royal tent.  They practiced using imaginary objects, like a crown placed on Max’s head.  Close examination of the text also allowed for vocabulary expansion--Victor asked the name of the thing Max holds in his hand and then later recalled and used the new word “scepter.”   We played it inside, where the globe-shaped paper lampshade became an improvised moon to howl at, and outside, where the sandbox top served as a bed and sailboat for Max, and the wooded area made a perfect Wild Thing habitat.

Children learn best when they explore a subject from different angles and Where the Wild Things Are afforded rich exploration indeed. One day we used the small unit blocks to create a miniature set, complete with Max’s room, the ocean Max travels in his boat, and the Wild Things’ island.  Children engaged in mathematical concepts as they tried to replicate what they saw in the pictures.   They practiced working collaboratively, listening to each others’ ideas and building on them.  Pace and Victor used many rectangular blocks to create a wall for the Wild Things’ island.

Leo saw that the bed had cylindrical posts.

Henry M. employed two triangular block “sails” to make a boat.

 

Meredith figured out how two half-circles could be balanced to make a table.

The following week, we moved on to a full-scale production! We used the large hollow blocks and fabric to create the three settings—a bed big enough for several Maxes, a boat with a blue fabric ocean, a Wild Thing Island with a decorated wall. Children thought back to what they had done with the small blocks in order to recapitulate it. They also closely observed colors as they incorporated fabric. For example, Pace noticed that the “blue” waves in the picture actually contained white flecks as well, and added some white pieces to the ocean. Isiah noticed the flag atop the sailboat and rummaged for something to simulate it. 



  Anna, Sadie and Cassie worked hard on creating a cozy bed with many blankets and a pillow. 


Once the“set” was complete, we acted out the story with two Maxes and four Wild Things at a time. Everyone got a turn to act, as well as to be in the audience.  

At the end of each play the actors bowed and of course were greeted with WILD applause!

Stay tuned for our further escapades as we begin acting out children’s stories…we have already begun with a tale of Anna’s about monsters who attack ALG! (It turns out Wild Things and ALG-attacking monsters share some strikingly similar physical and vocal characteristics.)