center for puppetry arts study guide a note from the ... · dear educator, welcome to the center...
TRANSCRIPT
Dear Educator,
Welcome to the Center for Puppetry Arts and our production of The Shoemaker & the Elves, adapted by Bobby Box and Lorna Howley, and directed by Michael Haverty. Founded in 1978, the Center is a cherished cultural and educational resource in Atlanta. We value your patronage and are delighted that you have chosen us as a teaching resource. Your students are in for a big treat!
This study guide was designed to enhance student learning before and after your visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts. Our production of The Shoemaker & the Elves puts a fresh spin on an old tale. This charming show is the perfect accompaniment to a thematic unit on Fairy Tales, The Brothers Grimm, or Children’s Literature and Folklore.
All three areas of programming at the Center for Puppetry Arts (performance, puppet-making workshops and museum) meet Georgia Bright from the Start Pre-K Program Standards and Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). To access the GA Performance Standards that have been correlated to each programming area according to grade level, click the links below:
To access a complete list of GA Performance Standards for all grades and subjects, please visit http://wwww.georgiastandards.org.
Thank you for choosing the Center for Puppetry Arts for your study trip. We hope that your students’ experience here will live on in their memories for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Alan LouisDirector of Museum and Education Programs
The Shoemaker & the Elves, P-K & K The Shoemaker & the Elves, Grade 1The Shoemaker & the Elves, Grade 2The Shoemaker & the Elves, Grade 3The Shoemaker & the Elves, Grade 4The Shoemaker & the Elves, Grade 5The Shoemaker & the Elves, Grade 6
A Note from the Education Department
Center for Puppetry Arts® Study Guide
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IN YOUR LIFE. OFF YOUR MIND.
Show sponsored in part by:
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© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved. 2
SynopsisOur story begins in Mel and Tootsie Footmeyer’s cobbler shop in New York City. After 42 years in business, the Footmeyers are on the verge of closing due to a steady decline in business. One snowy night, two wacky elves named Frankie and Gino happen upon the Footmeyer’s shop. After leaving their jobs at the North Pole (because of creative differences with the boss), the curious elves arrive in search of meaningful work. They secretly work through the night and produce a beautiful pair of shoes that are “chic, but not too ostentatious.” The next day, a well-known socialite purchases the shoes. The fashionable footwear becomes a tremendous hit at one of her society balls. Mel is delighted by his sudden good fortune, but puzzled. Where on Earth did the shoes come from? The proceeds from the elves’ creation allow the Footmeyers to restock their supplies and treat themselves to a cheesecake—a delicacy that turns out to be a favorite of the elves. After the elves produce a fresh batch of shoes with the newly purchased materials, Mel discovers Frankie and Gino in his shop. The elves agree to continue working for Mel as new associates in his company since their shoes are now in great demand.
Set in New York in the 1940s, the sights and sounds of the era provide a new and exciting backdrop for this timeless and heartwarming tale from the Brothers Grimm.
Style of PuppetryThe Shoemaker & the Elves is performed with three different styles of puppets: rod puppets (Frankie and Gino), hand-and-rod puppets (Mel and Tootsie Footmeyer) and several shadow puppets (Tootsie Footmeyer and customers).
The elves in the play are rod puppets. Each elf has three rods: one small rod inside his body that turns the head from side to side, and one rod connected to each hand. The puppeteers use a trigger control attached to the rod inside the body to open and close the character’s mouth. Throughout the show, the puppeteers are seated on low rolling carts. They hold the puppets up into the lighted playing area, using their feet to maneuver themselves around behind the set.
Mel Footmeyer is a hand-and-rod puppet. He is larger than the elves. To bring Mel to life, the puppeteer places one of his hands inside the head of the puppet. His hand turns the character’s head and opens and closes the mouth. In his other hand, the puppeteer holds the rods that control the puppet’s arms.
The shadow puppets in our show are flat, jointed figures manipulated in front of a light source. Backstage, the puppeteers use an overhead projector to project the silhouette images of the puppets onto a shadow screen. This way, the puppets appear much larger on stage than they actually are.
The puppeteers perform all character voices live in the show. Each puppeteer wears a cordless microphone to amplify her/his voice. A technician controls the lights, recorded music and sound effects.
About the AuthorsFolk tales have been around for centuries. They are part of the shared cultural history of all people on Earth. While it is impossible to trace a folk tale to a single author, those who first took on the task of recording such stories and publishing them in books often receive credit for the stories. Two brothers from Germany, Jacob Ludwig and Wilhelm Carl Grimm, are credited with first publishing the story of “The Shoemaker & the Elves.” The Grimm Brothers were born in the late 1700s. They were two of nine children. Jacob and Wilhelm were interested in German history and language and especially loved folklore. They traveled throughout Germany from village to village recording traditional stories told around the hearths of cottages. The Grimm Brothers felt that it was very important to preserve these stories so that they would not be forgotten. Jacob Grimm was so devoted to the cause of cultural preservation that he co-founded a society to preserve old European rhymes, superstitions, folk songs, fairy tales and even traditional puppet theater!
The story of “The Shoemaker & the Elves” is one of three elf stories originally published in German as “Die Wichtelmänner” (“The Elves”). The stories first appeared in the Grimm’s 1812 collection of fairy tales titled Children’s and Household Tales. Thanks to the efforts of storytellers like the Grimm Brothers, folk tales from the past live on from one generation to the next.
3© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.
Bibliography• Currell, David. Puppets and Puppet Theatre. Crowook Press, UK, 1999.
• Galdone, Paul. The Elves and the Shoemaker. Clarion Books, Reprint Edition, 1986.
• Hettinga, Donald R. The Brothers Grimm: Two Lives, One Legacy. Clarion Books, 2001.
• Jarvis, Shawn C., Blackwell, Jeannine (Editors). The Queen’s Mirror: Fairy Tales by German Women, 1780-1900 (European Women Writers Series). Bison Books Corporation, 2001.
• Hildebrandt, Tim (Illustrator). The Shoemaker and the Christmas Elves. Grammercy Press, 1993.
• Lowell, Susan. The Bootmaker and the Elves. Orchard Books, 1997.
• Palatini, Margie. Elf Help. Hyperion Books, 1997.
• McGlathery, James M., Lorbe, Ruth E., & Danielson, Larry W. (Editors). The Brothers Grimm and Folktale. University of Illinois Press, 1991.
• Watts, Bernadette. (retold from the Brothers Grimm) The Elves and the Shoemaker. North-South Books, 1986.
• Whal, Jan. Elf Night. Carolrhoda Books, 2002.
• Yolen, Jane. Elfabet: An ABC of Elves. Little Brown and Co., 1990.
• Zipes, Jack (Translator). The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Bantam Books, 2003 (Third Edition).
Internet Resourceshttp://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/Learn about the Grimm Brothers at the National Geographic Web Site.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm.htmlVisit this site for a comprehensive Grimm Brothers database with links to many folk and fairy tale sites.
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/grimm/wichtel_e.htmlRead a translation of “The Elves”—the original German folktale published by the Grimm Brothers on which “The Shoemaker & the Elves” is based.
http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/bryant30.htm Read “The Elves and the Shoemaker” provided free by Rick Walton’s Online Library.
http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/non.htmlTake a cyber walk to the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada.
http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/shoes.aspRead a special article in the “That Explains It” series to discover how shoes were first made.
http://oaks.nvg.org/lg4ra4.html#fdqFind out how a basic understanding of literature can come in handy in other fields in this in-depth article called “Folk Tales Examined.”
P-K & K: Payday for Frankie and Gino
Georgia Bright from the Start Pre-K Content Standards covered: Mathematical Development, MD1c, MD1g, MD1h. Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade K, Mathematics (Numbers and Operations): MKN1h.
Objective: Students will name and identify coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter).
Materials: Student handouts, coins, pencils.
Procedure: 1. Review names of coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter) and their values with students. We
recommend having actual coins or plastic replicas from a teacher supply store. The advantage of having both real coins and replicas would give students an opportunity to explore different levels of abstraction. Begin with the real coin, then move to a three dimensional plastic model, and finally, a pictoral representation on paper (the student handout).
2. Distribute student handouts. Explain to students that the pictures represent the coins that the elves in the puppet show earned by making shoes for Mel Footmeyer in five days. Ask students to count the number of different coins for each day and record the number of each coin in the blanks. If no coin appears, students should enter a 0 in the blank.
3. Review answers with students.
Assessment: Collect student handouts. Review for accuracy. You might save handouts for math
Learning Activities
4© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.
~ Frankie and Gino’s New York Cheesecake ~~ Frankie and Gino’s New York Cheesecake ~14 Servings
1 cup graham cracker crumbs3 tablespoons sugar3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted5 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened1 cup sugar
To make crust, mix crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. To make filling, mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Blend in sour cream. Pour over crust. Bake one hour and 5 minutes to one hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run a small knife around the rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of spring form pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Top with cherry pie filling.
Tip: To cut perfect cheesecake slices use a wet knife.
Recipe by Laurie Bacon for www.pastrywiz.com
3 tablespoons flour1 tablespoon vanilla3 eggs1 cup sour cream1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
Name __________________________________________ Date______________________
Pre-K & Kindergarten Learning ActivityFrankie and Gino’s Weekly Earnings
Directions: Look at the money that Frankie and Gino earned for each day of the week. Fill in the blanks with the total number of each coin shown. Enter a “0” if a coin does not appear.
1. Money Earned on Monday
2. Money Earned on Tuesday
3. Money Earned on Wednesday
4. Money Earned on Thursday
5. Money Earned on Friday
_____________________________ pennies
_____________________________ nickels
_____________________________ dimes
_____________________________ quarters
_____________________________ pennies
_____________________________ nickels
_____________________________ dimes
_____________________________ quarters
_____________________________ pennies
_____________________________ nickels
_____________________________ dimes
_____________________________ quarters
_____________________________ pennies
_____________________________ nickels
_____________________________ dimes
_____________________________ quarters
_____________________________ pennies
_____________________________ nickels
_____________________________ dimes
_____________________________ quarters
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6© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.
1st & 2nd Grade: Write Your Own Elf Story
Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade 1, Language Arts, Writing: ELA1W1a,c,i,j. Grade 2, Language Arts, Writing: ELA2W1a,h,i,j.
Objective: Students will write their own stories about elves using the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing).
Materials: Chart paper, lined writing paper, pencils (or computers with word processing software and printers if available).
Procedure:1. After seeing The Shoemaker & the Elves at the Center for Puppetry Arts, explain to students that
they will be creating their own stories about elves.
2. Prewriting: On chart paper, brainstorm story ideas with your class. Who are elves? What do elves look like? What are some character traits of elves from different stories they have heard? What type of adventures might an elf have?
3. Drafting: Have students use ideas generated in the brainstorming activity to compose a first draft of their story.
4. Revising: Have students revise their stories. Is there a clear beginning, middle and end? Does the story make sense? What could they add to make it better?
5. Editing: Have students edit their stories for correct spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
6. Publishing: Students can publish their stories by reading them aloud or printing them in book form. If making a book, add illustrations.
Assessment: Review students’ work to see if objectives were met. Keep writing samples for Language Arts portfolios.
Learning Activities
Frankie and Gino from The Shoemaker & the Elves
portfolios. Repeat activity with a small remedial group if necessary.
3rd & 4th Grade: Wooden Shoes: A Vocabulary Puzzle
Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade 3, Language Arts, Reading (Fluency): ELA3R1a; (vocabulary): ELA3R2a,f. Grade 4, Language Arts, Reading (Informational texts): ELA4R1a; ELA4R3a,b.
Objective: Students will read an informative paragraph and then find selected vocabulary words from the reading in a word search puzzle.
Materials: Student handouts, pencils, crayons or highlighters.
Procedure: 1. Distribute word search puzzles to students. Ask them not to begin solving the puzzle yet.
2. Have students read the paragraph silently to themselves. Then call on different students to read each sentence aloud. Ask them to stop when they get to a word in bold type and explain its meaning. Make sure all students understand the meaning of the words in bold type before they try to find them hidden in the puzzle. You might even show them where Holland is on a map or show them pictures of wooden shoes.
3. Ask students to find all 10 words in the word search puzzle.
Assessment: Collect student handouts and check for completion.
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Learning Activities
Wooden shoes from Holland
© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.
8© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.
Name __________________________________________ Date______________________
3rd & 4th Grade Learning Activity
Word SearchDirections: Read the paragraphs below. Then search the puzzle for the words which appear in bold type. Circle or highlight each word as you find it. Words are hidden vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and backward. Good luck!
u d d h k k a i i k y c q t g m e o o y i y f e k v v u c bc h e l p i t c h f o r k d o z w y l a r u t l u c x d e xk c i a o c o e c z r r b c kw e l n r a p t d p i v a o mn a s d s o u v e n i r s r yu l b q r z k l h c t u d a td p i u e x j a b i t f d t y x a e g m j k o s r d i d i g a y n y r s b a z j e q o o jc n e n a r n a e f u k d n hy z s c f s g d e a p e g s lt j t y h a f n c x k p o y wb x v j e b c x y x j t p m h
Shoes are important for protection of our feet. Walking barefoot can be fun, but it can also hurt! Today, most shoes are made of leather, cloth or plastic. But long ago in Europe shoes were made of wood. Skilled artisans in Holland became famous for the wooden shoes they carved by hand. Wooden shoes were especially important for farmers. A wooden shoe is strong enough to stop a pitchfork from injuring someone’s foot while he/she is working in a field. Some wooden shoes are plain, but others are painted with beautiful decorations. Holland is famous for its wooden shoes. Wooden shoes have become a part of the cultural history of the Dutch. Some Dutch farmers still wear wooden shoes today, but most wooden shoes are sold to tourists as souvenirs.
5th & 6th Grade: Design a Stage Set for a Grimm Folk Tale
Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade 5, Language Arts, Writing: ELA5W3a,c. Grade 6, Language Arts, Writing: ELA6RC4a.
Objective: Students will create a model of a set for a stage adaptation of a Grimm Brothers’ folk tale.
Materials: Computers with Internet access, shoeboxes, scissors, art construction material such as: construction paper, file folders, paint, glue, fabric, balsa wood.
Procedure: 1. Prior to attending a performance of The Shoemaker & the Elves at the Center for Puppetry Arts, talk
to your students about set design. Ask them to pay special attention to the Shoemaker set on the day of their visit. What are the requirements of an appropriately designed stage set? What special considerations must be made when designing a set for puppets? Do certain types of puppets require certain kinds of sets? Are the puppeteers in Shoemaker hidden or in view of the audience? Students might even take a note pad and a pencil with them into the theater to sketch the set while they are waiting for the show to begin.
2. After they have seen the show, have students go to http://www.rmeyerhere.com/setdes.htm to examine stage sets designed by Richard Meyer (click the images on the left side of the screen to enlarge the photos).
3. Explain to students that all full-scale theater sets like the one they saw at the Center for Puppetry Arts begin as small-scale models built by a set designer.
4. Ask students to choose a Grimm fairy tale to research. Have them break the story down into scenes. Things to keep in mind are: How many set changes are necessary to tell the story on stage? What set pieces will be necessary? Does the set need to accommodate special effects (trap doors, etc.)?
5. Have students build a model of a stage set in a shoe box. Make cut out figures of all the characters to position on stage in each scene.
Assessment: Have students critique each other’s set designs. Have them each write a paragraph listing positives and possible drawbacks to the model they are evaluating. Discuss in class afterward.
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Center for Puppetry Arts® is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and is supported in part by contributions from corporations, founda-tions, government agencies, and individuals. Major funding for the Center is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council. Major support is provided by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. This program is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center is a Member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts. The Center also serves as headquarters of UNIMA-USA, the American branch of Union Internationale de la Marionnette, the international puppetry organization.
Learning Activities
Study Guide Feedback FormThe following questions are intended for teachers and group leaders
who make use of the Center for Puppetry Arts’ study guides.
1404 Spring Street, NW at 18th • Atlanta, Georgia USA 30309-2820Ticket Sales: 404.873.3391 • Administrative: 404.873.3089 • www.puppet.org • [email protected]
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© Center for Puppetry Arts® Education Department, September 2009.
1. In what grade are your students?
2. Which show did you see? When?
3. Was this your first time at the Center?
4. Was this the first time you used a Center Study Guide?
5. Did you download/use the guide before or after your field trip?
6. Did you find the bibliography useful? If so, how?
7. Did you find the list of online resources useful? If so, how?
8. Did you reproduce the grade-appropriate activity sheet for your class?
9. Additional information and/or comments:
Please fax back to the Center for Puppetry Arts at 404.873.9907. Your feedback will help us to better meet your needs. Thank you for your help!
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