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LIGHTS OFF, LIGHTS ON

FUNNY BONES

Module

Storytime

Unit

Funny Bones

Programme Outline

The story is not one of those traditional domestic childrens stories. The central characters are two skeletons who live with their dog skeleton. They live in a dark dark house on a dark dark hill in a dark dark town. The story continues, hilariously, showing how the skeletons want to find something to do in the middle of the night. Finding that everybody is in bed, they start frightening each other for fun and playing with the skeleton animals in the zoo.

The story is read aloud by a narrator with two voices representing the big skeleton and the small skeleton. Part of the story are presented through miming to add fun to it. The story rolls along with a rhythm because of the simple and repetitive dialogues accompanied by rhymes and songs specially written for the production.

Key Stage Targets

To develop an ever-improving capability to use English

to recognize some obvious features of the English language in simple spoken and written texts such as the sound patterns of English (K.D. f)

to develop awareness and an enjoyment of the basic sound patterns of English in imaginative texts through activities such as participating in action rhymes and singing songs (E.D. a)

to respond to characters and events in simple imaginative and other narrative texts through oral and performative means such as making predictions and participating in the telling of stories (E.D. b)

Communicative Functions

1. Talk about past events

Examples:

The dog skeleton chased the stick,

tripped over a park bench,

bumped into a tree

and ended up as a little pile of bones.

2. Talk about locations

Examples:

On a dark dark hill

there was a dark dark town.

In a dark dark town

there was a dark dark street.

Additional information

Funny Bones is very useful for:

a. learning and reciting rhymes for enjoyment and to practise pronunciation

b. practising reading aloud repetitive and rhythmical language

c. developing the ability to predict actions

Language Skills

Listening

recognize alliterative and rhyming words in activities such as listening to poems or songs

locate specific information

Speaking

pronounce correctly words in isolation

produce simple phrases and sentences involving repetition

Writing

develop written texts by putting words in a logical order to make meaningful phrases or sentencesPre-viewing Activities

1. Teachers motivate the pupils by showing them the pictures on the COPYMASTER 1. The pictures are simple but amusing, and span the age range.

2. Introduce the characters: the big skeleton, the small skeleton and the dog skeleton. Encourage the pupils to guess what the skeletons will do in the story.

While-viewing Activities

1. Make sure that pupils have the COPYMASTER 1 and pencils on their desks before viewing the programme. Go through Part I with the class first. Pupils need to complete the tasks while they are listening to the story and the song. Teachers can pause and play back the tape.

Answers:

1) On a dark dark hill


In the dark dark town

there was a dark dark street.

In the dark dark street

there was a dark dark house.

In the dark dark house

there was a dark dark staircase.

Down the dark dark staircaseThere was a dark dark cellar.

2) These bones, these bones can bark again!

Can run in the park again!

Can frighten people in the dark again!

2. Teachers can pause the programme when the story is being read to let children guess and predict what is happening next

Examples:

Who do you think live in the dark dark cellar?

What will happen to the dog skeleton?

Post-viewing Activities

1. In Part II on the COPYMASTER 2, pupils label the parts of the skeletons body by filling in the right words given. Pupils can work in pairs. Answers:

2. In Part III on the COPYMASTER 3, pupils are asked to cut the bones out and arrange them in an appropriate order. They also need to interpret the picture with their imagination in their own words.

Answers:

The dog skeleton is running up the stairs./It is running up the stairs.

3. In Part IV on the COPYMASTER 4, pupils can use their imagination to create their own poem. They may fill in rhyming words. Pupils may complete the poem in pairs or in groups. Teachers can ask pupils to read out or write down the poems on the blackboard in the next lesson for sharing.

Follow-up Activities1. Pupils form into groups of 5 to 6. Ask them to read the poem in the programme aloud to the class.

2. Encourage pupils to sing the songs on the COPYMASTER 5.

COPYMASTER 1

Funny Bones

_________________________________________________________________________

Part I

What will happen in dark dark areas?

1. Listen to the story and fill in the blanks.

On a dark dark hill

there was a dark dark _______ .

In the dark _________ town

there was a dark dark ________ .

In the _______ dark street



there was a dark dark staircase.

_______ the dark dark __________

there was a ______ _________ cellar.

COPYMASTER 2Funny Bones

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Listen to the song and fill in the blanks

These bones, these bones can ________ again!

Can run in the ________ again!

Can frighten people in the ________ again!

3. Part II

Label the picture

Here is a picture of the small skeleton in the story. Label the parts of his body. Choose the right words from the box below. The hip bone has been labeled as an example.


_________________________________________________________________________

Part III

Put the bones backThe bones at the bottom of this page belong to the dog skeleton. Can you put them back in the right place for him? Cut and stick the bones onto the picture.

What is the dog skeleton doing?

_______________________________________________________________________ .


_________________________________________________________________________

Part IV

Write your own poem

Fill in the blanks and write your own poem.

In a dark dark school

there was a dark dark classroom.

In the dark dark ________


Up/Down the dark dark _______

there was a dark dark _________.

And in the dark dark ___________

( What would happen?.)

__________________________________________ .COPYMASTER 5Funny Bones

_________________________________________________________________________

First songSecond song

On a dark dark hillThe toe bones connected to the foot bone!


The foot bones connected to the leg bone!

In the dark dark town

there was a dark dark streetThe leg bones connected to the hip bone!

In the dark dark streetThe hip bones connected to the bock bone!

there was a dark dark house.


there was a dark dark staircase

Down the dark dark staircase

there was a dark dark cellar.

Third song

These bones, these bones can bark again!

Can run in the park again!

Can frighten people in the dark again!!

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