STUDY GUIDE • GRADE 1

For more information on this production, including specific grade level standards and a downloadable Activity Page,

please visit our website: www.MGReducation.com

Merry-Go-Round PlayhouseLisa Chase, Artistic Director • Erin Katzker, Educational Theatre Manager

17 William St., 2nd Floor • Auburn, New York 13021 Phone: (315) 255-1305 • Fax (315) 252-3815

Email: youthmgr@merry-go-round.comwww.MGReducation.com

The Boy WhoCried Wolf

Additional Resources

Websites

• Muppet Classic Theater – The Boy Who Cried Wolf https://vimeo.com/237801856

• For a fun sheep craft that you and your students can do together, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=30YP_-qws7s

• For kid-friendly facts about wolves, visit: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/search-results/?q=wolf

Books About Telling the Truth

Hennessy, B.G. & Kulikov, B. (Illustrator). (2006). The Boy Who Cried Wolf. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Demi. (1990). The Empty Pot. Canada: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Berenstain, Stan & Jan. (1983.) The Berenstain Bears and the Truth. New York: Random House.

Learning Objectives - The Boy Who Cried Wolf 30-minute preparatory session, 45-minute performance

Students: • Identify examples of character attributes, such as trustworthiness, responsibility, and citizenship • Differentiate between wants and needs • Demonstrate responsible actions • Compare and contrast different roles in a community • Dramatize ensemble roles in the production

NYS Learning Standards included with

The Boy Who Cried WolfNYS Learning Standards for the Arts: • TH:Cr1.1.1, TH:Cr2.1.1, TH:Cr3.1.1, TH:Pr4.1.1, TH:Pr5.1.1, TH:Pr6.1.1, TH:Re7.1.1, TH:Re8.1.1, TH:Re9.1.1, TH:Cn10.1.1, TH:Cn11.1.1, TH:Cn11.2.1

NYS Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards • 1SL1, 1SL2, 1SL3

NYS Learning Standards for Career and Occupational Studies • Standard 1: Career Development

For more information on specific grade level standards, please visit our website: www.MGReducation.com

By: Josh Katzker

ResponsibilityGeorge learns a lot about responsibility throughout the course of the show. Ask your students what they are responsible for in their homes, their classroom, and beyond. Give them the prompt “I want to be a good ______” and let them fill in the blank. (Examples might include being good students, big sisters and brothers, pet owners, etc.) Have them make a step-by-step “How To” manual of illustrations that show how a person would succeed at these jobs. Alternately, they can act the steps out silently and ask their classmates to guess what they are doing based on the given prompt.

Guard the FlockAssign each student an object that becomes their “sheep” for a day. (For a fun sheep craft that you and your students can do together, see the Additional Resources section of this guide.) Tell them that you will play the part of the wolf, and they will be the shepherds. If you are able to sneakily snatch a sheep throughout the course of the day, then the Wolf receives one point. If one of the students catches you, then the Shepherds score a point. Graph your results on the board and announce the winner at the end of the day! For a more advanced version of this activity, extend its duration to an entire week. At the end, have your students share their experience about what the challenges of their job were. What made it difficult? When were they most likely to be distracted?

“Dear George…”As part of the performance, the students will be assigned roles as townspeople who are fooled when George cries wolf. Have your students pair up and have one pretend to be George while the other pretends to be a townsperson. Have the “townspeople” discuss with the “Georges” the consequences of fibbing. What were they in the middle of doing when George cried wolf? Did anything go wrong because they left their job post? How did they feel when they found out that George had lied? Have each pair switch roles so each student can experience the conversation from both sides.

ACTIVITIES

Pre-Performance Preparatory Workshop KEY VOCABULARY

As part of their visit from Merry-Go-Round Youth Theatre, your students will receive a pre-performance preparatory workshop in their classroom. This “prep,” which will be given by one of the actors, is designed to help students to dissect and think critically about a piece of text—in this case, our performance of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Created with the New York State Learning Standards in mind, this introduction to the language, characters, setting, and cultural context for the play will help students to make their own predictions about the show, and allow for critical thinking to continue throughout the performance.

In the prep, students will talk about what it means to be a part of a community, and how each person has a responsibility to make their community a wonderful place to live. They will discuss how kids and grown-ups have important jobs that they must perform in order to make a community run.

Students will learn that during the play they will be part of George’s community, representing various townspeople that come to the rescue when he cries wolf. Each of these townspeople has one of the following jobs:

Students will be assigned one of these jobs, and go through an acting exercise to learn how to become these characters using their bodies and their voices. Then, through a guided exercise, students will have a chance in the prep to earn their very own honesty medallion just like the one that was awarded to George. This medallion will also remind them of their assigned job during the performance.

The actor will end by reminding the students of the importance of being respectful audience members, and by reviewing good audience behavior rules.

Jackie and Jamie are tucking in for bedtime with a big book of their favorite stories! The only problem? They “borrowed” the book from Jackie’s grandfather without asking permission. When Grandpa George comes looking for his book, the two tell a fib to cover up their crime. Feeling guilty, they confess—but Grandpa points out that this is becoming a pattern for the pair. He knows just the right story to send them off to sleep with: Aesop’s classic “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” He takes them back to a time when…

Young George is very excited to take on his role as the town shepherd! But he soon learns that watching the flock can be tedious--and at times downright

boring. George even falls asleep his first day on the job! Mother warns him that he must stay alert, as the townspeople are counting on

him to keep a keen eye on the flock. There’s a hungry wolf nearby who would love a wooly snack!

When George misses out on a fun day of swimming with friends, he decides to make his own fun out on the hillside. To relieve his loneliness, he cries “Wolf!”, knowing that the townspeople will come rushing to his aid. After three

false alarms, they tell George that they’ll think twice before they venture up the hill again. Sure enough, the starving wolf becomes so desperate for food that he really does show up—and George’s cries for help go unanswered. He must tell the townspeople that their sheep are gone for good.

SUMMARY

to make or shape metal by heating, then beating or hammering it

forge:to throw out, such

as fishing line

cast:

a long, deep sleep through the winter months

hibernation:

to eat grass in a field

graze:

something a person takes care of, or a duty they must fulfill

responsibility:

unable to stay focuseddistracted:

a person who takes care of sheep

shepherd:

In our story, the young shepherd sings a counting song to pass the time and to try to keep track of the sheep. The students will

learn this song in the pre-performance workshop.

Here a sheep, there a sheep, 1, 2, 3.Here a sheep, there a sheep, 4, 5, 6.7, 8, 9, 10... let’s count them again!

Visit our website at www.MGReducation.com for a link to an audio file of this song under the Teacher Resources tab.

MUSIC IN THIS PERFORMANCE

George tells the whole sorrowful tale to his mother, and learns that “liars cannot be believed…even when they are telling the truth.” If only he hadn’t fibbed, the whole mess could have been avoided! In time, he earns back the trust of the town and is awarded a special medallion for his truthfulness. The medallion serves as a constant reminder of the very important lesson he learned.

Un-BAAA-lievable Sheep Facts!

Hunter

Chef

Artist

Tailor

Blacksmith

Fisherman • There are over 1 billion sheep in the world!• The country with the most sheep is China.

• Sheep can recognize up to 50 other sheep and human faces.• Sheep sleep less than four hours a day.

• Sheep have excellent peripheral vision. Their large, rectangular pupils allow them to see between 270°-320° without moving their head.

At the beginning of the play, the characters are trying to get each other to guess different stories that your students may be familiar with. Review

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, The Milkmaid and Her Pail, and Medio Pollito with your students so they can guess along with the characters.

Sound Familiar?