Chapter Notes: Let's Perform

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What nonsense!
3. From story to play
4. More powerful language
5. Create characters
6. Write an ending
7. Perform a play
8. Important Terms
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Introduction

This chapter helps students enjoy language through nonsense poetry and plays. They will listen to and perform a funny poem, compare a folk tale and a play script, use stronger describing words, build character profiles, write an ending for a story, and finally perform a short play. The focus is on simple, clear language, expression, and confidence in speaking and writing.

What nonsense!

We are going to prepare and perform an expressive reading of a nonsense poem.

Introduction to nonsense poetry

• Nonsense uses words, phrases or ideas that do not follow normal logic or meaning.
• It often has invented words, strange pictures and impossible events.
• The aim is to be playful, funny and imaginative, not serious.
• The opposite of nonsense is sense - clear meaning and logical expression.
• In Victorian England, nonsense writing was very popular.
• Edward Lear (1812-1888)was a famous English writer and artist.
  • Known for his nonsense poems and limericks.
  • Wrote A Book of Nonsense (1846).
  • He was the twentieth child in a family of twenty-one!

The Jumblies - reading and activity

• The Jumblies is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear.
• The Jumblies are strange people who:
  • Sail to sea in a sieve (a kitchen strainer), not a real boat.
  • Have green heads and blue hands.
  • Do not listen when people say they will drown.
• This poem is perfect for practising expression, rhythm and group reading.

Listening, rhythm and rhyme

• Listen to the first stanza and clap the beat to feel the rhythm.
• Find rhyming words(same end sounds) such as:
  • say / day, fig / big, etc.
• Notice how the word "sieve"sounds.
  • Think of words that could rhyme with it.
  • Its sound helps keep the poem's pattern.

Spelling rule and word play

• Spelling rule: "i before e except after c"
  • Example: field, thief, piece
  • After c: receive, ceiling
• Make a list of -ie words and check which ones rhyme.
• Notice how the poem uses odd or invented words.
  • In nonsense poetry, sound, rhythm and fun are often more important than exact meaning.

Choral reading and performance notes

• A choral reading is when a group reads a poem aloud together.
• This poem is ideal for practising:
  • Clear voice
  • Expression and feeling
  • Shared rhythm
• You can:
  • Read lines together.
  • Share different lines between group members.
  • Add simple actions and gestures.

From story to play

Compare a folk tale and a play, and write stage directions.

The Sparrow's Quest - Part One (retelling)

• A hungry sparrow searches for food on a cold winter day.
• She thinks she sees a grub on an icy pond and swoops down.
• It is only a twig, not food.
• The ice is so cold that her feet sting with pain.
• She cries out and calls the Ice the greatest power in the world.
• The Ice laughs and tells her she is wrong:
  • The Sun is stronger because it can melt the ice in spring.
  • The sparrow must ask the Sun about power.

From folk tale to script: features and cast

• A script is the written version of a play or film.
• A play script usually includes:
  • Cast list: names of all characters.
  • Setting: where and when the scene takes place; what the stage looks like.
  • Dialogue: words spoken by the characters.
  • Stage directions: instructions in brackets that tell actors how to move or speak.

Example cast list and setting for a class production

• Cast
  • Sparrow
  • Ice
  • Sun
  • Clouds (2-5 students)
  • Mountain
  • Grass (3-5 students)
  • Worm
• Costumes
  • Green outfits for grass.
  • Masks for Sparrow, Sun and Worm.
• Props
  • Dry leaves
  • A white sheet to show frozen ground
  • A backdrop of clouds and mountains
• Setting example
  • Act 1, Scene 1 - Winter.
  • A white sheet in the centre of the stage shows the frozen ground.
  • The small Sparrow enters, looking for a grub to eat.

Script excerpt - Act 1, Scene 1
This shows how the story becomes a play script:

• Stage directions in brackets:
  • (Winter. A white sheet, centre stage, represents the frozen ground...)
• Character names followed by their words:
  • Sparrow: complains about the cold ice and asks about power.
  • Ice: laughs and explains that the Sun is stronger.
  • Sun: enters proudly and explains that clouds can hide him.

Stage directions and tense

• Stage directions explain background and movement.
• They are important for actors and the director.
• Usually written:
  • In the present tense: "(A sparrow swoops down.)"
  • In brackets or italics.
• Practice: change past-tense story sentences into present-tense stage directions.
  • Narrative: "A sparrow swooped down."
  • Stage direction: "(A sparrow swoops down.)"

More powerful language

We will form spelling rules for adding suffixes and practise comparative and superlative adjectives.

Comparatives and superlatives

• Comparative adjectives compare two nouns.
  • Often use -er or more.
  • Example: "The Sun is brighter than the Ice."
• Superlative adjectives compare more than twonouns.
  • Often use -est or most.
  • Example: "The Sparrow is one of the smallest birds of all."
• Use more / most with longer adjectives (more than two syllables) or adjectives ending in -ful:
  • painful → more painful → most painful.

Spelling rules for -er and -est

• For most one-syllable adjectives, just add -er or -est:
  • late → later → latest
• If the adjective ends in a single consonant with a single vowel before it, double the final consonant:
  • big → bigger → biggest
• If it ends in -y, change y to i and add the suffix:
  • happy → happier → happiest

Create characters

We are going to create a character profile from clues in a script and read aloud expressively.

Example - Act 1 Scene 2 (excerpt)

• Clouds enter, moving quietly and covering the Sun.
• Sparrow asks the Clouds if they are the greatest power.
• The Clouds speak mysteriously and say their power lasts only until the Wind blows them away.
• The Wind rushes in, spins the Sparrow around, and claims that the Mountain is more powerful than the Wind.
• The scene ends with the curtains closing, giving a feeling of mystery.

Character profile example

Use these headings for a character profile:

• Name
• Physical appearance
• Personality
• Diet
• Habitat
• Likes
• Dislikes
• Costume/props

Example for Sparrow:

• Name: Sparrow
• Physical appearance: small, brown and grey, with black and white markings
• Personality: energetic, playful, sociable, curious
• Diet: seeds, corn, small insects (moths, caterpillars, worms)
• Habitat: many places - towns, villages, countryside; nests in trees
• Likes: dust or water baths, singing with other birds, hopping on the ground
• Dislikes: ice, swimming, cats, birds of prey
• Costume/props: brown tights, brown wings, grey T-shirt, black cap, short grey beak, white scarf

Write an ending

We are going to write dialogue and an ending for the play script.

Structure and direct speech

• Most stories have:
  • A beginning: introduces characters and setting.
  • A middle: shows the main problem or quest.
  • An end: shows how the story finishes.
• Discuss:
  • How does the Sparrow's story begin?
  • What happens in the middle?
  • What kind of ending would be satisfying or surprising?
• In a script:
  • Write the character's name followed by a colon and their words.
  • Do not keep writing "he said" or "she said".
• Stage directions are separate:
  • Written in brackets.
  • In the present tense.
  • Not spoken aloud.

Example conversion

• Narrative:
  • "Please can I have some more?" asked the child, quietly.
• Script form:
  • Child (in a quiet voice): Please can I have some more?

The Sparrow's Quest - Part Two (scripted ending)

• The Sparrow is tired and very hungry.
• She sees a worm hole and calls to the Worm, asking if he is the most powerful creature.
• The Worm wishes he was powerful so he would not fear being eaten.
• He realises too late that the Sparrow is the one calling him.
• The Sparrow gobbles him up.
• The Worm, while being eaten, asks how it feels to be the greatest thing on earth.
• The Sparrow wipes her beak and replies that she only feels a little less hungry.
• This ending shows:
  • A twist - the quiet Sparrow becomes the most powerful for the Worm.
  • Irony - power here simply means the power to eat.

Perform a play

Spelling note

• In British English:
  • practise = verb (action)
    • Example: "We practise the play every day."
  • practice = noun (thing)
    • Example: "Our practice today went well."
• Make a mnemonic (memory trick) to remember:
  • "I practise to improve my practice."

Important Terms

• Nonsense: Funny language that does not follow normal logic or meaning.
• Sense: Clear, logical meaning.
• Nonsense poem: A poem with silly ideas, invented words, or impossible events.
• Rhythm: The beat or pattern of stressed and unstressed words in a line.
• Rhyme: Words with the same ending sound (e.g., day/say, big/fig).
• Sieve: A kitchen tool with holes used for straining or sifting; not safe for a real boat.
• Choral reading: A group of people reading a text aloud together.
• Victorian England: The time when Queen Victoria ruled Britain (1837-1901).
• Quest: A long search or attempt to get something difficult.
• Grub: A small larva or worm-like creature that birds eat.
• Script: The written words of a play or film.
• Cast: The group of actors who play all the parts in a play.
• Setting: Where and when the story or scene happens.
• Dialogue: The words spoken by characters.
• Stage directions: Instructions (in brackets) that tell actors how to move or speak.
• Comparative adjective: A word that compares two things (e.g., bigger, colder, more painful).
• Superlative adjective: A word that shows the highest degree (e.g., biggest, coldest, most painful).
• Suffix: A group of letters added to the end of a word (e.g., -er, -est, -ful).
• Character profile: Notes that describe a character's looks, personality, habits, and likes.
• Direct speech: The exact words a person says, shown in a script after the character's name.
• Narrative: Story writing that tells events in sentences and paragraphs.
• Mnemonic: A trick or sentence that helps you remember something.
• Practise: Verb; to do something again and again to get better.
• Practice: Noun; the activity or session of practising.