Objective:
After listening to a story, the students will write and act out a play.  (This lesson may be combined with the Movement and Art Lesson for making props and performing the drama.)

Materials

• A book or web site copy of The Shoemaker and the Elves. The following web site contains a copy - The Shoemaker and the Elves.

• Chart paper or chalkboard

• Paper and pencils

Procedure

1. Discuss fairy tales with the students.  Fairy tales often began as an oral tradition and contain fairies or magic.  Have the students brainstorm as many fairy tales as possible.  Record these responses on the chart paper or chalkboard.

2. Introduce The Shoemaker and the Elves as a fairy tale recorded by the Grimm Brothers.  List some other fairy tales recorded by the Grimm Brothers (i.e. Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, etc.)  Refer to the The Shoemaker and the Elves web site.

3. Read The Shoemaker and the Elves to the students.  Tell the students they will be working as a class to write a play telling the story of The Shoemaker and the Elves.

4. Discuss the elements in a written play - setting, characters, and dialog.  If desired, view some examples of plays at the following web site Plays for Children.

5. Work as a class to write a script for The Shoemaker and the Elves.  Record the play on the chart paper or chalkboard.

6. Assign roles and jobs to the students.  The students may make props and costumes for the production, write a program, and make posters announcing the play.  

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Have a phonics lesson on the sh- sound.

2. Read different pieces of literature which have a shoe as an element in the piece.  The Shoemaker and the Elves, Cinderella, and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe are all examples to be used.  In addition, any of the literature suggestions on the Shoe Home Page could be used as well.  Have the students respond to the readings. What type of genre are they - fiction, nonfiction, poetry?   Which piece of literature did they like the most/ the least?

3. Have the students write a slogan or ad to promote a shoe they have designed.  This lesson may be combined with the Art Lesson.

4. Have a lesson on how the names of body parts can also be used for parts on inanimate objects.  Begin with the "tongue" of a shoe.  Brainstorm a list which may include: the "leg" of a table, the "arm" of a chair, the "head" of a bed, etc.