Katherine Dzengelewski

Story Theater Exercises

RAINBOW FISH- The first book that I introduced for Story Theater was
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Before reading the book, I talked about how
this was a story about giving, and asked if anyone remembers a time they
gave someone a gift. The children each volunteered to proudly tell me of
something special they had made or given a family member that made them
happy. Afterwards, I commented on how big all of their smiles were when
they talked about giving. How does giving make you feel? Happy! Good!
Great! they all shouted out. Lets see how the Rainbow Fish feels about
giving and sharing. Throughout the story, children volunteered to come sit
on the Hot Seat and pretend to be one of the characters in the story. I
acted as the interviewer and asked each volunteer how they were feeling in
the moment, and it led to some great group discussions in which everyone
participated, even my shyer students. They followed the Rainbow Fishs
emotional journey throughout, and were able to articulate the progression
from feeling greedy, to feeling sad and lonely, to feeling generous, to feeling
loved and happy. Various children had the opportunity to act as the Rainbow
Fish, the Little Blue Fish, and the Octopus throughout, and those who didnt
sit on the hot seat participated through class discussion. By the end, we had
all come to a mutual agreement that it feels better to share and make others
happy than to keep everything good for ourselves and be all alone. After our
discussion, I brought out a picture of a big Rainbow Fish with colorful
construction paper scales, and asked my students at the end of the book
what words they would use to describe a good friend. Within a few minutes,
the scales were covered in words that they came up with to describe a
friend: smiling, generous, happy, fun, nice, plays together, kind, sharing, etc.
At the end of the activity, they were so excited by the interaction and roleplay involved in the story, and I suggested that anyone who would like to
could draw a picture of rainbow fish or other characters in the story. Soon,
we had filled up a wall with pictures of rainbow fish, the little blue fish, the
purple octopus, and some creative interpretations of the underwater life.
The next day, they came in requesting to hear the story and continued
talking about it all day long.
ONE DUCK STUCK- The next book I read was called One Duck Stuck, by
Phyllis Root. Before reading the book, I talked about how this would be a
story about someone getting stuck and needing help. I asked them if there
was ever a time that one of them had helped someone who was in a difficult
situation. Answers ranged from I helped someone get out of the mud
(probably prompted by the cover of the book) to I helped my friend in
school today who had a hard time putting on his vest to every week I help
my mom carry groceries etc. I told them that for this story, we would again
all have an opportunity to sit in the hot seat and become one of the
characters in the story. I also taught them the refrain the duck says on every

page: Help, help, who can help? which was conveniently always
highlighted in yellow so the children would know to say it when I pointed.
For this book, each of the characters were various animals from the swamp,
who made their own unique sounds and movements when trying to help the
duck. I would start by asking them a couple of silly questions. E.g. Hello
Mrs. Skunk how are you? Are you feeling nice and stinky today? The
children would answer the questions in character and then I would ask them
what kind of noise and movement that animal would make? E.g. What
exactly does a cricket going pleep pleep look and sound like? They would
each make their own unique sounds and motions, which sometimes
resembled the book and sometimes were their own creations. After the child
on the hot seat showed me their sound and motion, I would have the whole
class try coping it together. Then I would ask the child on the hot seat if and
how they would be able to help the duck get unstuck? They almost always
answered in the affirmative, and then went back to their seats. At the end,
all of the animals come together to help the duck out of the muck. I called a
volunteer to be the duck and pretend to be stuck in the muck. Then I called
new volunteers for each animal in the story (about ten) to line up and
pretend to start pulling her out. Then I had the rest of the class line up after
them for some extra help. I came around with my invisible microphone to
ask each one of them what their characters looked and sounded like when
pulling the duck out of the water, and then they all pretend pulled together.
The duck came out on cue, shouting spluck! We cheered and all came
back to the circle. Then I asked them what they learned from the story about
helping others, and one student eagerly responded that we all work better as
a team than we do on our own. Everyone agreed, and many of them
followed up by drawing pictures of the characters. They continued
requesting the book throughout the week!
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR- One afternoon, I set up a butterfly wing
station, and allowed the children in groups of four to come make their
butterfly wings for the next days activity. They wondered aloud what we
would be doing with them, and I kept them guessing until the next day. The
next morning, they all came in eager to take a look at their wings, which had
dried overnight. They all sit at circle time more willingly than usual, and I
pulled out the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Some of the older
children shouted I knew it! and they were all excited to start the activity. I
had a blank piece of poster board, and printed pictures of an egg, a
caterpillar, a chrysalis, and then a butterfly. On the first page, they saw an
egg on a leaf. I read the text and then asked them what the first stage of a
butterfly is. One of them raised her hard and said egg!, so I had her find
the picture of the egg from my basket and Velcro it on to the first space on
my poster board. Then I chose an older student to try to help me find the
word egg from another basket, and he put that beneath the picture. On the
next morning out pops a very hungry caterpillar. I had a student come up
and Velcro the picture of a caterpillar to our board, while another student

found the word caterpillar. We then slowly went through the days of the
week and all of the things the caterpillar had to eat, and asked the group
how they feel when they have too much to eat. Terrible. Stomachache.
Tired. Were called out from the circle. I said that the caterpillar had a
stomachache and was probably tired because he wraps himself in a chrysalis
and stays inside for more than 2 weeks. Two children added the chrysalis
picture and word to our chart. And then he pushed his way out and became a
beautiful butterfly! they all shouted together. We finished up our chart and
then I asked one of my students to show me what a tiny egg looks like. She
curled up into a ball on the floor and everyone repeated her action. Then, I
asked another volunteer to show me how a caterpillar moved. He showed
me, and I said we would all have a chance to copy his movement one by one
for the next activity. Then I asked another how we can make a chrysalis with
our bodies and she did a tight twirl. Finally, I asked everyone to show me a
butterfly motion and they all flapped their imaginary wings and swayed.
Then, I told them to line up behind a piece of tape and all become tiny eggs.
I put on some music and said when I tapped an egg, that one would hatch,
crawl through a tunnel and come out a chrysalis. Once they had come out of
their chrysalis, a teacher would hand them their wings and they could dance
like a butterfly. The activity went relatively smoothly, with a few reminders
to stay an egg until they were tapped. They had so much fun dancing like
butterflies that we did a second song after that. They talked about The Very
Hungry Caterpillar all day, drew pictures, and are so excited to see the new
caterpillars we will be raising this spring!
Camilla Cream and the Case of Stripes- This lesson was honestly not
planned prior to when I did it, but was an impromptu activity on a rainy day
that they needed to come together for a group activity. I asked one of the
students to pick out a book, and she chose Camilla Cream and the Case of
Stripes. This book is on the longer side for some of the attention spans in
our young classroom, and has a hidden message about being yourself and
the dangers of trying to please everyone around you. I had tried reading it
with the group previously, and some had lost interest and become distracted
before the book was over. This time, I decided I would try reading it with the
interview process that I had done with Rainbow Fish and One Duck Stuck.
The book begins with Camilla in her closet, trying on a million different
outfits and finding herself unsatisfied with all of them. We receive a
narration on Camilla, describing that she is always worried about pleasing
everyone she meets and never being made fun of. For example, she loves
lima beans but never eats them because nobody at her school likes them
and she doesnt want to be made fun of. I had a volunteer come up and sit
on the Hot Seat to be Camilla at that moment. I asked how it feels to try and
act however everybody wants her to act. Umsad, she said. And I tried
getting more out of her. I pretended I was her friend who only liked to say
mean things about people. Lets talk about our friend Slinky, hes so
anooooooying, what do you think Camilla? I dont know, she said

laughing. If you like Slinky were not friends anymore, I said with a pouty
face. Yeah I think hes annoying too she said with a mean face. Okay now
Im your other friend who only likes the color yellow. Uh, Camilla, are you
wearing any yellow at all today? Yep, my hair bow is yellow! she said,
catching on. I asked the group again how it would feel to try to be whatever
someone wanted to be. I would be tired, someone said, and they all
agreed. We got back to the story, just when Camilla looked in the mirror and
noticed she was covered in Stripes. She stays home from school but when
the doctors told her she had no fever, she had to go back. When she goes
back everyone makes fun of her. Students volunteered to be interviewed as
the bully, the teacher, and Camilla, and gave very reflective answers. When
they say the Pledge of Allegiance, she turns red and white striped with stars!
They laugh even more. Soon, the group starts calling out more things they
want her to look like and she becomes them. She goes home and her mom
takes her to see more doctors, who are equally perplexed. Everything they
guess it is she becomes. Finally, a little old woman comes from next door
and says she thinks she knows what to do. When she was younger she had
the stripes too. We had a volunteer to be the old woman, and she said
maybe when I was little I was always worried like Camilla but then I stopped
worrying so much and now Im better. They were catching on to the
message of the book, probably for the first time! The old woman offers
Camilla a simple plate of lima beans which return her to her natural state.
From then on, Camilla always does what she likes and never worries what
people think even if some people make fun of her. After the book, the class
was able to sit for a while and talk about their thoughts and the story in a
very reflective and articulate way, and I think it was one of the best
discussions weve ever had as a whole class. I was so happy that the
interview and role- play element alone was able to help the grasp the story
better. It also helped me as a teacher to see where they were at with their
thinking and comprehension and helped me find ways to help them
understand more deeply through the exercise. I decided that I would start
bringing in more challenging, longer books for them to work on, so that we
could have more discussions like this one. Out of all of the stories, they have
talked about at requested Camilla and the Case of Stripes the most, which
came as a big surprise to me. These exercises have been incredibly helpful
in getting to know the way my students think about stories and how they can
get the most out of them.
Manners- The next book I decided to bring in is called Manners by Aliki. It
is an excellent book with great short stories on each page to demonstrate
another situation in which we can use nice manners. However, we have
never been able to read it straight through as a class without getting
distracted, because it is written in comic book form with small pictures and
text that are hard for our preschoolers to follow. So, I thought it would make
the perfect choice of a book to bring off the page through another role- play

exercise like the ones that had been so successful so far. First we read the
book straight through, and I asked them to remember some of the polite and
impolite words so we could act it out after. I only read the select pages we
would be acting, and I think knowing that they would have the chance to act
at the end helped them sit and pay closer attention during the story. One of
the pages has an image of a baby throwing a tantrum, and some text
explaining why babies cant have manners because they dont have speech
yet. I asked a volunteer to come up to the hot seat and pretend to be a
baby. Now if you are a baby, how can you let me know that you are hungry
without using words? The student laughed and thought about it, then
started pointing at imaginary food. I dont understand, baby! What do you
want? I replied. The student started making whining noises and stomping
her feet. Oh heres some food, baby. Then I asked the student to try to tell
me without words that they were tired, and the student stomped and whined
louder. Then I had another student come up and be a very polite preschooler
at dinner time.
Student: Can I have some dinner please?
Me: Of course! Here you are.
Student: Thank you!
Me: Youre very welcome.
Student: Im all done. Thank you!
Me: Your welcome. Goodnight
We all applauded the good manners and we talked about polite words we can
use, such as May I please be excused? or Is there anything I can do to
help?. The next scenario is a grandmother who cooks froggy soup, and you
need to politely tell her that you dont want any. A volunteer came up and I
said Bon apetit! I worked all day to make you my special froggy soup. The
student said Yuck! I asked the class if it is nice to say yuck to someones
meal if they have worked very hard to make it for you. They said no and
one of them suggested to say No thank you, Im not hungry now. Maybe
later! We all agreed that that was more polite, and I showed that the boy in
the comic strip said No thank you. It looks too pretty to eat! The next
comic strip we looked at was about a birthday party. I asked a volunteer to
come up and pretend it was her birthday party, and I acted as the person
with bad manners at the party. I instructed the volunteer to give me a party
hat when I came in, and to tell me that we were going to play musical chairs,
pin the tail on the donkey, eat pizza, and then open presents (there was a
picture guide). I came in the door and said Who is even at this party
anyway? without saying hi and then handed her a present, saying here.
She said here is your party hat! and I said We always have to wear these
silly hats at your parties. I pretended to cheat and be a sore loser at the
games, complain about the food, make fun of her presents, and leave
without saying anything. Then, I had another volunteer come up and
pretend to be a very polite party guest. Our volunteer was an English

Language learner who grasped the concept wonderfully and used polite
words throughout the role play such as Hello, Thank you, Here you go, This
is fun, I have to go now, etc. He did wonderfully! For our next role play, a
volunteer pretend to answer a call from the wrong number, with me on the
other line. The first time, he had to answer rudely. He said This is not
Dameian. You have the wrong number, and slammed the phone. The next
time, he used very polite and formal language with me, remembering the
exact text from the page. We did several other similar exercises, and the
whole class remained engaged throughout the entire lesson.
Whats in the Sack- After a successful Poetry Unit in our classroom, I
decided I wanted to try a Story Theater exercise with a poem. The poem I
chose was called Whats in the Sack? from Shel Silversteins Where the
Sidewalk Ends. The illustration shows a man walking around carrying a giant
sack, about three times the size of his body, over his shoulder. The poem is
about how frustrated the man is about the fact that all anyone ever asks him
about is what is in the sack. Is it some mushrooms or is it the moon? Is it
love letters or downy goosefeathers? Or maybe the worlds most enormous
balloon?
I read through the poem with lots of animation and silliness, and the children
thoroughly enjoyed hearing it. Then, I introduced them to a game we would
play called Whats in the sack? I would pass around a bag and everyone
would take turns pantomiming what was in the bag. I told them to think
about whether the thing was heavy or light, hard or soft, and how we use
that thing. I showed them a few examples on my own. First, I looked in the
bag and pretended to take out a container of bubbles. I unscrewed the lid,
took out the wand, and blew them at all of the students. They watched very
quietly, and by the time I dipped the wand most of them knew right away
and shouted out the answer. I also pretended to pull out a book and read
through it, take out a basketball and shoot it through a hoop, and pull out the
ingredients for a Peanut butter and jelly sandwich to make myself an
imaginary snack. I was impressed with how well they were able to sit quietly
and attentively until they knew what the answer was.
Once I gave everyone the opportunity, they all raised their hands
immediately. However, they did have a hard time thinking of ideas on their
own to pantomime, so I offered that I could whisper ideas to them for them
to try to act out to the class. Once I provided this support, it was a much
more achievable challenge for them. I was so proud, because every single
one of my students in class that day tried the exercise. I never, or rarely, get
that amount of eager participation around the board, so I was overjoyed with
the success of the activity. Students caught on quickly and did a great job
acting out my ideas (a camera, a banana, a teapot, a baby, a pair of
sneakers, a notebook, a bouncy ball, etc.) Towards the end, I asked if anyone
would like to think of their own idea to act out. A few of my older students

took on the challenge, thinking for a minute before pantomiming their ideas
(a blanket, an ice cream cone, a toothbrush). I was thrilled with the
participation of this activity, and the only thing I would change in the future
would be to come in with a list of ideas in mind so that I dont need to waste
any time thinking about what to suggest.
Barnyard Dance- This was my shortest, simplest, and silliest Story Theater
activity, but it was such a hit and will be an activity that we can repeat again
and again in the future. The words to this Sandra Boynton book go:
Stomp your feet! Clap your hands! Everybody ready for a barnyard dance!
Bow to the horse. Bow to the cow. Twirl with the pig if you know how.
Bounce with the bunny. Strut with the duck. Spin with the chickens nowCLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!
With a BAA and a MOO and a COCKEDOODLE DOO, everybody promenade
two by two!
Prance with the horses, skitter with the mice. Swing with your partner once
or twice.
Stand with the donkey. Slide with the sheep. Scramble with the little chicksCHEEP CHEEP CHEEP!
With a NEIGH and a MOO and a COCKADOODLEDOO another little
promenade two by two!
Trot with a turkey. Leap with a frog. Take another spin with the barnyard dog.
Turn with the cow in a patch of clover, All take a bow and the dance is over.
With an OINK and a MOO and a QUACK QUACK QUACK, the dance is done but
well be back.
For certain pages, I had everyone at once show me how to do the motion
(stomp, clap, etc)
For certain pages, I had one student teach the whole class their
interpretation of something (strut with the duck, etc.)
For the pages involving partners, I assigned everyone their own partner. I
had one pair come up and look at the picture to show us what a promenade
looked like, and I told the class that if they were having a hard time doing a
promenade they could dance with their partner however they wanted to. We
practiced the movements we learned very slowly all together, and steadily
picked up the pace. They love doing songs fast, so I motivated them by
saying that if they showed me that they were all able to follow what the book
said when we did it slowly, I would know that were ready to turn the speed
up a notch. They had so much fun creating and dancing out their ideas
independently and collaboratively, and they did an impressive job following
instructions all the way through!
The Lorax- On Earth Day, I read the Lorax by Dr. Seuss and extended it
through the interview role- play activity that my class loves so much. In the
beginning of the story, a little boy comes to the Street of the Lifted Lorax (a

dark place where no birds sing, the wind smells sour, and no one is around
but the old Onceler in his Lerkim). The little boy comes and pays the price
(fifteen cents and a nail, and the shell of a great great great grandfather
snail) to ask the Onceler about the story of the Lorax.
This was the first time I asked a volunteer to sit on the hot seat. Many
students raised their hands, and I decided to choose one of our more
outgoing students first to break the ice.
Me: How does it feel to be on the Street of the Lifted Lorax
Volunteer: Well, its pretty spooky!
Me: I agree. Why did you collect all of those things just so that you could
hear the Oncelers story?
Volunteer: Well, I think I really just want to know why the Lorax was lifted
away. And what even is a Lorax?
Me: Hmmm.. good point. Anything else?
Volunteer: And why is it so spooky here?
Me: Lets find out. You can be the boy, and Ill be the Onceler. (I pulled out
a paper towel roll and pretended it was the Whisper- ma- phone, inviting her
to ask me (The Onceler) all of her questions. She did, and I told her she
could sit back down with the class so I could tell everyone the story.
I read to the class about when the grass was still green, and the pond was
still wet, and the clouds were still clean and all of the happy animals that
used to live there before the Onceler came. The Onceler came and chopped
down a truffula tree, using the tufts to make a Thneed to sell. When he does,
the Lorax comes out and says He speaks for the trees and is very upset
about one being cut down.
I asked another student to volunteer to be the Onceler this time, and chose
an older, but quieter student this time. I told her she would have to convince
me (the lorax) that everybody needs a thneed and it was a good idea to cut
down the three to make one.
Me: What is that ridiculous thing youve made with the tree?
Volunteer: A thneed!
Me: Why would ANYBODY need a thneed?
Volunteer: Because its nice and warm and soft
Me: Lots of things are warm and soft! Whats special about this?
Volunteer: Um its also an umbrella!
Me: Oh goodness. Show me how it can become an umbrella. (Handing her a
sweater)
Volunteer: (Throws it above her head, smiling)
Me: Oh, well. Please dont cut down any more. You can sit back in your seat!

(Everyone giggled and enjoyed the role- play). The next time I stopped the
story was when the Onceler has built a whole Thneed factory and cut down
so many trees that the animals who eat their fruits and use their shade are
getting sick. The Lorax comes knocking on the Oncelers door with some
Brown Barbaloots to show the Lorax what he is doing to them. This time, I
was the onceler, and I asked one volunteer to be the Lorax, and three
volunteers to be Brown Barbaloots (with tummy aches). The girl I chose for
the Lorax is usually very timid and reserved, so I was curious to see how she
would do
Lorax Volunteer: Onceler, you cant keep doing this!
Me (Onceler): I can and I will! Why should I stop when my business is doing
so well?
Lorax Volunteer: Youre not being very nice. The whole place is becoming a
big mess!
Me (Onceler): Who are these sad little creatures who came with you
Lorax Volunteer: The. Barbaloots!
Barbaloot 1 Volunteer: Im really sick
Me (Onceler): Why are you so sick?
Barbaloot 2 Volunteer: Because we have no more trees!
Me (Onceler): What do you need trees for? What you really need is a Thneed!
Barbaloot 3 Volunteer: No we dont! We need food!
Me (Onceler): Ohwell.Ill think about it. But first let me make a few more
Thneeds. Thank you! You can sit down.
The next time I stopped the book, the Lorax was returning to tell the Onceler
that all of the Smog was making the Swans sick. This time, I asked them if
they thought they were ready to take on all of the characters without my
help, and of course they were excited about the challenge! I chose one
volunteer to be the Lorax (A very confident young girl) a Lorax (an often
distracted little boy who Id noticed was sitting attentively for the whole story
so far) and three sick Swoomee Swans (two English Language learners and a
very introverted young girl). I told them each what their objectives would be,
or what they were fighting for, and told them that they would each talk when
I handed them the invisible microphone.
Onceler Volunteer: Who is it?
Lorax Volunteer: Its me, the Lorax, and three sick swans!
Onceler Volunteer: What is it now?
Lorax Volunteer: Look at how sad and sick they are!
Onceler Volunteer: Why are they like that?
Swan Volunteer 1: Theres so much smoke!
Swan Volunteer 2: Yeah there is! Its really not nice!
Swan Volunteer 3: (didnt know what to say so I asked her if she thought they
would be able to keep living there) No, we have to live somewhere else now.
Onceler Volunteer: Okay, bye!

We all applauded for the volunteers who did such a good job being the
characters on their own (with very minimal prompting from me)!
We did the same thing with the next segment with the Lorax visiting with the
sick fishes, and it also went great! Then, the story goes back to the Onceler
telling his story to the little boy, and realizes why the Lorax left the word
UNLESS in the ground when he left this place. Since my class has all been
loving poetry, I thought them all this short poem:
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better, its not! (One line at a time).
Then the Onceler throws the boy the very last truffula seed. I pretended to
throw each of the classmates a seed and told them all to catch it and
pretend to bury it in the imaginary soil in front of them. I read Youre in
charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what
everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water.
And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the
Lorax and all of his friends may come back. Then, we all closed our eyes
and imagined what color truffula trees we wanted to become. Then I had
them pretend to become the seed and grow up into a tree in 8 slow beats.
We did, and when everyone was up, I told them to open their eyes and said
Look at this beautiful forest we grew! Do you think the Lorax and all of his
friends will come back? YES! they all agreed. Great work, everyone!
We all gave each other a round of applause.
This was definitely the longest weve ever sat together and worked on a
circle- time activity as a class, and I was so pleased with the way it went.
The parents have been coming to me all week and asking What is a
onceler? What is this book called? My child has not stopped talking about
it! That has been great for me to hear, and I know they all will remember
the lesson for a long time.