Characters: Three storytellers, rain, fog, snow, mist, cloud, man.
Storyteller 1: One day all the different types of weather were up in the sky.
(All the weathers are moving and interacting with one another on the stage, then the wind enters.)
Storyteller 2: The wind started to boast to all the other types of weather that he was by far the most powerful of all weathers.
Wind: I’m the strongest weather here and everyone knows it.
Rain: Wind, you are always boasting how strong and powerful you are.
Snow: It is all we ever hear from you.
Fog: Why don’t you just prove it once and for all?
Mist: I know – let’s have a contest to see who the most powerful weather is.
Wind: I will take any of you on and blow any of you away.
Cloud: Do you see that man wearing a coat over there?
(Man walks on stage.)
All: Yes.
Cloud: Whoever can make him part with his coat is the most powerful. (All the weathers look unsure except for the wind).
Storyteller 3: All the weathers seemed unsure that they could beat the wind.
Storyteller 1: The wind was confident he had won even before the contest even started.
Storyteller 2: Then the sun said…
Sun: I will beat all of you in this contest. I will make the man part with his coat.
Wind: (shakes the sun’s hand) let’s settle this once and for all.
Storyteller 3: The wind took a long deep breath.
Storyteller 1: He blew and blew…
Storyteller 2: …and blew and blew.
Storyteller 3: But the more he blew, the more the man held on to his coat.
Man: Suddenly the wind has got very strong. I must hold on to my coat really tight.
Storyteller 1: No matter how hard the wind blew, he couldn’t make the man part with his coat.
Wind: I give up.
Sun: My turn. Everyone watch and learn.
Storyteller 2: The sun started to shine. The sun got hotter and hotter.
Man: What a lovely sunny day it has become. I will take off my coat and sit under that tree over there and get some shade. (He takes off his coat and sits on it under the tree and enjoys the sun.)
Storyteller 3: The sun continued to shine.
Sun: I’m the winner. I’m the most powerful weather.
All: Hooray!
(Wind walks off in a huff)
Sun: Gentle persuasion always works best!
For more plays for children click on the links below:
Each child finds a space and sits down. Each child or a group of children are assigned a specific word and a corresponding action. The narrator/teacher reads the story aloud, and when the children hear their word, they must jump up and do their actions. The words are in bold to assist the teacher.
Movement: Action.
Boast/boastful/boasting: Stand up straight and puff out the chest.
Woods: Children make themselves into trees.
Animals: Each child chooses a different animal found in the woods and moves like that animal.
Hare: Make bunny ears with your hands.
Fast: Children move as fast as they can.
Run: Run on the spot.
fTortoise: Children bend over as if they have something heavy on their back.
Slow: Children move in slow motion around the room.
Narrator: Once upon a time, there was a very boastfulhare that lived in the woods with lots of other animals. He was always boasting about how fast he could run. He boasted, “I’m the fastest animal in the woods. No one can run as fast as me.” The other animals were tired of listening to him. One day the tortoise said to the hare, “Hare you are so boastful. I challenge you to a race.” Hare laughed and said, “Tortoise, you will never beat me. You are too slow and steady.” They decided whoever got to the other side of the woods the fastest was the winner. All the other animals in the woods came to watch the race. The hareran as fast as he could through the woods. After a while, he thought to himself, “I’m so fast that slow tortoise will never beat me. I think I will take a quick nap.” Soon he fell asleep. The tortoise walked slowly through the woods. He passed the sleeping hare. The animals watched the tortoise near the finishing line. The animals cheered loudly. The hare woke up and ran as fast as he could through the woods to the finishing line, but it was too late. The slowtortoise had won the race. All the animals in the woods congratulated the tortoise. The hare had to remind himself that he shouldn’t boast about his fast pace because slow and steady won the race.
Physical warm-up: Get each child to find a clear space. They must make sure that they are not touching anyone else. The children crouch down on the floor and make a ball shape with their bodies. The teacher explains that all children are magic rocks and that the teacher is a magic wizard. The teacher waves the magic wand and says: “Magic rocks turn into hares.” All the children turn into hares and move around the room as hares. The teacher then says: “Magic rocks turn into magic rocks.” The children return to their clear spaces and crouch down on the floor again as quickly as possible. The magic wizard can change the magic rocks into the animal they can be found in the jungle.
Variation: The children can take it turns to be the magic wizard.
Role on the wall: Divide the class into groups of four. Give each group either an outline of the hare or the tortoise and ask the children to draw or write inside the image the different characteristics or personality traits of the hare or the tortoise. If they are too young to write, get them to draw inside the image. The teacher may also ask them what their word and write I. For them. Each group talks about their image and the words or drawings that they put inside.
Still Image/Thought Tracking: Ask each child to make a still image of the Hare at the beginning of the race. The teacher taps each child on the shoulder, and they must say how they feel. Then get them to make a still image of the hare at the end of the race. The teacher taps each child on the shoulder, and they must say how they feel. Can they tell the difference?
Slow-motion: Divide the class into pairs, and one of the children is the hare, and the other is the tortoise. They go to starting line, and they are going to move in slow motion to the finishing line but showing what happened between the start of the race and the ending.
Extension: They can go fast forwards or rewind.
Teacher in Role: The teacher takes on the role of the tortoise. She tells the children she feels sorry for the hare because he thought he was the fastest in the forest and now he is upset. Ask the children what they suggest they could do to make him feel better.
Hot seating: One of the children volunteers to be the hare. The hare sits in the hot seat, and the rest of the children asks him questions.
Each child finds a space and sits down. Each child or a group of children are assigned a specific word and a corresponding action. The narrator/teacher reads the story aloud and when the children hear their word they must jump up and do their actions. The words are in bold to assist the teacher/narrator.
Movement: Action/sound.
Any number: Show that number of fingers.
Little: Crouch down as small as you can.
Pig: Get on all fours and oink once.
Pigs: Get on all fours and oink twice.
Big: Stretch up as high as you can.
Bad: Make an angry face.
Wolf: Make hands into claws and say “aargh.”
Laughing: Laugh loudly.
Smiling: Give a big wide smile.
Trotted: Trot up and down the space.
Straw: Rub your hands together.
Sticks: Clap your hands together.
Bricks: Clap your hands on your thighs.
Huff/huffed: Blow.
Puff/puffed: Blow harder.
Blow/blew: Stamp feet on the ground.
Narrator: Once upon a time, there was a mother pig who lived with her three little pigs. One day she said, “Little pigs, I think it is time for you to leave and make your own way in this big world. You each need to build your own house.” The little pigs were very excited about their new, big adventure. Mother pig gave each of her little pigs a hug, but she warned them, “Remember to watch out for the big bad wolf.” The little pigs waved goodbye to their mother, and they trotted into the woods. They were laughing and smiling, and soon they came across a man who was carrying some straw. The first little pig said, “May I have some straw to build my house?” The man said kindly, “Of course, you may.” The man gave the first little pig some straw to build his house. Just before they left, the man warned them, “Watch out for the big bad wolf.” The first little pig built his house of straw.
The two other pigstrotted on down the road. They were laughing and smiling, and soon they came across a man who was carrying some sticks. The secondlittlepig said, “May I have some sticks to build my house?” The man said kindly, “Of course, you may.” The man gave the second little pig some sticks to build his house. Just before they left, the man warned them, “Watch out for the bigbadwolf.” The secondlittlepig built his house of sticks.
The thirdlittlepigtrotted on down the road. He was laughing and smiling, and soon he came across a man who was carrying some bricks. The third little pig said, “May I have some bricks to build my house?” The man said kindly, “Of course, you may.” The man gave the thirdlittlepig some bricks to build his house. Just before they left, the man warned him, “Watch out for the bigbadwolf.”
The third little pig built his house of bricks. The firstlittlepig had just finished building his house of straw when the bigbadwolf appeared. He said, “Littlepig, littlepig, let me come in.”
The firstlittlepig replied, “Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin.”
Then the wolf said, Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I will blow the house down.” So, he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew the house down.
The firstlittlepigtrotted very quickly to his brother’s house made of sticks. The second little pig had just finished building his house of sticks when he heard a knock on the door, and to his surprise, it was his brother. Suddenly, the bigbadwolf appeared.
He said, “Littlepig, littlepig, let me come in.”
The secondlittlepig replied, “Not by hair of my chinny, chin, chin.”
Then the wolf said, “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I will blow the house down.” So, he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew the house down.
The two little pigstrotted very quickly to their brother’s house made of bricks.
The thirdlittlepig had just finished building his house of bricks when he heard a knock on the door, and to his surprise, it was his two brothers. Suddenly, the bigbadwolf appeared. He said, “Littlepig, littlepig, let me come in.”
The third little pig replied, “Not by hair of my chinny, chin, chin.”
Then the wolf said, “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I will blow the house down.” The wolf huffed, and he puffed. He huffed, and he puffed, but he couldn’t blow the house down. He heard the threelittlepigs inside the house. They were laughing. This made the wolf very angry indeed. He decided he would climb to the top of the roof and come down the chimney.
The thirdlittlepig heard him on the roof, and he came up with a clever plan. He put a big pot of boiling water on the fire, which was just underneath the chimney. The wolf came tumbling down the chimney and landed into the big pot of boiling water and “SPLASH!” That was the end of the bigbadwolf. The threelittlepigs lived happily ever after.
Warm-up: One child is chosen or volunteers to be Mr. or Ms. Wolf and stands at one side of the clear space. His/her back is to the other children, who are standing at the opposite end of the space. The rest of the children shout out: “What’s the time, Mr. /Ms. Wolf?” The wolf does not turn around. He/she replies in a rough, wolf-like voice: “Four o’clock.” The children walk forward the number of steps the wolf calls out (in this case, four). The children ask again: “What time is it, Mr./Ms. Wolf?” The wolf replies: “Five o’clock.” The children take five steps forward. The children continue to ask the question and to walk the appropriate number of steps forward. Eventually, when the wolf thinks that the children are near enough, he/she will say: “Dinnertime!” Then the wolf turns around and chases the children. They must try to rush back to their starting place. If Mr./Ms. Wolf catches one of them before they reach home, that child is the wolf in the next game.
Choral speaking: Teach the children the following poem. Get them to think of different actions for the straw, sticks, bricks, pigs and wolf. They say the poem in unison.
Straw, Sticks and Bricks
Straw, sticks and bricks.
Straw, sticks and bricks.
The pigs built their houses
Out of straw, sticks and bricks
The wolf came by,
He blew the straw down.
He blew the sticks, but the bricks were strong
The pig lived happy all the days long
In their house of bricks.
Occupational mime: Divide the class into groups of 4: three pigs and one wolf. The pigs move round the room in a “follow the leader” style. The pig at the front of the line is doing the actions. The first pig mimes collecting materials and building a house of straw. Second and third pigs follow, copying the mime. When the house is blown down by the wolf, the first pig moves to the end of the line. Second pig then heads the line and mimes building house of sticks. Finally, third pig takes a turn and mimes building a house of bricks. The wolf moves around the room avoiding pigs as they build until it is time to blow the house down.
Role-play: Encourage different movements such as gathering straw, breaking sticks or lifting heavy bricks. Encourage the wolves to use their body and facial expression to look fierce and threatening. Give everyone in the group the opportunity to take on the role of the wolf. When the children are comfortable with the character movements, get them to use speech. Ask the following questions:
What does the wolf sound like?
What would he say to the little pigs?
What do the pigs sound like?
What would they say to the wolf?
Talking objects: Ask children if they can take on the role of the wolf. They use their breath to blow down the house. Get them to huff and puff and huff and puff and blow the house down. Everyone sits in a circle and the teacher presents the group with objects that can be blown down by the breath, the wind or a hurricane such as a leaf, balloon, paper, tree, car or even a bridge. Every child becomes an object; they enter the circle and give the group some information about who they are. For example: “I’m small, I’m green and live on a tree.” Once the rest of group have guessed correctly, everyone blows the object down.
Conclusion: The teacher discusses with the group reasons why the wolf gets very angry. The teacher asks the children how they can show the wolf how to relax using his breath. The wolf uses his breath to blow things down, but he could use his breath for relaxation exercises.
Tummy breathing: The children find their own space on the floor. They lie down and place their hands or a stuffed toy on their tummy. They inhale on a count of three. They see their hands or stuffed toy rising as their tummy fills with air. They exhale on the count of four and they see their hands or stuffed toys falling. Repeat this process 10 times. When everyone is finished, ask the children the following questions:
How do you feel?
What did you notice about your hands/stuffed toy when you inhaled and exhaled?
How would this exercise help the wolf?
Burst balloon: The children all lie on the floor. The teacher gets them to imagine that their body is a balloon. They are going to close their eyes and inflate the balloon. They fill up their tummies with air. Then when they are full, the teacher counts to three and the children shout bang and they let all the air out of their bodies like a deflated balloon.
