DAY FIVE

A CIRCLE DANCE GAME

Today we started with learning a circle dance game to a song called 'A Let A Go Go'.  This is a traditional song from Trinidad and lots of fun.  We had to learn a clapping pattern and then we moved around the circle, changing clapping partners as we went - it was a fun challenge keeping up with the song, which got faster and faster as we got better at it!

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Our drama work started with getting into role as 'The Problem Solvers'.  First we share read a 'newspaper article' about the clown we had helped a couple of weeks ago.  We learnt that his performance had been very successful and that the audiences had fallen off their seats laughing.  The article talked about 'The Problem Sovers' work over the last few weeks and had interviews with the different people we had helped including the Grinlings and the MacDonalds.  The article was very complementary about the work of 'The Problem Sovers' and reinforced all the skills that the team had!

Newspaper article about the clown we helped a couple of weeks ago.

ROLE ON THE WALL

Out of role we talked about our work with the Giant of Thistle Town the previous week.  We created a 'Role on the Wall' for the giant.  Tom drew us an outline of the giant and on the outside we wrote everything we knew about what the giant looked like and behaved like  On the inside we wrote down how the giant felt - i.e. angry, sad, frustrated.  Later on in the drama we added to this 'Role on the Wall' as we learnt more about the giant.

Our role on the wall for the giant - drawn by Tom.

LETTERS FROM THE GIANT

Back in role again as 'The Problem Solvers' we received a bundle of letters - there was one for everyone (the letters came in the envelopes we had self-adressed last week).  We opened the letters and share read them together.  We learnt why the giant was sad and cross and even found out that he hadn't been taking the animals from the town, which some of us had suggested last week.  The animals had been visiting him and he had made friends with them.  It turned out he was a sad and lonely giant who needed some help.  He was feeling frightened and frustrated, we could tell by his cross giant words that he was very unhappy.  However, he didn't trust 'The Problem Solvers', he was scared of us - what were we going to do?  Was there a way we could still help?  The letter stimulated a great discussion and lots of creative ideas and problem solving.  We added what we now knew about the giant to our 'Role on the Wall' - we now had a more accurate picture of our giant.

The letter from the giant:

Dear Townspeople of Thistle Town, 

I don't know why you are picking on me!   Tanglebangled ringlepox! 

I'm just a lonely old giant and nobody seems to want to be my friend.  Sometimes the animals of the town come and see me and they seem to like me.  They curl up in my cave and I sometimes give them nice food to eat.  But no one else has ever visited me or invited me to do something with them. 

What have I done to hurt you?  I know you've all been talking about me and my tantrums.  I can't help them can I?  Don't you throw tantrums - you wagglepooping nurdlecrists?
I want to meet with you to talk about this.  Keep those franglewhangled whippersnack Problem Solvers away from me!  They just want to trap me or put me in a cage and take me away from my home. 

How would you like that?  I don't and I'm frightened. 

From the GIANT

Letters from the giant arrived (in the envelopes we had self addressed earlier)

Everyone reads their copy of letter from the giant - shared reading aloud.

WRITING LETTERS BACK TO THE GIANT
Our next task was to write letters to the giant.  In our discussions we decided we should write back to the giant and explain that we were sorry for frightening him with all our plans for trapping him and that now we understood what the problem was we would like to help.  The children came up with lots of ideas for ways we could make friends with the giant and how the giant could help people in Thistle Town and be a friend to them.  The children wrote letters and we edited them and published them and put them in envelopes addressed to the Giant on the Mountain.  Here are some excerpts from some of the letters:

Dear Giant,
We aren't bad people we are sorry.  We just want to be your friend.  Would you want to have a party on the mountain?  We would all come.
From Theo. 

Dear Giant,
We are sorry we made plans to trap you.  I know a little plan to get you some friends.  You can have fish and chips with us on the hill.
From Lily. 

Dear Giant,
We are so sorry for planning traps and stuff.  Please forgive us.  We want to be your friend.  We'd like you to visit our home at the bottom of your hill.  There is a town and we'll tell the people to be your friend.  You could do slides for us with your arms or we could jump off your arms.   It would be fun.
From Luke.

Dear Giant,
We are sorry that we came up with all the trapping ideas.  We have come up with new ideas.  Here they are.  You could help the police help the firemen, or the fish-dumping police.  We want to be your friend.  We will take you to the fireworks.  
From CJ. 

Dear Giant,
We are sorry for trying to trap you.  You are friendly and could help Thistle Town in lots of ways.  Here are some things you could do: you could be a ladder for firemen, a catcher for robbers, and a net for fishermen  I hope you can help the town.
From George.

Dear Giant,
We want to make friends with you.  Don't be angry at us.  We are going to change our plans.  We like you.
From Phoebe.

COLLECTIVE MAPPING
When we had finished our letters we decided we would invite the giant to a meeting in Thistle Town so we could give him our letters and tell him we wanted him to be his friend.  We then needed to make a giant!  We collectively drew a huge giant on to a long strip of paper - we all worked together to create a  fabulous HUGE giant.

The Problem Solvers and the HUGE giant!

 To finish our drama work today we hung our giant on to the wall and the set up the chairs in a semi circle around him.  We then used the drama convention 'a ritual' to present our letters to the giant and to say something to him.  We stood up one at a time to present our letters, which we placed at his feet, and we all thought of something really nice to say as we did this.  It was a lovely way to finish this drama.

THE PLAY OF THE PROBLEM SOLVERS COMES TO AN END
Today was our last day together as 'The Problem Solvers'  To end our five week unit of work we made a porporoaki (a reflection circle).  We all stood in a circle, facing outwards to start with.  We thought of something we wanted to share about our work and when we were ready we quietly turned to facing inwards.  When everyone had turned in we went around the circle and shared our thoughts.  There were lots of favourite moments shared.  Collective mapping and drawing, learning lots of songs, meeting the different characters (teacher in-role), travelling in planes and hot air balloons, making the moving lighthouses, and getting letters from the different characters were some of the favourite moments that were shared.  In five weeks 'The Problem Sovers' have become a fantastic team of co-operative creative thinkers and have learnt to play together wonderfully with lots of learning along the way - well done team!