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Contents
Introduction
Play synopsis
Cast and production team
Themes
SEAL themes
Interview with Asha Kahlon, director
Photos of the set design
Post show drama lesson
Post show Primary resources
Cross curricular ideas
Play Synopsis
People always need shoes, but you cant make them when youre cold, hungry
and down to your last piece of leather! What will the shoemakers do? At the
dead of night, help arrives unexpectedly when the elves creep into the
workshop
Director:
Musical director:
Design:
Asha Kahlon
Matt Marks
Laura McEwen
Themes
Secrets
Christmas
Looking after people
Poverty
Luck
Relationships
What are the challenges of directing a play for this age audience?
I suppose the main challenge is not to underestimate the audience. Some of
the children will be familiar with the story but others may not, and we need to
make the show fun for all of them.
You only have two actors but four characters. How is that going to
work?
The actors, Liz and Jack, will play all the parts in the play. They will have
different costumes for the different characters and we will be creating ways of
moving and speaking for each character. However there are still some
challenges and we will have to weave some magic.
Which section of the play are you most looking forward to directing
and why?
That would have to be the opening scene. This sets up the world of the play,
the characters and the story. Getting this right makes the rest of the journey
smoother for me as the director; for the actors, it makes their relationship with
the story and the audience stronger. Its crucial for the audience, too, as we
need to grab their interest and attention.
Character work Move around the room as the old couple would move, and
then as the elves would move. Beat a drum for the class to change from one
character to another. Freeze in individual or paired characters. Add a line you
think that the character night say, or one you can remember from the play, in
the voice you think the character would have. (5 mins)
Hot seat the Elves The other children in the class ask them questions.
Where do they come from? Have they helped anyone before? How did they
learn to make such lovely shoes? Etc. (5 mins)
Literacy
Shoemakers poem.
L.O. Poetry - Unit 1 Interpret a text by reading aloud with some variety in pace and emphasis.
Bigguns
Cheerdup
Dat
Dis
Levva
Big ones
Cheered up
That
This
Leather
Luvvy
Shup
Shooz
Smine
Snot
Swarm
Lovely
Shut up
Shoes
Its mine
Its not
Its warm
Interactive story
L.O. Create short simple texts on paper and on screen that combine words with images and sounds.
Children could design and make their own shoe shop setting and
model characters out of plasticine. These could then be
manoeuvred to tell various parts of the story, which can be
photographed and placed together into an interactive book that the
children can then add their own text to.
Shoemakers rhyme
Anyway
That day
We had a little shock
Even before
I opened the door
People were queuing around the block
In ran
The gentleman
Whod been in the day before.
Im here again
Ive brought my friends
And Ive just got to have some more
We sold both pairs
His and hers
And all we had was empty shelves
Word, we found
Had got around
These shoes just seem to sell themselves
I had to shout
Sold out
Im sorry but weve got no more
Come tomorrow
Deep sorrow
And then I had to close the door.
elves
old man
old woman
shoes
clothes
leather
sew
trainer
wellington
clog
mule
sandal
boot
flip flop
slipper
Numeracy
Counting shoes in 2s
(L.O. Describe simple patterns and relationships involving numbers or shapes; decide whether examples
satisfy given conditions. (Yr1:B1))
(L.O. Derive and recall multiplication facts for the 2, 5 and 10 times-tables and the related division facts;
recognise multiples of 2, 5 and 10. (Yr2:B1))
Children to sit on their bottoms in a circle with their knees bent and
feet tucked up to their bottoms. Children to take it in turns to stretch
out their legs and place their two feet in the centre representing 2
as the class count round the circle in 2s continuing until all
childrens legs are outstretched.
Children might repeat the activity but take it in turns to say the next
number in the pattern.
Building up to saying 1 x 2 = 2, 2 lots of 2 = 4 etc.
Science
Keeping the Shoemakers warm.
L.O. Sc3 1b To sort objects into groups on the basis of simple material properties [for example,
roughness, hardness, shininess, ability to float, transparency and whether they are magnetic or nonmagnetic.
The Shoemakers didnt have much money and so for their tea they
would eat bread. Children will enjoy making the Shoemaker some
toast for their tea and as a result will be observing the change in an
everyday material. This might be extended into making party food
for a christmas party for the Elves and Shoemakers by making
Jelly, chocolate rice crispy cakes, bread rolls etc. Again
experiencing the changes occuring in these ingredients.
This activity can be used in Literacy by providing first hand
experiences for instruction writing.
Keeping warm
Look at the clothes below.
Put a circle around the clothes that would keep the Shoemakers
warm.
Pelmanism (Snap)
Place all cut out cards, face down and take it in turns to choose two cards. If
they match you can keep them and have another go until your cards are odd,
then its the next persons go.
PSHE ideas
Looking after people
L.O. I can sometimes tell if other people are feeling sad or scared and I know how to make people feel
better.
The Elves in the play are forever falling out and bickering over
what they want to do to help the shoemakers. This provides an
excellent opportunity for children to role-play the squabbling elves.
In their pairs, children can then think about what could one elf say
to the other to solve the problem? What might make things better?
They then might like to extend the role play by acting out their
solution and performing it to the rest of the class.
Elf games.
L.O. I can tell you what being a good friend means to me.
L.O. I can work well in a group.
The Elves love to play games like hide and seek. Can children
think of other games familiar or made up that they could teach the
Elves to play and work as a group to write instructions to leave for
them when they come out at night?
Music ideas
Music for all
L.O. 1b. To play tuned and untuned instruments.
L.O. 2a. To create musical patterns.
L.O. 2b. To explore, choose and organise sounds and musical ideas.
Children could compose two pieces of music for both the Elves
(happy, lively, joyful) and the Shoemakers (slow, sad, plodding) to
represent the two extremes in the characters. The use of
hammering and banging instruments could continue the style of
the play accompaniment or the possibility of using junk modelled
instruments.
ICT ideas
L.O. 3a. Learn how to share their ideas by presenting information in a variety of forms.
L.O. 3b. To present their completed work effectively.
Art ideas
What is Elf land like?
L.O. 2c. To represent observations, ideas and feelings, and design and make images and artefacts.
Introduce the idea that the Elves have travelled a long way to visit
the shop from their own magical Elf land. In talking partners
children could discuss:
What do they think they might see in Elf land?
Who else lives in Elf land?
How is it different to our world?
What colour is the ground, the sky etc?
Do they have trees, animals and house like ours?
Encourage them to use their imagination to draw, paint, record in
their chosen medium what their ideas for Elf land are, the more
abstract the better. These pictures could then be scanned into the
computer for children to give short presentations on to explain their
ideas.
DT ideas
Mask making
L.O. 2d. To assemble, join and combine materials and components.
The actors in the play were able to play various characters by the
use of masks and hats. Children will love to design their own Elf
masks and then use these designs to follow and assemble.
Here are some links to free mask templates that children can use
straight away or as templates to draw and cut round.
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/mask_templates.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/printable/stories/colour/elvesshoemaker/fullsiz
e_elvesshoemaker/page10.gif
Hat making
Similarly to the mask making, children might enjoy designing a hat,
to represent one of the Elves or one of the Shoemakers. Possibly
making the model out of card or practice their sewing skills and
making them out of fabric.
Design shoes
L.O. 1b. develop ideas by shaping materials and putting together components.
Children can design and make simple shoes in the style of flip
flops. They will have opportunity to plan their ideas, experience
various materials, their properties and suitability. Finally they will
be able to make their shoes according to their plans and evaluate.
Instructions to make
flip flops
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/flip_flops_craft.htm
Useful sites
Story on the BBC website to read or print.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories/colour/elvesshoemaker.shtml
Elves and the shoemaker visual aids and shoe shop role play from
Sparkle box. http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/cll/fairy/elves.html
http://z.about.com/d/familycrafts/1/0/7/m/colelfrun.gif