2013-326 Arts - The Arts Center Spring 2013 Art Grant Agreement $1,500

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PRE-PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION 1. If time permits, read Junie B, First Grader (at last!), Junie B, Boss of Lunch, and/or Junie 13, One- Man Band with your class. (Our show is based very closely on these books, and the students will enjoy hearing familiar dialogue and seeing the situations depicted in the books in our show.) Explain that they will see a musical (a live dramatic presentation that uses dialogue, songs, and dancing) to tell a story based on these books. What do students expect of the live performance after reading the books? 2. Junie B. Jones has a very unique way of speaking. She adds many parenthetical statements to the end of sentences, sometimes uses malapropisms (incorrect usage of a word), and occasionally uses poor grammar (much of this has improved in first grade, since the early kindergarten books). While students may find her use of language humorous, stress that it is not correct. While reading the books, you may ask them to identify Junie's grammatically incorrect phrases, and as a follow-up, you may use the attached worksheet: Junie-Speak 1.01 (appropriate for grades 2 and up). 3. Throughout the show, Junie B Jones keeps a "top-secret personal beeswax" journal, in which she writes about everything she says and does, and also her feelings, drawing, and anything else she can imagine. Do any of your students keep journals? What kinds of things do they write in them? Are their journals private? 4. In our play, there are fewer actors than characters. Ask your students to watch closely to see if they can tell which actors play more than one role (for example: Mr. Scary is also Mr. Woo;, Junie's father, and Gladys Gutzman.) POST-PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION 1. As soon as possible after the performance, engage your students in conversation about the production. How did the musical differ from the books? How were they similar? Discuss the fact that adult actors played children —why do they think the casting was done in this way? Why wasn't Junie's dog Tickle in the show? Why do they think some episodes from the book were omitted in the play? Who was their favorite character and why? 2. Junie B has to acclimate herself to many changes in first grade: a new teacher, a new bus friend, and new glasses. What kind of changes have the students experienced (for example, getting a new baby in the family, or moving to a different city or school)? Compare their adventures to Junie B's. Can change be good? Bad? Both at the same time? 3. When she gets her new glasses, Junie B worries that no one will like her because of the way she looks, and that no one will want to be her friend. She doesn't want to be different from her classmates (who in fact, are all unique in their own way!) Talk about Junie B's schoolmates and the things that make them special. For example: Sheldon is allergic to glue, dairy, and artificial meat; Camille and Chenille are twins; Herb is the "new kid" at school; Jose can speak Spanish. List some ways that being different can be good — and ways that having things in common can be good. 4. When Junie B helps Gladys Gutzman in the school cafeteria, she doesn't like the smell of lunch, and loudly announces it as "tuna noodle stinkle." What do your students do when they are asked to eat something that smells or looks unusual? Have they ever eaten something that looked or smelled questionable, but discovered they loved it? How about other nerve-racking new experiences — like the diving board at the pool or going in an airplane for the first time? How did your students feel before, during, and after these adventures?