On Monday and Tuesday we read the story in both Finnish and English, then we watched a video and talked about different scenes in the story and about the characters.
Over the next couple of days we prepared our dramatization. We read the lines a couple of times together, and I played all roles at first (they are not that familiar with using gestures to express themselves, so it’s better if they first watch an adult performing).
I made sure they know I’m going to help them if they can’t remember the lines or what they have to do – the kids are new to dramatization and theatre. It’s important that they enjoy themselves and don’t take it too seriously. They will get better with time, if they are enthusiastic about it and if they happily participate.
Here are the masks I made for the show.
Materials used: felt, pencil, acrylic paint, scissors, white tape (on the back of the felt, so it’s easier to cut it), yarn.
Instructions: First, cut a rectangular piece of felt, big enough for one mask. Then use tape to cover it. Draw the template for the mask on the white tape, then cut it. Use acrylic paint to make the ears, nose, nostrils, and whiskers of the animals. Make a hole on each side of the mask (for the yarn).
That’s it. It took me about half an hour, but I haven’t worked with felt that often.
You can download our version of the story. I wrote it for my 3-4 year-olds, who have been studying English for one year.
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