First Grade

First grade will have three projects:

1. Masks

2. Acting out a story

3. Namaste

MASKS

The masks will be an unstructed activity as part of Theatre Centers on Fridays. Outlines of Himalayan style masks will be copied onto cardstock. Pictures of actual masks will be available for them to see, as well as a mask from Nepal. Students will color them the outlined ones, cut them out, and tape them to a sentence strip that has been sized to fit their head and taped.

Acting

Students will be read or told one of the Jatakas or Folktales which they will rehearse and then act for the class in small groups. It will be done similarly to the kindergarten activity and will possibly be the same story, but they don't usually need to practice all the parts as a class. (See the kindergarten page for details.)

Stories from Buddha at Bedtime that would work well are:

• The Princesses and the Kingshuk Tree. It's related to the seasons and has four princesses and how they see the tree on their birthdays -- the only time they can see it. It could also be done with four boys (princes). It's similar to the story The Blind Men and the Elephant. The moral is: "What we first see may not always give us the whole picture. A wise person knows that to discover the truth about anything, they must learn from other people's insights as well as their own."
• Two Ducks and a Turtle. Two ducks (geese in some versions) offer to carry a turtle to another pond. He holds onto a stick with his mouth, but falls when he gets mad and tries to talk back to some children making fun of him. As the characters fly, this could be done with puppets, but doesn't have to be. The moral: "All too often we open our mouths in anger without thinking about what might happen next. A wise person thinks before they speak, and if they can't say something kind, they keep silent."
• The Naughty Little Rabbit. He wants to play instead of learning important lessons. Moral: "We can all benefit from listening to the wisdom that others have gained from experience and are kind enough to teach us. A wise person knows that there is a time to play and a time to learn."

Namaste

Students will be read the book Namaste. In groups of about four, they will make up short puppet plays where they use the word.