The Halloween Tree Guide

Pre-Play

The Halloween Tree: Cross-Curricular Themes and Concepts As a class, discuss the following themes and concepts from The Halloween Tree to help familiarize your students with them. Try and focus the discussion on the meaning of each theme/concept. When the discussion is complete, ask students to match the theme/concept with its definition.

 Culture  Heroism  Friendship  Loyalty  Cross-Cultural Acceptance  Openness  Life  Death  Cultural Celebrations  World History

You may wish to write these themes and concepts down on a white board so that students can write them down before they research and discuss their definitions.

Some questions to help the discussion get started:  What is the meaning of the following word? (Ask students to look up the words to get the real definition)  Do you agree with that meaning or is it outdated?  Can you think of an example of it?  A lot of these terms interrelate, can you provide an example of some that interrelate and how?

To further enhance your students understanding of the themes/concepts in The Halloween Tree place them in small groups and assign each a theme/concept to research and explore. While exploring their theme/concept, they should focus on finding real-life examples (from reputable sources) of how the theme/concept can be both positive and negative (for example: body image and how the media can make us feel bad or good about our bodies).

Each group will discuss the examples they have found and will brainstorm pros and cons of the theme/concept.

Each student will then be responsible for making their own word cloud based on what they have learnt from their exploration, as well as writing about it from either their personal perspective or how they have turned a con(s) of the theme into a positive (i.e. turning your differences into something that people admire, respect or don’t even notice as ‘different’).

Alternate Activity: Random Theme On separate pieces of paper, write down each theme and concept listed above and place them in a hat. Students will then pick a theme/concept out of the hat (have them write down what they pulled out and then place the original back in the hat for other students).

Once everyone has pulled out a theme/concept, they will then get more acquainted with it by exploring it through creative writing. For instance, if a student pulled out “cultural differences” they may choose to write a short story exploring cultural differences. It’s entirely up to them and how creative they can be!

Play Vocabulary Before attending The Halloween Tree, help familiarize your students with some of the vocabulary from the play by dragging the word to its correct definition:

 Gargoyle  Ravine  Feast  Goblin  Sarcophagus  Tomb  Pyramids  Samhain  Torch  Scythe  Pagans  Mystery

Cross-Curricular Q&A The following questions will assist in preparing your students for their viewing of Instant. Each question has a theme or concept in it from the play. The question(s) related to it begin to tie the theme/concept with the content of Water Weight.

Ask students to answer the random question they are given. Their response can be in either the written form or via art piece. They can be as creative as they wish to get their point across and should not be restricted by type of art or genre of writing.

1. Do you think Halloween is celebrated differently across the world? In different cultures? Research and explain your answer. 2. How far would you go to save a friend? Write an honest and in-depth account of how far you’d go to save a friend’s life. 3. Do you think Halloween has changed over time? Choose an era or century of your choice and explore how Halloween was celebrated. 4. What makes a hero? Which characteristics make someone a hero? Can you be a hero and a zero at the same time? Explain. 5. What is an adaptation? Define adaptation. Have you ever seen or read an adaptation? If so, what was it? Which version did you enjoy better? Explain.

Play

The Halloween Tree: A Review Immediately after seeing The Halloween Tree, discuss it with your class, even if you’re on the bus back to school. The purpose of doing this is twofold: to garner the students’ immediate impressions and also to capitalize on the concept of ‘instant’.

Some questions to help prompt discussion:  Did they enjoy the play?  What was the general feeling of the play?  Who was their favourite character? Why?  Did they have a favourite or least favourite scene? Why?  What types of reactions did you have to the play? Did it seem realistic?  Did any scenes or moments in the play stand out? Why or why not?

With the initial impressions of the play explored, move the discussion a bit deeper.

Question to ask:  What was The Halloween Tree about? Describe.  What was the main concept or point of The Halloween Tree? Explain.  Can you relate to it? Why or why not?  Did The Halloween Tree seem like a believable real-life story to you? Why or why not?  What did you think of the ending of the play?  Discuss the various friends in the play. Can you name them?  What did you think of Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud when the play started? Did your opinion of him change at all by the end?

When the discussion is complete, ask students to write a review of The Halloween Tree Instead of writing a standard review, ask them to be creative in how they approach this.

Some ideas:  Choose a character from the play and write a journal entry from their perspective  Create a promotional campaign for the play (including posters/pamphlets, press release etc…)  Write a letter to Amanda Kellock (playwright) or Geordie Productions  Write a newspaper human interest story about one of the characters in the play  Write a song that describes your thoughts on the play  Write a pitch for the play to be turned into a movie including casting info.  Create a comic book

When they’re done, ask students to share their creative reviews with the class.

Analytical Essay: The Play vs The Book As a class readThe Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. How does it compare to the play your students just saw? Ask them to write a short review comparing and contrasting the book from the play.

Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud: An analysis As a class discuss Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud.

Some questions to help prompt discussion:  Describe Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud  Have the children ever met Mr. Moundshroud before today?  Where does Mr. Moundshroud come from?  What is Mr. Moundshroud’s purpose in The Halloween Tree?  Describe Pipkin’s relationship with Mr. Moundshroud  Describe Moundshroud’s relationship with the other children in The Halloween Tree?

Instead of writing a typical character analysis, ask your students to turn on their imaginations to write a short story character analysis of next year’s Halloween with Mr. Moundshroud. Does he meet new kids? Do Tom, Sally et al. return to his house the following Halloween? If so, what happens?

Their imaginations can run wild with the only caveat being that they must somehow incorporate a character analysis of Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud into their short story.

Test Your Knowledge!

Beginners (or Round 1) Q1: What is Pipkin’s first name?  Fred  Billie  Joe  James  Justin

Q2: The Halloween Tree had hundreds of ______on it:  Jack-o-lanterns  Bats  Brooms  Candles  Apples

Q3: Which costume is worn by one of the children?  A dragon  A cowboy  A warlock  A mummy  A dinosaur Q4: Which character is not part of The Halloween Tree?  Josie  Billie  Tom  Sally  Fred

Q5: What do the children give to Moundshroud for Pipkin’s life?  Some chocolate  Fred’s life  All of their candy  Billie’s broomstick  A year of each of their lives

Bonus question: Name the playwright for The Halloween Tree: Amanda Kellock

Advanced (or Round 2) Q1: What is Moundshroud’s first name?  Clarisse  Moundshroud  Sarapace  Carapace  Clairvoyant

Q2: In Egypt, the children learn that Osiris is King of ______.  The Sun  The Living  Food  War  The Dead

Q3: Who do the children meet in the British Isles?  Samhain  Osiris  Moundshroud  Romans  Gargoyles

Q4: Sugar Skulls are part of which celebration?  New Year’s Eve  St. Patrick’s Day  Valentine’s Day  Day of the Dead  Halloween

Q5: According to Moundshroud, what does the word ‘witch’ really mean?  Spells  Knowledge  Broomstick  Soothsayer  Mystic

Bonus question: Who wrote the novel The Halloween Tree? Ray Bradbury.

Cross-Curricular Themes

Halloween Scavenger Hunt Use the internet and your web sleuthing skills to answer the following questions. Make sure to provide links to your sources.

1. Where does the name Halloween come from? 2. Who is Osiris? 3. Who is Samhain? 4. Which country celebrates Day of the Dead? 5. Can you find a picture of a sugar skull? Place it here. 6. What was November 1st called in Roman times? 7. What was Halloween called on the Ancient British Isles (Celtic times)? 8. What does the word ‘witch’ really mean? 9. Find and explain one symbol of Halloween 10. Find and explain your favourite symbol of Halloween

Halloween Around the World Students will randomly be assigned a country to research its Halloween celebrations.

Once a student has their country to research, they will conduct an online web search to fill in their table (they must include the urls for their answers):

Country Canada (example) Site Source Name of celebration

Is Halloween celebrated?

Dates of celebration

Historical aspects of celebration

How is it celebrated?

List any treats or tricks related to this celebration

Explain any customs and/or traditions related to this celebration

Explain any costumes or characters worn for this celebration