ME...JANE: D Ll E S a B the DREAMS & ADVENTURES of YOUNG JANE GOODALL
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RESOURCE GUIDE cDonnell & ck M Aaro tri yrics b n P Pa nd L y An os y c a dy n b si M er d u by Patri it e M ook ck to t b M n p e cD a th o d n n n A o e ME...JANE: d ll e s a B THE DREAMS & ADVENTURES OF YOUNG JANE GOODALL Oct. 19-Nov. 17, 2019 • Newmark Theatre About This Guide leads the way in this musical portrayal of Jane’s Oregon Children’s Theatre creates teacher resource childhood, encouraging boys and girls of all ages to guides for our mainstage shows with the intention pursue their ambitions in the face of adversity. to help teachers enhance the field trip experience for their students by engaging further with the content of Commissioned by the Kennedy Center in Washing- the show. We seek to provide lesson plans and ton, DC, childhood imagination leads the way in this activities that can be facilitated easily and with minimal musical portrayal of Jane’s lifelong love of animals, preparation, that tie in with the standard curriculum, starting with backyard chickens, hungry squirrels, and and that engage different abilities and imaginations. neighborhood dogs. Defying expectations of what girls “should” do, Jane’s natural curiosity leads her (and In these activities we also offer opportunities to Jubilee) all the way to the land of her dreams: living explore social and emotional skills, as are described amongst the chimpanzees in the jungles of Africa. by Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). We highlight these themes in the play in our discussion questions and offer activities Big Ideas • Curiosity can lead to important that help students build these skills. These standards discoveries. can be found throughout this guide in yellow. • Observing the natural world helps you learn about yourself and others. About the Show • Achieving your goals requires Before she was an internationally renowned natu- hard work and perseverance. ralist, conservationalist, and activist, Jane Goodall was a young girl with big aspirations—and a stuffed • Believe in your dreams even when chimpanzee named Jubilee. Journey into Jane’s vivid others try and discourage you. daydreams as she and Jubilee eat breakfast on the • Some great things take time. Sahara, feel the ground shake during the Great Be patient. Migration on the Serengeti, and smell the air on the • There are amazing things to shores of Lake Tanganyika. Childhood imagination 1 discover “right in your own backyard.” RESOURCE GUIDE About the About Jane Book Author Goodall Patrick McDonnell created Jane Goodall was born on the comic strip, MUTTS, April 3, 1934, in London, En- which debuted in 1994 gland. At the young age of 26, and now appears in over she followed her passion for 700 newspapers in 22 animals and Africa to Gombe, countries. He won The Tanzania, where she began her National Cartoonists landmark study of chimpanzees Society’s highest honor, The Reuben, in 1999. A in the wild—immersing herself in their New York Times bestselling author, his children’s habitat as a neighbor rather than a distant observer. books The Gift of Nothing and the Caldecott Honor Her discovery in 1960 that chimpanzees make and winning Me...Jane were both adapted as musicals use tools rocked the scientific world and redefined the for the Kennedy Center stage. McDonnell has relationship between humans and animals. collaborated with Eckhart Tolle on Guardians of Being: Spiritual Teachings from Our Dogs and Cats, and In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute with poet Daniel Ladinsky for Darling I Love You. A (JGI) to advance her work around the world and for lifelong animal welfare advocate, he is a member of generations to come. JGI continues to field research the Board of Directors for The Fund for Animals. at Gombe and builds on Dr. Goodall’s innovative McDonnell is also on the board for The Charles M. approach to conservation, which recognizes the Schulz Museum. central role that people play in the well-being of animals and the environment. In 1991, she founded Roots & Shoots, a global program that guides young people in nearly 100 countries in becoming conser- vation activists and leaders in their daily lives. Today, Dr. Goodall travels the world, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees, environmental crises and her reasons for hope. In her books and speeches, she emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things and the collective power of the individual action. Dr. Goodall is a UN Messenger of Peace and Dame Commander of the British Empire. 2 RESOURCE GUIDE Before the Show Building on the Book RI.2-3.1 Discussion Questions Me...Jane is not a very long SL.K-3.1,RI.2-3.1 book, and there’s not a • Jane knows a lot about animals! She reads and lot of spoken dialogue. In thinks about animals all of the time. Is there anything order to make it fun and you know a lot about that other people might not? Is exciting for the stage, the there anything you spend a lot of time doing or learn- creators used their imagi- ing? Either with a partner or with the class, share a nations to add to the story. little bit about something you know a lot about. When you watch the play, • Jane dreams about going to Africa. Where is the you’ll see characters and farthest away place you’ve been? Is there a place you conversations that don’t know of that you’d be excited to visit? exist in the book, and see more of the world that • Jane Goodall grew up to become a primatologist, young Jane grows up in. which means she studied primates, like monkeys, chimps, and humans. Is there something you are look- For the following activity, invite students to build ing forward to doing when you’re older? What would on the current story as a playwright might, by either you have to learn before you could do those things? writing a short “scene” or drawing a picture that ex- pands on what we already know and see in the book. • What are some things you are interested in that If needed, you can offer the following prompts: you can learn more about? Pick a page in the book. What if you had to make a • The Tarzan books were very important to Jane whole story out of that one page? because they were about apes, and featured a character named “Jane.” Are there books that are • Who would the characters be? Could there be important to you? What do you think makes it any new characters we haven’t met yet? Who else interesting to you? might be in Jane’s life, or around where she is exploring? • Jane has to be very patient as she observes the hen laying eggs. What are situations where you • What might these characters talk about? What need patience? would they have to discuss? Does Jane have ques- tions she’d like to ask? Do any animals or people Vocabulary have questions for Jane? Or things they might want Phenomenon (noun) – someone or something that from her? is uniquely remarkable or impressive. • What might happen during the story that we Realistic (adjective) – based on reality rather than don’t see? For instance, if Jane spends a long time fantasy or imagination. in the chicken coop, what might she do if she got Secretary (noun) – a person whose job is to assist bored? What would she do to entertain herself? another person in the office. • Where might Jane go that we don’t see in the Air Hostess (noun) – a female flight attendant (this book? What might happen before the book starts, term is no longer used in our time – we just say flight after the book ends, or somewhere in the middle? attendant!) Pursue (verb) – to chase after something, like your dream! 3 RESOURCE GUIDE Bringing the Book to Life RL.K-3.7 Teacher tip: One useful way to do this is to have Learning Objective: Engages whole body and a sound effect every time there is any punc- imagination while practicing focus and self-regula- tuation, or the end of a sentence. However, we tion. Focuses on collaboration, expressive reading, encourage that the only actual words spoke are creative/physical storytelling, sharing. from the original text, though it can be divided 1. Read the book aloud to the class. Afterward, up and spoken by as many people as they like (for instance, three trees could all say “one day” ask students what scenes or pictures they liked or at the same time, OR the trees could say “one found interesting. day, one day, one day” one at a time, one after 2. Tell the students that we are going to perform another). We want to encourage students to the book like a play, with the entire class creating think creatively about building the scene, using all of the elements – the environment, the dia- their bodies, and working together. Those things logue, and the characters. The idea is to have a tend to fall away when students start to add many people get to participate as possible, so we their own dialogue. will work together as a class to think of what might be in the scene that others can perform. 3. Pick one of those scenes to start with and ask Reflection Questions the class to name everything they can think of that • What did we have to do to tell the story needs to be in the scene.