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The Mystery of the Missing Poodle: A Dramatic Imagination Multi-Arts Adventure

In this ongoing immersive mystery story, students use creativity, storytelling and multiple art forms to help Miranda and her magical rabbit search for their missing poodle.
Meredith J. Berlin
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(432)
Class
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What's included

4 live meetings
3 hrs 40 mins in-class hours
Homework
Optional homework in preparation for class # 2: Draw a picture of an animal you imagine we will meet as we climb the high hill on the island. Maybe you can even find out what the footprint of the animal looks like, and include that in your drawing. There will be an opportunity to share your drawing with your classmates at the beginning of class #2. Optional homework in preparation for class #3: Do a little research on volcanoes. You could read about volcanoes in a book, or try watching this National Geographic Kids video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtkys3-T-Y8. Write down one fact you have learned about volcanoes to read to your friends or draw a picture to remind you of one interesting fact to share with your friends. Optional homework in preparation for class # 4: Choreograph (make up the movements for) a dance to teach your friends that we could perform for Puddles the Poodle to help her understand we want to help her and be her friend. Hint: The dance should should be short and simple enough for your friends to remember, and include no more than three different kinds of movements.

Class Experience

In this class we become characters, move and act out adventures in imaginary environments, and collaborate to come up with and try ideas to solve our mystery.  We will read a different picture book each week, which will give us clues to help solve our mystery.  Students also have opportunities to explore a variety of art forms  as we draw and share our ideas, sing songs, create poems and choreograph dances.  There will also be scientific inquiries, fun facts to learn and social emotional skills to practice along the way. Students will be given the opportunity to continue our creative processes between class sessions and present their work to their classmates if desired.

A typical day in class:
-Greetings and creative warm-ups for the voice, body and imagination which introduce the animals and ways of traveling we will encounter during the day's lesson.
-The instructor reads a letter to the students, which contains background information about our mystery, pictures and instructions from Miranda and her rabbit (a puppet) about how to find them in our imaginary world.
--Step into role and begin our adventure!  This is where we move through imaginary environments, transform ourselves into a variety of characters, and help MIranda and her magical rabbit in their quest to find the missing poodle.  Students will be acting, sharing ideas and knowledge, learning songs or carrying out short scientific investigations and hunting for and discovering clues during this segment.
-We read a picture book related to the adventure, noticing and discussing similarities between the content of the book and our own adventure. 
-Using concepts or information included in the book, students draw and/or write individual ideas about how to proceed in our efforts to solve the mystery. The instructor plays some music during this segment, and we talk about our ideas as we work.  During this time, students can receive help from the instructor sounding out words if they are writing, and will receive encouragement and positive feedback from the instructor and their peers.  When the music stops, we share our work and take at least one suggestion from everyone as we make a plan about how to move forward in our story.  
-We say goodbye to Miranda and her magical rabbit and transition out of our imaginary world, and spend our last few minutes taking turns sharing moments we remember, skills we are proud of using, or things we imagine might occur when we next meet!

Week One
Themes:  Working as a team, schools of fish, colors of the ocean. 
Scientific inquiry:  What makes things float?
Book: "Swimmy" by Leo Lionni

Week Two
Themes: Frogs, volcanoes, showing respect for animals and the natural world.
Song: "The Bear Went over the Mountain"
Book:  "Frog Girl" by Paul Owen Lewis

Week Three
Themes: Identifying trees by the shape of their leaves and the texture of their bark, patience and perseverance.
Investigation:  How do we interpret maps?  How can we make maps that are easy for others to interpret? 
Book: "The Secret Shortcut" by Mark Teague

Week Four
Themes:  Camouflage, kindness and giving new things a try.
Challenge: Riddles and rhymes.
Book: "Picky Mrs. Pickle" by Christine Schneider
We will solve our mystery and find the missing poodle on this day!
Learning Goals
Students will develop arts skills, social skills and confidence as they invent and inhabit an "imaginary elsewhere" in dramatic play.  Arts skills include using our bodies and faces to transform into a character, expressing original ideas through storytelling, drawing, acting, singing and dancing.
This class is also aligned with age-appropriate science learning concepts, such as "Scientists ask questions," "Scientists base their ideas on evidence from the natural world," and "Scientists share their ideas with each other."
learning goal

Other Details

Supply List
Please have supplies on hand for your student to write and/or draw during our class time.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
432reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I love guiding young learners as they discover the power of their imaginations and the possibilities creative drama holds.  There is such freedom in using this art form, in which no idea is wrong, and many roads lead to the solutions we seek.  It is also a fabulous opportunity to integrate science and literature with multiple art forms.  I have been a creative drama teacher for almost 30 years, and an actor and playwright for even longer.  In recent years I have discovered that this type of learning lends itself wonderfully to an interactive online learning experience.  My performing arts skills and teaching experience blossom together joyously as I create these creative drama classes. I look forward to sharing the experience with you!

Reviews

Live Group Class
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$48

for 4 classes
1x per week, 4 weeks
55 min

Completed by 43 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 5-8
3-6 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
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