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Christmas Peter Pan Classroom Ideas
Lesson Ideas
– A Christmas Peter Pan
The classic tale of Peter Pan
explores the world of fantasy and imagination. The popular story,
also captured on film and written by James Matthew Barrie in 1904,
has captivated audiences for decades. Take your students on a journey
of exploration with Peter Pan and the gang through the world of
Neverland. Adapt a lesson plan for K-12 students from math to
physical education with Peter Pan classroom activities.
Walk the Plank Vocabulary
The menace of the story of
Peter Pan is the pirate, Captain Hook. Gather your students and
invite them to test their vocabulary knowledge aboard Hook's plank.
You can create a plank out of cardboard or wood or alternatively use
tape or other items to identify the tip of the plank. Using words
from the book like "engrossed," "spinster" and
"subtle," ask the students either how to spell or define
terms. Every mistake means one step closer to the edge of the plank.
After hitting the edge students are eliminated from the game until
there is one player left.
Neverland Math
Create mystical math questions
for your students to solve using the Peter Pan theme. For younger
grades stick to simpler equations using addition and subtraction. For
example, if Peter Pan has three wishes and he uses one, how many does
he have left? For higher level students you can create tougher
questions using multiplication, division and word problems. For
example, if Captain Hook has a treasure chest with 100 pieces of gold
and Peter Pan takes half but drops half while getting away, how much
gold does Peter bring back to Wendy?
Hook's Treasure Hunt
Take your students on a hunt
around the world to locate Hook's treasure. All you need is a map or
globe of the world and a few stickers to mark the spot. You can
perform this activity one of two ways. One requires you to mark the
map prior to the game and have the children identify the city and/or
country of each mark. You may also present the clean map or globe to
the class and name cities or countries that the students must locate
and mark on the map.
Peter Pan
Keep your students active with
physical activities based on Peter Pan. For younger students, play a
variation of Duck, Duck, Goose entitled Peter, Peter, Pan. Seat the
kids in a circle with one child, known as Captain Hook, walking
around lightly tapping the heads of his peers exclaiming
"Peter" until he lands on the one he wishes to race. He
must exclaim "Pan" when tapping the head to initiate the
race. The two students, Peter and Hook, must run around the circle.
If Peter manages to tag Hook before he sits in Peter’s spot in
the circle, the student playing Peter now plays Hook and gets to tap
heads around the circle.
DISCUSSING THE
PLAY, CHARACTERS, IDEAS, ETC.
SNOW FAIRIES:
Ask the class to pretend that they are snow fairies. What is
your name and what do you look like? Where do you live and
why? Do you have a magic wand, or could your special powers be
in your shoe or your hat? What are your magical powers?
If the sun was shining brightly on you, what would you do? Show
how you would do it.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS:
Which are your favorite Christmas Carols and why? Have
everyone sing a Christmas Carol. Now pretend you are a pirate
singing the song. What words would you change to make it sound
more like a pirate?
CAPTAIN HOOK
TREASURE MAP: Choose Christmas tree ornaments to be
treasures. Hide them on the around the school or on the
playground and let the children find them like an Easter egg
hunt. Have them draw a map from their desk to the place where
they found the treasure. Look at places on a map or a globe
where pirates once sailed such as the Caribbean and Spain. Find
your home on the map and trace the way to the nearest port and then
to the place of the pirates’ origin.
SANTA ELVES:
If you were an elf what would your name be and what kind of toy
would you make? What kind of materials would you use?
Paper, wood, plastic, glue? What tools would you
use? Are these in your garage at home or would you need to
invent special magical tool? How long do you think it would take you
to make such a toy? Who would you give your toy to? Draw
picture of the toy you would like to give your best friend or family member.
CROCODILE:
Have everyone draw a picture of a crocodile. How wide is your
crocodiles mouth, how big are his teeth? What does he like to
eat the best? Discuss the difference between crocodiles and
alligators. Look up where they live and find them on a
map. Do you think a crocodile would rather live in a zoo or in
the sea?
PIRATE’S SHIP:
Draw a picture of a pirate ships and identify the various parts of
the ship: main deck, rigging, mast, sails, port, starboard,
bow, stern. Pretend that you are a pirate and you are being
attacked by another ship. What kind of treasure do you have on
board and what will you do to protect it? Pretend the Captain
is a villain like Captain Hook and stage a mutiny.
Classroom
Activities for Kid Frankenstein
Talk, Write and
Perform Kid Frankenstein
Mad Scientist:
The idea of the Mad Scientist is that the scientist loves his work
so much he takes it too far. Think of other professions,
especially those you aspire to be. Talk about what can go wrong
when someone takes their ambitions a little too far.
Suggestions: Astronaut, Baker, Football Player, Librarian, School Bus Driver.
Create Your Own
Silly Monster: Think of all things you
think are funny. Tutus, chickens, top hats, tricycles, wigs,
even things from your freezer or refrigerator. After you have
named these things, draw your own monster incorporating these objects
as part of the monster. For instance, your monster may have a
beak like a chicken and wear a tutu and a top hat. What magical
powers does your silly monster have?
Create Your Own Laboratory:
Have each student bring in or draw a picture of something in their
own home that could become a part of a magical laboratory where
anything can happen. Look for objects with electric cords,
knobs, wheels, dials, buttons, etc. Pretend the object has a
magic power. Demonstrate that power to the class.
Now have students put their magic objects together to make a
laboratory. Demonstrate your laboratory’s process and what
is the outcome of the function? Frankie chose to
make a Frankenstein monster in his laboratory. What would you
like to make?
"Crazy am I? We'll see if
I'm crazy or not!" - Mad Scientist Frankie Stein in ArtReach's
play 'Kid Frankenstein'!
Youth Summer Theatre Program,
Grand Rapids, MN
Dress as Monsters:
What monsters are your favorites? Have kids come to school
dressed as their favorite monster. This can be especially fun
on the day of the performance of Kid Frankenstein – especially
if it’s around Halloween!
Real Life Monsters:
Monsters are just a figment of our imaginations. Monsters come
from people looking at real creatures and assigning them super
powers. Think about real life animals and natural objects
like gnarly trees and clouds in the sky. Imagine that you see
monsters in these objects that come to life. What do they look
like? What powers do they have?
Frankenstein at
the Movies! Show classic movies such as
Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein and Young
Frankenstein. If you are short on time or wish to cut out
certain scenes, just show excerpts. Pop some
popcorn! Throw blankets on the floor and let kids sit on
the floor. Tell them if they get too scared to grab each
other and scream their heads off! That’s part of the
fun. And remind them that nothing in the movie is real.
Afterwards talk about scary movies and how to keep from getting too
scared by them.
"Logic
will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
-- Albert Einstein
