Does
your school require each grade level to deliver some sort of performance to the rest of the school and parents? My
school does and we are always given the liberty to choose our theme. In pre-k, we love to put together a circus
performance for our school and our parents. My students have a lot of fun, my parents love it, and I love every hard-working minute of it!
First
of all, let me tell you that it is a lot of work. Once you’ve put it together once though, each
year that you do it, it becomes easier.
The first year I did this, I saved a sample of every costume with
instructions. I have compiled all of my notes and instructions into this Circus unit. If I've missed anything, I'd be more than happy to add any additional instructions if needed.
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| The Circus |
This
is a great activity for integrating English speaking students with bilingual or
ESL students. It gives them a great
opportunity for them to work together and communicate in an environment outside of recess.
In
case you need to justify to an administrator the importance and benefits of
having your students participate in this activity, I have listed some for you:
*Behavior
Control- Students will need to learn to behave during the whole performance
*Control
of Attention-Students will gradually need to
increase their attention span to 30 minutes
*Social
Competence Skills-Students will learn to work with
each other
*Listening
Comprehension Skills-Students
will need to listen to a continuous set of instructions given by the teacher
*Speaking
(Conversation) Skills-Students will need to speak to
each other as they work in small groups
*Speech
Production Skills-Students will practice their
role/song to make it understandable
*People,
Past and Present Skills
*Art
Skills-Students will be creative
decorating their costume
*Music
Skills-Students will sing the songs before each act
*Dramatic
Expression Skills-Each student will have a role to
play during The Circus performance
*Gross
Motor Development Skills-Students will be marching in and
taking their place and then participating in their role
*Fine–Motor
Development Skills-Students
will be decorating their costume with sequins and small objects
As
you can tell, there are many reasons for putting together a circus
performance. In this Circus unit, I have
included everything you need for you to put together your own circus
performance. It can also be easily adapted for other grade levels if needed. I have included the
bilingual part as well in case you would like to collaborate with a bilingual
teacher. Hope you find it useful!
Good
luck and happy planning!
Angie
