JabberTalky Alden Phelps

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JabberTalky Alden Phelps Alden serves up zany songs and zippy guitar-ifications while students gleefully sing along to Ted the Rhino and Be Careful with My Mega-Droid Robot.

1 JabberTalky Alden Phelps Alden serves up zany songs and zippy guitar-ifications while students gleefully sing along to Ted the Rhino and Be Careful with My Mega-Droid Robot. Songs and fast-paced word games explore writing concepts including simile, metaphor and point of view. Through witty lyrics and tongue-twisting lines, students are exposed to the joy of language.

2 Please pass along the attached teacher program guide to all participating classrooms. Setup Requirements A cleared performance space with adequate light Access to an electric outlet near the performance area No interruptions during the performance (bells, announcements, etc.) Artist Arrival Time 60 minutes prior to performance Suggested Introduction Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, let s give a warm welcome to Alden Phelps and his groovy guitar as he presents... JabberTalky: Playing with Words! Inclement Weather DON T WORRY! Artists will follow school closings/delays, and will work with you to reschedule the performance if necessary. Young Audiences Contact Number After Hours / Emergency Number Call and follow the prompts to be connected with a staff member on call.

Artist Bio Inside this guide: Artist Bio Program Description Maryland State Curriculum Connectors Core Curriculum Connectors Vocabulary List of Resources Pre- and Post- Performance Activities

3 Artist Bio Inside this guide: Artist Bio Program Description Maryland State Curriculum Connectors Core Curriculum Connectors Vocabulary List of Resources Pre- and Post- Performance Activities Discussion Questions Alden Phelps is an artist and musician with over 20 years experience as a performer. He has performed at The National Theater, First Night Annapolis, Fells Point Festival, Columbia Festival of the Arts, Howard County Center for the Arts, Reisterstown Festival, Syracuse University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Gordon Center,Gaithersburg Book Festival, Harborplace Summer Children's Theatre Programs, libraries, and many multi-day workshops in elementary, middle, and high schools in the DelMarVa area. A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, Alden co-founded Open Space Arts center in 1989, where, for the next 14 years, he wrote and performed stage plays, musicals, and puppet productions. His latest CD of children's music is called Totally Attached to His Head.

Program Description Alden serves up zany songs and zippy guitar-ifications while students gleefully sing along to Ted the Rhino and Be Careful with My Mega-Droid Robot.

4 Program Description Alden serves up zany songs and zippy guitar-ifications while students gleefully sing along to Ted the Rhino and Be Careful with My Mega-Droid Robot. Songs and fast-paced word games explore writing concepts including simile, metaphor and point of view. With witty lyrics and tongue-twisting lines, students are exposed to the joy of language. Fun songs that were musically appropriate for pre-kindergarten to second grade, well as great science and social studies connections. Jessica, Music Teacher, Oakdale Elementary

5 Maryland State Curriculum Connectors Fine Arts Content Standard in MUSIC 1.0 Perceiving and Responding: Aesthetic Education Students will demonstrate the ability to perceive, perform, and respond to music. Common Core Standard Connectors CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

6 Vocabulary Point of View: In writing, point of view refers to the person telling the story. Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. Simile: A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. Rhyming Dictionary: A book that lists words and all equivalent words with corresponding sounds between the endings of those words. Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle). List of Resources WEBSITES Learn more about Alden Phelps, see his artwork, purchase his CD, Totally Attached to His Head, him questions, and find the answers to his word games at: Ogden Nash: Clever funny poetry with word play and puns. Free online poetry database at: Dan Zanes: His albums like Parades and Panoramas have lots of charming old songs performed with an eclectic band and a home-grown sound. See They Might Be Giants: Unique songs with creative instrumentation and non-sequitur lyrics. See A useful online rhyming dictionary for student and teacher use at:

7 Pre-Performance Activities Create a flip-chart that defines and gives examples of various types of figurative language/vocabulary from the assembly (ie. point of view, metaphor, onomatopoeia, simile, rhyming dictionary). Create a silly rhyming song using the names of the students in the classroom. Rhyme Challenge: Using a rhyming dictionary, have students find pairs of rhyming words and then challenge others to improvise a song or poem on the spot using those words. Post-Performance Activities Play Hogwash: Students are formed into groups of 5-8. In each group, each student should get a Stuff for Students sheet, but you've done something first: for each word, you hand-wrote the true definition on one of the sheets. So in a group, Bobby might have the definition to #1, Lisa the definition for #2, etc. Students shouldn't peek at others' sheets. You have all the definitions (see them below). Start the game: Do one word at a time. Each student must write a phony but convincing sounding definition for that word on his/her paper. Students in the group, then, one at a time, read their definitions to each other. The student who had the real definition on her sheet reads it, too, as if she wrote it. After hearing them all, each student votes for the one s/he thinks is the correct definition. Those who guess the correct definition get a point, and those who fooled someone with their phony definition get a point for each person they fooled. Here are the definitions for you to lead the game with them: 1. sprag sprøg ; noun: Brakes to stop a bike. 2. flivver ˈflivər; noun: A cheap car. 3. spahi ˈspähē spa:hi: noun (historical): A Turkish soldier. 4. cricoid ˈkrīˌkoid ; noun: Cartilage in your throat. 5. zeugma ˈzooōgmə ; noun: A word with two meanings. 6. alee əˈlē adverb and adjective: On the side of a ship that is sheltered from the wind. 7. boronia bəˈrōnēə ; noun: An Australian perfume shrub. 8. diastema ˌdīəˈstēmə ; noun: A gap between your front teeth. 9. hryvna ˈ(h)rivnyə ; noun: Ukrainian money. 10. vinca ˈvi ng kə ; noun: A garden plant. 11. jabiru ˈjabəˌroō ; noun: A South American stork. 12. kasha ˈkä sh ə ; noun: Cooked buckwheat. 13. miasma mīˈazmə; mē- ; noun: A bad smell. 14. pyx piks ; noun: A British money box.

8 Post-Performance Activities (continued) Use the Vocabulary Resource Sheet to define and discuss key concepts from the program. Make a list of rhyming words and/or onomatopoeia words. Invent-A-Word: Students invent a new word for the following things: The sound of a person accidentally sitting on a plate of spaghetti. The sound of a gallon of paint spilled on a carpet. The feeling of cool grass on your bare feet on a spring day. The way a street looks late at night. One way to approach this challenge is to collect several words that are related to the idea and then splice two together to make a new word. Other cool word games: Apples to Apples, Scattergories, Outburst, Scrabble, Quiddler Exit Ticket: Make a list of as many rhyming pairs are you can in 2 minutes. Classroom Discussion Questions What are some common words that you think sound funny? Have you ever invented your own word? Try combining the names of two different animals. What would the new animal be called?

9 Sample Lesson Plan YOUNG AUDIENCES OF MARYLAND Lesson Title: JabberTalky: The Autobiography of Anything Artist s Name: Alden Phelps Teacher s Name: School: Grade: Fine Arts Standard: Theatre Standard: Standard 3.0 Creative Expression and Production Students will demonstrate the ability to apply theatrical knowledge, principles, and practices to collaborative theatre presentations (story telling). Objective C: Identify formal elements of performance to use in creating improvisational scenes that illustrate character, setting, and action based on original or given ideas. Integrated Content Area: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace. Lesson Objective: Students tell stories from the point of view of an inanimate object. Introduction/ Motivation Teacher: Everything has a story! Begin to take each of the objects out of a bag in front of the students. This shoe has a story. The factory worker who made the shoe has a story. This match has a story. The tree in which this match was made from has a story. Etc. Continue this routine with each of the objects. Shoe Piece of paper Match Rubber Band Paper Clip Woolen Socks

10 Modeling (10 min): Have the students quickly vote using a show of hands on which object that they would like to create a story about together. Match! Let s pretend this match could talk to us! What would its story be? How would it feel? Where did it come from? Is it a boy or a girl? Begin to improvise and use details from the students to create and tell a story from the point of view of the match. Now let s pretend we re the TREE where the wood came from to use the match. How would the tree feel toward the match? Allow the students to turn and talk and again re-create a story from this different point of view. Guided Practice (10 min): Students will work in collaborative groups with one of the objects. Imagine the life story of each of those "things." Describe their history backwards through the personal use, purchase, manufacture, to original natural resources from which it or its components were made. Personify the thing and tell its story like an autobiography. Example: 1. Tell the tale of a piece of newspaper back to the tree in the forest. 2. Tell the tale of a plastic toy's life, tracing its history back to the oil that became plastic and then back to the prehistoric plants that created the oil. Students should incorporate word play in their stories! Personification will happen naturally as inanimate objects will take the form of talking creatures! Challenge students to use alliteration, similes, rhyming, etc. If time allows, groups can switch objects and/or share stories with another group. Independent Practice (10 min): Now that we ve practiced as a whole group and in our collaborative groups, let s put our individual minds to work! Students choose their own object: one they haven t done from the bag, an item from the room, their favorite stuffed animal at home, etc. Using writing journals, students should write a short story from the object s point of view. Students should try to use some of the following word/language components as learned in the Jabbertalky assembly: rhyming, similes, alliteration, metaphors, dialogue, etc. Allow students 8-10 minutes of independent time to write. Students may share with a partner or their favorite line from their story with the whole class, depending on time constraints.

11 Assessment/Closer (5 min): Let s reflect! What made this type of writing hard? Why was this type of writing fun? What was your favorite object to use and why? Vocabulary Point of view, purchase, manufacture, resources, personification, alliteration, simile, metaphor Materials Collection of objects to use for writing inspiration: sneaker, match, newspaper, rubberband, paperclip, socks, etc. Be creative! Writing notebooks or lined paper for each student Resources - Free online rhyming dictionary

Program Description. Contact Young Audiences for more information on this and other programs

Program Description. Contact Young Audiences for more information on this and other programs ASSEMBLY DATE: ASSEMBLY TIME: FOR STUDENTS IN: Write On, Then Say Word! Introduction In his assembly, Femi the DriFish displays various styles of performing spoken-word poetry and discusses numerous subject