CLICK CLACK MOO: COWS THAT TYPE.

Adapted from the book CLICK CLACK MOO: COWS THAT TYPE. Text 2000 by Doreen Cronin. Illustrations 2000 by Betsy Lewin. Originally published by Simon & Schuster. Adapted by James E. Grote. Music by George Howe. Lyrics by James E. Grote and George Howe. Used with permission of Pippin Properties, Inc. Educational materials produced by Kristine Rivers at West of the World, and Jenn Wigle, Assistant Branch Manager, Montgomery County Memorial Library System. Main Street Theater, 3400 Main St. Suite 283, Houston, TX 77002 713-524-9196 MainStreetTheater.com 0

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction for Teachers... 2 How Should I Prepare My Students for a Trip to the Theater?... 3 Reading to Your Students... 4 What Does It Take to Put on a Play?... 5 About the Show... 6 About the Author & Illustrator... 7 About the Playwright & Lyricist... 8 Cast of Characters... 9 Vocabulary...10 12 Questions for Discussion and Writing Prompts... 13 Asking Nicely Activity...14 15 They re on the Farm Activity...16 17 Prepositions Activity...18 19 Needs vs. Wants Math Activity...20 21 Electricity Science Activity...22 23 Water Use at Home Science Activity...24 25 At the Farm Crossword Social Studies & Languages Activity...26 27 Easy Homemade Butter Recipe Activity... 28 Further Reading...29 30 1

INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS Welcome to Main Street s Theater for Youth! We hope these supplemental materials will help you integrate your field trip into your classroom curriculum. We ve included a number of activities and resources to help broaden your students experience. Please make sure that each teacher that will be attending the play has a copy of these materials as they prepare to see the show. Recent studies prove that integrating the arts into education enhances a student's development and performance. Students learning through the arts are more able to think at a higher level, collaborate with their peers, and score higher on standardized tests. Before you come to the theater, please take some time to talk with your students about what to expect. Going to a live play is an experience unlike any other, and many students are more familiar with going to the movies or sporting events. Please help them prepare for what they ll see and how they should act. Here are some things to think about: How is a play different from a movie or a television show? How is a play different from real life? Can the actors see and hear the audience? Which of the following is appropriate behavior for a theater audience? Clapping, talking, eating, laughing, running, leaving during the performance. Ask students who have seen a play before to talk about what it s like to be in the audience. Have students write letters or draw pictures to the cast of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type with their thoughts and comments on the production. All correspondence should be sent to: SCHOOL BOOKINGS Main Street Theater 3400 Main St. Suite 283 Houston, Texas 77002 2

HOW SHOULD I PREPARE MY STUDENTS FOR A TRIP TO THE THEATER? Read the book to your students or have them read the book. The play is taken directly from the pages of the book. Discuss the page on theater etiquette with your students. Remind them that it can get very dark in the theater before the play and in between scenes. Make sure your students use the restroom before they leave school or at the theater before the performance. If you get up during the performance, you may miss your favorite part! Talk about what kind of show they are coming to see. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is a live theatrical performance. Talk to your students about the difference between a movie and a play. The actors are not on a screen and can hear everything the audience is doing or saying. The actors are very friendly though so they should not be afraid. Talk to your students about imagination. People called actors perform in the play. They pretend to be the person and animals in the story. Five grown-up actors perform in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Watch and see how they use their voices and bodies to become the characters. After the performance, the actors will remain on stage and answer questions that the students may have. Discuss with your students what a question is. While the actors love to hear what a good time the students had or what part they like the best, they LOVE to answer questions about the show, the book or being an actor. Don t forget to raise your hand! The show is fantastical! It is lots of fun so be prepared to giggle, laugh and have a great time. 3

READING TO YOUR STUDENTS Listening to literature read aloud is one of the most valuable experiences beginning readers can have. Here are some helpful hints for reading aloud to children: 1. Plan enough time in each session. 2. Choose stories that are of interest to the child (ren) especially stories with vivid pictures, a strong story line, and engaging characters. 3. Preview the book to anticipate questions or reactions. 4. Introduce the book by pointing out the cover illustration, title and author. Give a brief explanation about why you chose to read this book. This is the story of cows that use a typewriter to tell the farmer. 5. Read with expression that reflects the tone of the story or the characters. Read slowly. Vary your pace so you can pause for emphasis or to allow time for the children to think about what s happening. 6. Allow time for children to study the pictures as you read and to make comments and ask questions about the story. 7. Encourage predictions and help children confirm or revise these as the story unfolds. 8. Watch the children s expressions and body language and be sensitive to signs of boredom or confusion. 9. Save time at the end of the story to get reactions. Ask open-ended questions that don t have right or wrong answers and that can t be answered with a yes or no reply. Ask the children what they liked or disliked about the story. What did they think about the characters? Did it remind them of their own lives? 10. Point out parts of the story you particularly noticed or liked. For some children, listening to stories is a new experience and they need to time to develop that interest and ability. 4

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO PUT ON A PLAY? It takes many years of preparation before you see a show at our theater. Many, many people work to put all the parts of a play together. The play you re seeing today comes from the book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type written by author Doreen Cronin, with pictures by illustrator Betsy Lewin. It was the idea of the playwright, James E. Grote, to form this book into a play. About a year before MST s production, the producer contacted the licensing agency about the rights to perform the play. Once the agency agreed, the production team was assembled. The production team is the group of people directly responsible for a how a play looks and sounds. The director is the person who makes the decisions about who is in the play, how the play looks, and what themes are emphasized to the audience. S/he works with the designers to establish the concept (or mood & themes) of the play. The director also hires the actors to play the parts in the show. Once rehearsals begin the director conveys the concept to the actors by giving them directions on their character development and by blocking their movements. The set designer creates the world that is seen when you enter the theater. S/he decides whether there will be real furniture or pretend furniture (such as cubes or chairs). The set designer decides where all of the different locations will be on the stage. The designer drafts diagrams so the carpenters can build the set. S/he also comes back once the set is built to paint everything. The costume designer is the person who chooses what clothes the actors will wear to represent the concept of the play. The designer will sometimes shop for clothing or may build some costumes from scratch. S/he works closely with the actors to make sure that all of the clothing fits and feels comfortable. S/he also works with the set designer to make sure that the actors clothing will not clash with the colors on the set. The props designer is the person who provides all of the handheld items used by the actors during the play. This person either buys or builds everything that the actors might need to convey the story. The sound designer creates or selects all of the sound effects and music for the play. The sound designer creates the noises that are heard when someone rings a doorbell, a dog barks offstage, or a telephone rings. The sound designer can also create music pieces to aid in setting the theme or the mood of the play. The lighting designer decides how stage lighting will help tell the story. How can the color of lights complement the costumes and sets? Does the play require a scene at night? S/he will also decide when the lights should go out to cover up a scene change or when they should stay on. The actors are the people who perform the play. They are real people who are pretending to be the different characters in the story. Actors are trained to play old people, young people and sometimes even animals. It s their job to tell the story to the audience. The audience is part of the play too! Without someone to hear the story, there would be no reason to tell it. The actors want to get the audience to care about the characters, to laugh and cry, and applaud when the play is over. 5

ABOUT THE SHOW Farmer Brown loves the normal animal noises on his farm. The animals are trying very hard to tell him something, but all he hears is moo, cluck, and quack. Farmer Brown does not understand what the animals are wanting from him and they are getting very frustrated. Farmer Brown finds it quite odd when he hears typing sounds coming from the barn one day. His troubles really begin when his cows start leaving him notes. First they demand better working conditions and then they stage a strike. The cows are cold and they want electric blankets. If they don t get them, they are not going to give Farmer Brown any more milk. When he refuses, the hens say they will not provide any eggs. The duck, as the negotiator, helps to bring peace back to the barnyard, but not until after some of his demands have been met as well. 6

ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR About the author, Doreen Cronin Doreen Cronin: I was born in Queens, New York, and I grew up on Long Island with my mom, dad, two brothers, and sister. My father, who has since passed away, was a police officer. Despite his serious occupation, my father had an unbelievable sense of humor, which is one of his finest legacies. Now whenever someone says that CLICK, CLACK, MOO made them laugh, I feel like my Dad is still around cracking people up. I love it. In addition to writing full-time, I love to collect antique typewriters and follow baseball. Before my debut as a children s book author, I worked for many years as an attorney in New York. The attorney / children s book author combination tends to catch people off guard. After National Public Radio aired a reading of CLICK, CLACK, MOO by Scott Simon and Daniel Pinkwater, a fellow attorney stopped me in the hallway to recount what he had heard on the radio. He said they read a very funny children s book over the air, written by a Doreen Cronin, who also happened to be an attorney. Isn t that wild? he marveled. That s not another Doreen Cronin, I told him, That s me! I m still not quite sure he believes me. About the illustrator, Betsy Lewin Growing up in the town of Clearview, Pennsylvania, Betsy always loved to draw, and knew that she would be an artist early on. Betsy read with her mother and brother every night WINNIE THE POOH, THE ADVENTURES OF BARBAR, UNCLE REMUS, and many fairy-tale stories which fostered her love for children s books, and future career in illustration. The artists Ernest Shepard and A. B. Frost were among Betsy s earliest heroes; inspired later on by Beatrix Potter s gentle watercolors, and by the energetic lines of James Stevenson and Quentin Blake. After graduating from Pratt Institute, Betsy took a job as an assistant art director at a greeting card company in New York. This experience led her to freelance for several card companies, allowing Betsy to reserve time to develop her own stories and illustrations for children s magazines. At the suggestion of an editor at Dodd, Mead & Company, Betsy expanded one of these stories into a picture book. She recalls, I jumped at the chance! I ve been doing picture books ever since, and loving every moment. 7

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT & LYRICIST About the playwright, James E. Grote James E. Grote is an actor and playwright in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of the artistic ensemble of Lifeline Theatre, which exclusively produces adaptations of literature. Jim began performing with Lifeline in 1992, playing Tucker Mouse in the world premiere of The Cricket in Times Square. He has also played Mr. Hatch in Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch; various captains, sailors, and Englishmen in Around the World in 80 Days (Jeff Award: Outstanding Ensemble); and Lt. Col. Fremantle in The Killer Angels. Jim became a playwright for Lifeline with his adaptation of C.S. Lewis The Silver Chair (Best Family Show of 2000: Chicago Tribune). Jim s other adaptations for the Lifeline MainStage have included The Piano Tuner (After Dark Award: Outstanding Production) and A Long Way from Chicago. For Lifeline s KidSeries Jim has adapted Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin s Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type; Giggle, Giggle, Quack; and Duck for President (featuring music by George Howe), and is currently adapting the fourth book in the series, Dooby Dooby Moo. Click, Clack, Moo and Giggle, Giggle, Quack have been produced in theatres across the country. Jim is a graduate of Northwestern University. About the composer and lyricist, George Howe George Howe is a pianist, singer, composer, and lyricist. He has worked with Lifeline Theater in Chicago, IL. George created music and lyrics for a number of family musicals including Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; Arnie the Doughnut; Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type; Giggle, Giggle, Quack; and Duck for President. 8

CAST OF CHARACTERS Cow 1 Female/Older Acts as mother of the barnyard Cow 2 Female/Younger Squabbles with Hen; becomes a radical Hen Female/Younger Squabbles with Cow 2; always afraid to get in trouble Duck Male The story s narrator, but also a participant (instigator) Farmer Brown Not mean or a bad guy; just trying to get his work done 9

VOCABULARY Admiration Thinking that something deserves respect or approval. Aid To help or assist someone achieve something. Amuck To behave uncontrollably and disruptively. Apathy Having no interest or concern for things that other people find exciting. Benefit of the doubt An expression that means you give a positive opinion or judgment, even if you do not feel certain. Bickering Arguing over something that is not very important. Condone To give approval for something. Critique To pass judgement on something and evaluate the quality. Dally To waste time. Dignity To have respect for yourself. Economy The wealth and resources of a country or region, specifically related to their production and use of goods and services. Enfolding To surround. Grovel To excessively ask for someone s forgiveness or for a favor. Justice To be treated or handled fairly. 10

VOCABULARY Liberty Being free within society. Lily pad A round leaf that floats in the water. Lulls Calm or temporary time of quiet without any activity. Methodology The way a specific area of study or activity is handled. Mill Building that has machines inside to grind grain into flour. Miserable Incredibly unhappy or uncomfortable. Morning glories A type of climbing plant that is known for its trumpet shaped flower. Noble Someone with high social status Nought Nothing. Oppressed Being treated very cruelly or unfairly by someone in power. Oppressor The person in power that is treating someone very cruelly or unfairly. Overthrow To remove someone from power. Pantomime A dramatic way to entertain with big gestures and music. Peck To bite using a beak. Revolution To use force to get rid of the government or people in charge in order to begin a better way of ruling. 11

VOCABULARY Ridiculous Something that is absurd or incredibly unreasonable. Sassafras A type of tree with egg-shaped leaves and greenish-yellow flowers. Sitting duck A person or thing that has no way of protecting themselves against attack. Tempo The speed that music is playing or should be played. Tomfoolery Silly behavior. Tyranny Cruel government or rule. Tyrant The ruler that is cruel. Unfettered Releasing from restraint. Willing Ready or prepared to do something. Curriculum Standards: English Language K - 110.11.b.5 1-110.12.b.6 2-110.13.b.5 3-110.14.b.4 4-110.15.b.2 5-110.16.b.2 12

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND WRITING PROMPTS 1. Why do the animals on the farm use the typewriter? 2. Was the farmer happy that his animals were communicating with him? 3. What did the animals want from Farmer Brown? 4. Why did they want the items that they asked for? 5. Did Farmer Brown agree to get anything for them when they wrote the first note? 6. How do you think Farmer Brown felt about his animals? 7. What did the animals do when they went on strike? 8. Why was Farmer Brown upset when the animals were on strike? 9. What made Farmer Brown think that Duck was a neutral party? 10. What did the animals trade for the electric blankets? 11. Do you think Farmer Brown should have accepted the trade? 12. What do you think would happen if animals could really talk to us? 13. Was everyone happy in the end? Curriculum Standards: English Language K - ELA 110.11.b.6-10 1 - ELA 110.12.b.6-10 2 - ELA 110.13.b.6-10 3 - ELA 110.14.b.5-9 4 - ELA 110.15.b.3-7 5 - ELA 110.16.b.3-7 13

ASKING NICELY ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print out a class set of the Asking Nicely activity sheet. 2. The animals on the farm write to Farmer Brown to let him know what they want from him. Have the students think about something they really want, but could not get without help. Have them write a letter to someone who might be able to help them get the item and write what they might offer in return. Curriculum Standards: English Language K - ELA 110.11.b.14 1 - ELA 110.12.b.18 2 - ELA 110.13.b.18 3 - ELA 110.14.b.18 4 - ELA 110.15.b.16 5 - ELA 110.16.b.16 14

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THEY RE ON THE FARM ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print a class set of the They re on the Farm activity sheet. 2. They re, their, and there are examples of homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same, but have a different meaning. Have students read each of the sentences and choose the correct homophone to fill in the blank. Curriculum Standards: English Language 2 - ELA 110.13.b.23 3 - ELA 110.14.b.24 4 - ELA 110.15.b.22 5 - ELA 110.16.b.22 16

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PREPOSITIONS ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print a class set of the Prepositions activity sheet. 2. Have students read the farm related sentences and choose the correct word to complete each of the sentences. Curriculum Standards: English Language K - ELA 110.11.b.16 1 - ELA 110.12.b.20 2 - ELA 110.13.b.21 3 - ELA 110.14.b.22 4 - ELA 110.15.b.20 5 - ELA 110.16.b.20 18

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NEEDS VS. WANTS MATH ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print a class set of the Needs vs. Wants activity sheet. 2. Have students circle whether the things listed are needs or wants. Discuss as a class. Curriculum Standards: Mathematics K-111.2.b.9 1-111.3.b.9 2-111.4.b.11 3-111.5.b.9 4-111.6.b.10 5-111.7.b.10 20

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ELECTRICITY SCIENCE ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print a class set of the Electricity activity sheet. 2. Have the students think of ways we use electricity and ways that we can save electricity. 3. Discuss as a class. Curriculum Standards: Science K - 112.11.b.6 1-112.12.b.6 2-112.13.b.6 3-112.14.b.6 4-112.15.b.6 5-112.16.b.6 22

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WATER USE AT HOME SCIENCE ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print a class set of the Water Use at Home activity sheet. 2. Have the students take home the activity sheet and track water use in their home for a day. 3. Discuss as a class and think of ways to use less water. Curriculum Standards: Science K - 112.11.b.1.c 1-112.12.b.1.c 2-112.13.b.1.c 3-112.14.b.1.b / 112.15.b.7.d 4-112.15.b.1.b / 112.15.b.7.c 5-112.16.b.1.b 24

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AT THE FARM CROSSWORD SOCIAL STUDIES & LANGUAGES ACTIVITY Instructions: 1. Print a class set of the At the Farm Crossword activity sheet. 2. Have the class complete the activity page and talk about the differences between the English and Spanish words. Answer Key: Across Down 3. Farm = Granja 1. Barn = Granero 5. Farmer = Agicultor 2. Cow = Vaca 6. Duck = Pato 3. Hen = Gallina 7. Hay = Heno 4. Pond = Estanque Curriculum Standards: Languages Other Than English K-5-114.1-4 26

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Easy Homemade Butter Recipe Ingredients: Mason jar with a lid Heavy cream (35% whipping cream) A couple of clean glass marbles (optional, but speeds up the process) Steps: 1. Fill the jar halfway with cream 2. Drop the marbles in the jar (optional) 3. Put the lid on tight and shake a. This can take 5-10 minutes. Kids might want to take turns shaking. 4. When you see the balls of butter separating, pour off the buttermilk around it. 5. Take the butter out of the jar with a spatula, rinse off under cold water, and knead a bit as you rinse. This removes the last of the buttermilk and prevents the butter from going bad quickly. Have a taste - try it on some bread! 28

FURTHER READING MORE LIKE CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier. Millie the cow enjoys scaring the mailman. She chases him all the way off the farm. One day, the mailman comes up with a plan that might make everyone happy. There is a Bird on your Head by Mo Willems. Gerald the elephant realizes that the only thing worse than a bird on your head is two birds on your head! Piggie tries hard to help her best friend. Earthquack by Margie Palatini. Chucky Duck notices the earth beneath him moving and immediately runs to let the other barnyard animals know about the earthquake. Wily Weasel tries to take advantage of the other animal s fears, but soon the true source of the rumbling is revealed. Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. Little Red Chicken wants her Papa to read a bedtime story, but keeps interrupting him as soon as he starts each new story. When it s Little Red Hens turn to tell a story, will her sleepy Papa make it to the end without interrupting her story? BOOKS ABOUT COWS WITH BIG DREAMS Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman. After the cows finished helping the Greenstalk family get to the county fair, they decide to start finding solutions to many other problems that arise. Need a problem solved? It s cows to the rescue! Only a Cow by Arlene Hamilton. Lucille is not like the other cows on the farm. She wants badly to run a race like Thunder, Charlie s prize racehorse. All the animals on the farm think her dream is odd, especially Thunder who is not happy with a cow trying to be like a racehorse. Lucille finds a racetrack when Farmer Charlie takes the animals to the fair and Lucille is determined to show them she is not only a cow. 29

FURTHER READING The Cow Who Climbed a Tree by Gemma Merino. Tina is a very curious cow who loves to explore and she believes everything is possible. Her sisters disagree and decide to stop Tina s adventures. They go off in the woods to find her, but soon discover an unexpected world of surprises. The Cow that Got Her Wish by Margaret Hillert. Brownie the Cow wants to be able to jump over the moon. She works very hard to achieve that dream, but will a cow ever be able to jump that high? 30