Study Guide By Mesa Public Schools Creative and Perform ing Arts Department The Big Friendly Giant Performing Arts: Meeting Arizona Arts & Academic Standards The learning activities in this study guide address specific standards to assist classroom teachers in integrating the performance to meet Arizona Arts and Academic Standards. The specific standards will be noted in a text box accompanying learning activities. About the Show In the much beloved tradition of Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), we join two misfits on an unforgettable odyssey. For a young orphan "human bean", the sight of a giant outside her window is terrifying, and she fears for her life when he whisks her away to an enchanted land. This Big Friendly Giant is not like other giants, however. The job of this larger-than-life vegetarian is to blow magical dreams into children's bedrooms, and together they embark on a quest to save England from the "gizzard-gulping" giants who don't have the BFG's tender heart. The cheeky B.F.G. ultimately shows that heroes can come in all sizes. Humongous on humor and large on laughs, the story of The BFG was Roald Dahl's personal favorite. On stage, his whizzcracklingly wacky tale comes to life with puppets and people creating a fantastical world of towering giants and magical adventures. SHOW TOPICS Friendship Problem solving Creative thinking Theatre Etiquette YOU, the audience, are the most important part of any live theatre event. Performers depend on you to: Remain seated Listen Refrain from talking during the performance Laugh when something in the show is funny Clap to show appreciation Please turn off cell phones and other devices. Cameras and other recording devices are prohibited. Demonstrate respectful audience behavior. Arizona Theatre Standards, Strand 3: Concept 2.
Pre-Show Activity Objective - Use the following activity to provide students practice in using context clues to determine the meaning of a word. Materials: Whiteboard (If large group activity or for younger grades) Writing paper (small groups/older grades) List of BFG sentences (Last page of activity sheet) Pencils Arizona Arts, Academic, and Common Core Standards Language Arts: Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration; Participate in collaborative conversations K-6.SL.1 Ask and answer questions 1-3.SL.3 Discussion: As he was writing The BFG in the early-1980s, author Roald Dahl set about creating a new vocabulary for the story s giant, a 238-word language that he ultimately named Gobblefunk. For example, Telly-belly bumkin box is a TV and Frobscottle is the giant s tasty fizzy drink. Language Arts : Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. K-6.L.4 Activity: Work as a class or divide students into small groups. Provide each group a copy of the BFG sentence sheet. Allow them time to determine the meaning for each of the gobblefunk words underlined on the sheet using the clues in the surrounding sentences to help them write their definitions. *Note: Younger students may benefit more from working on this activity as a class. You can adjust it by printing the sentences on the board. *Extended activity Create a short story using words from the Gobblefunk list on the last page.
Post-Show Activity Objective - To be able to use descriptive language to create a story in proper chronological order with a beginning, middle and end. Materials: 8 1/2 x 11 writing or drawing paper. Pencils, Crayons or colored pencils Class Discussion: In the play, BFG s job is to catch dreams and then blow them into the rooms of sleeping children. Any unused parts of the dreams can be mixed to make new dreams. Have students share ideas for some good dreams. Like a recipe, the dream will need to have certain ingredients and be put together in a certain order. Activity: Working individually or in small groups - 1.Write a recipe for a new dream 2. Using someone else s recipe, prepare the recipe by putting the dream into story form. Steps: List the 'ingredients' needed. (Location, characters, special abilities, colors, smells, textures, etc.) Describe the specific steps and order the ingredients should be added to the dream. ( Mix in a 1 horse and 2 elves, add 1 magic castle then... ) Swap recipes between students (or groups). Follow the recipe to write a full story about the dream. Use as much detail and descriptive language as possible. Follow appropriate sequence for beginning, middle and end. Arizona Arts, Academic, and Common Core Standards AZ Common Core Standards; English Language Arts; Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration; Participate in collaborative conversations K-6.SL.1 Ask and answer questions 1-3.SL.3 Writing Text Types and Purposes Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. K-2.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. 3-5.W.3 Younger grades - Work in small groups or as a class. Use picture for ingredients and sequenced drawings to depict the dream.
The BFG s Gobblefunk Quotations 1. Because you saw me. If anyone is ever seeing a giant, he or she must be taken away hipswitch. 2. Nothing is growing except for one extremely icky-poo vegetable. It is called the snozzcumber. 3. No. I love the way you talk. Sophie. How wondercrump. How whoopseysplunkers. Thank you, Sophie. 4. A whizzpopper! Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time! Whizzpopping is a sign of happiness. It is music in our ears! 5. I, Sophie, is a dream-blowing giant. I blows dreams into the bedrooms of sleeping chiddlers. 6. Oh my! It s a phizzwizard! A golden phizzwizard! This will be giving some chiddler a very happy night when I is blowing it in. 7. Your majester, I is your humbug servant. 8. Delumptious fizzy frobscottle! Everyone must be drinking it!
Gobblefunk Words Swigpill/ Swatchscollop: Disgusting food Filthsome: YUCK! Frobscottle: A nice drink with soft drink bubbles Kiddles: Children Exundly: Exactly Porteedo: A Torpedo Jiggered: There is no hope Bopmuggered: Caught Hornswoggle: Stay away from them Jumbly: All mixed up Human bean: What the BFG calls human beings Frothbuggling: Silly Crabcruncher: A creature that lives on high cliffs, around the sea