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Kathleen Pelley Storytelling Activity Guide 1 Activity Guide by Kathleen Pelley
Kathleen Pelley Storytelling Activity Guide
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Activity Guide
by Kathleen Pelley
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One of the many things I love about good stories is that they can provide a space in our hectic busy lives to simply PAUSE and PONDER some truth, some beauty, or some new way of looking at the world.
Each month I will invite you to join me as I PAUSE and PONDER upon the story I have just read.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Retold and illustrated by Michèle Lemieux
PAUSE and PONDER … Why I love this story?
I remember this story from my childhood, and in the version that I read, one of the children, a little lame boy, was left behind after the Piper had lured all of the other children into a cave on the hillside. While the basic premise of this story seems a little strange and scary (a whole village of children being lured away by a vengeful piper), I do not remember being frightened but rather intrigued. Perhaps it is an example of what Bruno Bettelheim addresses in his book, “The Uses of Enchantment:” children need fairytales with wicked stepmothers and big bad wolves and a vengeful piper, because it is a way for them to make sense of their own inner fearful imaginings.
In addition to sharing some frisson of fear, this story also serves as a way to explore the whole notion of what it means to “pay the piper” -‐ an expression from our everyday speech with which even many adults are unfamiliar. What a great way to launch a discussion with your children about the consequences of broken promises and what it means to be a person of your word.
Souvenirs from the story – a firm resolve to keep one’s promises – to pay the piper….and perhps a sliver of relief at not being one of the children in the town of Hamelin back on that fateful day in 1284.
Emotional/Universal Truth What is an emotional truth?
Any editor will tell you that a common weakness of many picture book manuscripts is that they are “too trite.” In other words, they will not withstand multiple readings, because they are too one dimensional and lack a universal, emotional truth. It is NOT a lesson, a moral, or a message! Rather it is a simple truth, woven seamlessly throughout the story -‐some truth about love, hope, pain, joy, or home that a child can understand and connect with. I like to think of it as that whiff of
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wonder, that bolt of beauty that lingers with you, long after the last page is turned or the final word uttered.
Why should this universal truth matter so much to the read-‐aloud quality of a picture book?
“The storytellers go back and back, to a clearing in the forest where a great fire burns, and the old shamans dance and sing, for our heritage of stories began in fire, magic, the spirit world. And that is where it is held, today.” Doris Lessing
Truth connects us to one another, to our ancestors, and to the world around us. Good books and stories are all about connections. When we read a story aloud to a child – a story that truly touches us at the very core of our being with its beauty and its truth, then, we will naturally breathe our own life and love into those words as we read them aloud. (Notice how life and spirit, breath and voice are all connected). In turn, those words will seep into the little listener’s heart, making her or him feel brave or bold, calm or kind, happy or hopeful.
“Adult books maintain lives; children’s books change lives.” Yolen
The “truth” of this story – is a harsh one -‐ Keep your promises or be prepared to suffer the consequences.
What souvenir and what “truth” I wonder, will you and your children take from this story?
The following discussion questions and activities are designed for use either with a parent and a child, or with a teacher and her class or a small group. Most of the discussion questions are suited for children ages 8-‐10 but could be adapted for use with younger and older children too.
-‐ Kathleen Pelley Children’s Author, Storyteller, and Speaker
www.kathleenpelley.com
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Discussion Questions
1. Where and when does this story take place?
2. What clues in the text and pictures tell you this?
3. What kind of people lived in Hamelin?
4. How did the mayor try to get rid of the rats at first?
5. Why did that plan fail?
6. What reward did the mayor then offer to anyone who could get rid off the rats?
7. Do you think that was a good reward?
8. Why was the Pied Piper so called?
9. How did he get rid of the rats?
10. What reason did the Mayor give the piper for not paying him what he had promised?
11. Do you think that was fair? Discuss.
12. How did the Piper behave after the mayor broke his promise?
13. Do you blame the Piper for acting like this? Discuss.
14. What else could the Piper have done instead?
15. Has anyone ever made a promise to you and then broken that promise? How did that make you feel? Share and discuss.
16. Have you ever had to break a promise to someone? Share and discuss.
17. Which character did you dislike the most – the mayor or the Piper? Discuss.
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Discussion Questions (cont.)
18. Have you ever received a reward for doing something? Share and discuss.
19. Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would offer a reward to get it? Share and discuss.
20. How did this story make you feel? Discuss.
Criss-‐Cross Words
Read the story words in the Word Box
Read each set of clues and fill in the spaces in each puzzle, using the words in the word box.
reward pied hardy cradles piper poison
greedy pillows chairs melody regret mayor
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Criss-‐Cross Words #1
Across Down 1. Colorful 1. What the mayor used at first to kill the rats
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Criss-‐Cross Words #2
Across Down 1. A tune the piper played 1. The man who was in charge of the city of Hamelin
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Criss-‐Cross Words #3
Across Down 1. The rats ate these 1. The person who plays a pipe
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Criss Cross #4
Across Down 2. The mayor was this type of person 1. Not easily hurt or harmed
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Criss-‐Cross Words #5
Across Down 1. What the Mayor felt after breaking 1. What the Mayor offered the Piper his promise
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Writing Activites Divide students into groups. Group 1 Students write a newsreport about how rats have overrun the city of Hamelin. Encourage them to include interviews with some of the children in the town describing how they feel about the rats. Group 2 Working in pairs, have students design a poster from the Town Council of Hamelin offering a reward for destroying the rats. See how many different kinds of rewards they can think of. Group 3 Working in pairs, have students write a letter to the Piper apologizing for breaking their promise and asking him to return the children to them. Group 4 Research other versions of the Pied Piper (eg Mercer Mayer and Brothers’ Grimm) and have them summarize the different endings and explain the meaning of the word, legend. Come together as a class to share the students’ work and discuss. Poetry recital Read to the class Robert Browning’s poem, the Pied Piper or listen to it on YouTube. Follow with a discussion of which ending they liked best and why. Encourage students to pick 6 or 8 favorite lines and memorize and share with the class.
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Social Studies Direct one group of students to research what the Children’s Crusade was. Direct another group to locate Hamelin on a map and find 10 facts about the country of Germany. Direct another group to research 10 facts about life in the Middle Ages and write a paragraph or two about what they would have liked or not liked about living at that time. Direct another group to research the legend that this story is based upon (read or listen to the author’s note at the end of the read aloud) Children come together as a class to share their findings and discuss.
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Answer Key
Discussion Questions
1. City of Hamelin in Germany in 1284
2. Some examples :clothing, castle, gold pieces, market place
3. Selfish and greedy
4. Poison and traps
5. Rats were too smart and hardy.
6. A thousand gold pieces.
7. No right answer.
8. Pied – colorful clothing.
9. He played a tune on his pipe.
10. Wasn’t very much work and he did not have to charm each rat separately.
11. No right answer.
12. The Pied Piper took his revenge by luring the children away.
13. – 20 No right answers.
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Answer Key (cont.)
Criss-‐Cross Words #1
Across Down 1. PIED—Colorful 1. POISON—What the mayor used at first to kill the rats
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Answer Key (cont.)
Criss-‐Cross Words #2
Across Down 1. MELODY—A tune the piper played 1. MAYOR—The man who was in charge of the city of Hamelin
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Answer Key (cont.)
Criss-‐Cross Words #3
Across Down 1. PILLOWS—The rats ate these 1. PIPER—The person who plays a pipe
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Answer Key (cont.)
Criss-‐Cross Words #4
Across Down 2. GREEDY—The mayor was this type of person 1. HARDY—Not easily hurt or harmed
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Answer Key (cont.)
Criss-‐Cross Words #5
Across Down 1. REGRET—What the Mayor felt after breaking 1. REWARD—What the Mayor offered the Piper his promise
