Engage. Educate. Entertain. The True Story of

Pocahontas Curriculum aligned to the Florida Standards

Thursday, October 3, 2019

11:00 a.m.

Duke Energy Center for the Arts

Mahaffey Theater

April Minor Curator of Art and Education

Kim Dennison Curriculum Research & Design

Directions to the

Mahaffey Theater

Take I-275 (south from Tampa, north from Bradenton/Sarasota) to exit 22 (I-175).

Follow Route I-175 (it will become

5th Avenue South) to 1st Street South.

The Mahaffey Theater will be in front of you.

1st Street South and 2nd Street South are two-way streets.

Follow the directions given by the

parking attendants.

Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts supports performing arts programming at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater. We provide arts education programs for youth, community

outreach programs, and performances as well as concerts for the entire community. The Foundation and Theater staff work together to deliver unrivaled cultural arts experiences to our patrons.

We rely heavily on public support, through Memberships, Corporate Partnerships, Naming Rights and General Donations to achieve our mission. The Edwards Foundation and Mahaffey Theater work

collaboratively with The City of St. Petersburg and all of our cultural neighbors in an effort to bring awareness to the importance of the arts and to position St. Petersburg on the world stage.

(727)308-5100

billedwardsfoundationforthearts.org

How to Reach Us

Class Acts at The Mahaffey Theater

400 1st Street South St. Petersburg, FL 33701-4346

Pinellas County Schools Pony Route #3

Attn: Class Acts/Perkins Elementary School

Class Acts Box Office (727)892-5800

An electronic version of this guide can be

found at stpeteclassacts.com.

Virginia Repertory Theatre presents The True Story of Pocahontas

Book, lyrics, and music by Julie Fulcher Pocahontas is a name known to every school-age child and yet her true story is shrouded in myth. With an emphasis on historical facts, Pocahontas is revealed as a playful, strong-minded young girl who changes her world before she will change her beliefs or herself. Follow Pocahontas as she grows from a girl who helps the Jamestown colonists survive, to the young woman, wife, and mother who carries her message of peace and mutual cooperation across the Atlantic to the mighty King of England. Join Pocahontas on her amazing journey and see how courage and determination can change the world.

About the Show

Photo Credit: America’s Story from America’s Library http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/

pocahonta/aa_pocahonta_subj.html.

Virginia Repertory Theatre

Nathaniel Shaw Artistic Director

Phil Whiteway

Managing Director

Text used with permission from Virginia Repertory Theatre, Richmond, VA.

http://va-rep.org/index.html

Before the Show

What do you think you know about Pocahontas?

Materials: chart paper with the name Pocahontas in the middle, markers

1. Tell students today they will be participating in a graffiti activity.

2. Have students form collaborative groups.

3. Give each group a sheet of the chart paper and a marker for each member of the group.

4. For 5-10 minutes, have students jot down what they think they know about Pocahontas on

the chart paper. Everyone should be writing silently at the same time. Students can add

on to other groups members’ thinking.

5. After time is up, have students walk the room to see what other groups wrote on their

graffiti paper.

6. Have a class discussion about the trends across groups. Use the question, What do we

think we know about Pocahontas? to stimulate conversation.

7. Have students jot questions and wonderings they have about Pocahontas that could be

answered during research or the performance. Come back to these questions after the

performance.

Build Background There are a number of websites that tell Pocahontas’ story. The following are a just a few that

students can research to find out more information about Pocahontas.

• Visit the Library of Congress’ America’s Story from America’s Library website at http://

www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/pocahonta/aa_pocahonta_subj.html.

• Watch the Brain Pop video about Pocahontas https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/

famoushistoricalfigures/pocahontas/.

• History of Jamestown, Pocahontas, and John Smith by the National Park Service https://

www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm.

Before the Show

Theater etiquette is an important part of attending a live stage production. So

that all patrons have an enjoyable experience at the theater, please share these

guidelines with your students prior to attending the performance. Remind

students to be respectful of the performers and other audience members by

engaging in responsible behavior.

• You agree to be on time. Theater is great! It's live! It happens in the moment. You can't

rewind it. You are an important part of the show and you need to be there from the very

beginning. The actors are there, so you need to be there, too. Arriving 20 minutes before

show time is the standard rule.

• You agree to use the restroom before the show starts to avoid getting up and disrupting

the performance while it's happening. Once a class is seated, you may visit the restroom in

small groups prior to show time. Young students must be escorted.

• You agree not to talk or whisper during the show. If you whisper to your friends during the

show, you disrupt those around you, and quite possibly the actors. And, you might

miss something!

• You agree to participate. This includes laughing at appropriate times, clapping in

appreciation for the things and actors you like, and doing other things when invited by the

actors to do so. It also means paying attention to what's going on by listening and

watching closely.

• You agree to turn off all cell phones and other gadgets that may make noise during

the show.

• You agree not to take pictures or use recording devices of any kind during the show. The

material performed on stage is copyrighted material, and therefore protected under

copyright law from reproduction of any kind without written permission. In addition, the

Mahaffey Theater is a union house, and union rules prohibit the use of photography and

recording devices without prior consent.

• Finally, you agree to give the actors a full curtain call . A curtain call is the actors' final bow

at the end of the performance. It's your opportunity to show your appreciation for what

they've shared with you. Please wait until all the actors have taken their final bow before

exiting the theater. The ushers will assist you in finding the best route out of theater!

After the Show

Revisit Before the Show Activities 1. Have students revisit their graffiti walls. What misconceptions did they have about Pocahontas?

2. Have students revisit questions and wonderings. Were they able to find answers to any questions/

wonderings they had? How will they find the answers to questions/wonderings that weren’t answered?

Do they have new questions/wonderings AFTER seeing the performance? Allow students time for

research and presentation of findings.

Truths and Legends Materials: T-chart on chart paper, markers, literacy journals 1. Read the following quote from the play to students: “History is never totally, absolutely true. Letters, essays,

articles and other historical documents are always written from the perspective of the writer. And that perspective, or way of seeing things, is influenced by the writer’s own experiences. So there is no way to know the exact historical truth of any event, no matter how many facts or documents we have.”

2. Have students form collaborative groups. 3. Pass out the chart paper with the T-chart and markers to each group. 4. Have students label the left side of the T-chart “Truths” an the right side of the T-chart “Legends”. 5. Have students list the truths and legends about Pocahontas. 6. Encourage students to look for similarities and differences. Circle the similarities on both sides of the chart. 7. As a collaborative group, work together to write a summary of the truths about Pocahontas. 8. Present summaries to the class. 9. Extension: Class Discussion or Reflective Writing How was your original perspective of Pocahontas formed? How did the play change your perspective? How does perspective affect the way we view any historical person or event?

Visualizing Characters, Settings, and Events Materials: construction paper, crayons, markers, literacy journals 1. Read this quote from the play: “I had many responsibilities as a child. From early on I was taught the jobs of women

in our culture. I learned to plant seeds and harvest food, gather firewood, and cook. I was also taught the art of making pottery and baskets. By the time I was your age, I was making clothes from animal skins. Oh, and I imagine I made enough cordage to go all the way around the world and back.”

2. Have students visualize Pocahontas engaged in one of these tasks. 3. Have students create a scene that shows the scene they have visualized. 4. Extension: Have students write a descriptive paragraph that describes the scene. Encourage students to use content

vocabulary in their writing.

Florida Standards

LAFS.K.RI.3.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences be-tween two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures). LAFS.K.SL.1.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. LAFS.1.RI.3.9 Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures). LAFS.1.SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. LAFS.2.RI.3.9 Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic. LAFS.2.SL.1.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. LAFS.3.RI.3.9 Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic. LAFS.3.SL.1.2 Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic. LAFS.4.RI.3.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. LAFS.4.SL.1.2 Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. LAFS.5.RI.3.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. LAFS.5.SL.1.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. SS.K.A.2.1 Compare children and families of today with those in the past. SS.1.A.2.1 Understand history tells the story of people and events of other times and places. SS.2.A.2.1 Recognize that Native Americans were the first inhabitants in North America. SS.2.A.2.3 Describe the impact of immigrants on the Native Americans. SS.3.A.1.2 Utilize technology resources to gather information from primary and secondary sources. SS.5.A.1.1 Use primary and secondary sources to understand history. TH.K.O.2.1 Draw a picture of a favorite scene from a play. TH.1.O.3.1 Compare a play to an animated movie that tells the same story. TH.2.C.1.1 Describe a character in a story and tell why the character is important to the story. TH.3.O.2.1 Describe what happened in a play, using age-appropriate theatre terminology. TH.4.H.3.2 Compare a historical play with actual historical events. TH.5.H.2.1 Recognize theatre works as a reflection of societal beliefs and values.

Visit cpalms.org for more information on the Florida Standards.