Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Drama: Retelling Stories and Sharing Our Drama

B1.4 B2.1 B2.3 B3.2About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can retell a story in drama with a beginning, a middle and an end.
  • I can use a simple prop, costume piece or sound effect to help tell the story.
  • I can share my drama with a familiar audience, like my family.
  • I can tell how I felt about a drama and what I did well.
  • I can name stories and characters from different communities and cultures.

Words to know

retell
To tell a story again in your own words or actions, in the right order.
beginning, middle, end
The three parts of a story: how it starts, what happens, and how it finishes.
prop
An object actors use in a drama, like a spoon for a bowl of porridge.
costume piece
One piece of clothing that helps show a character, like a crown or an apron.
sound effect
A sound that helps tell the story, like knocking on a table for a knock at the door.
perform
To share your drama with an audience.
folk tale
An old story that people have told for a long time, often passed down from grandparents to grandchildren.

Once upon a time...

What is your favourite story? Maybe it is Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or The Little Red Hen, or a story your grandparent tells.

In drama, we can retell a story by acting it out. The story comes alive!

Beginning, middle and end

When you retell a story, you tell what happens in order:

  • Beginning: Who is in the story? Where are they?
  • Middle: What problem happens? What do the characters do?
  • End: How is the problem solved? How does it finish?
PartGoldilocks and the Three Bears
BeginningThree bears go for a walk while their porridge cools. Goldilocks finds their house.
MiddleGoldilocks tries their porridge, chairs and beds. She breaks Baby Bear's chair and falls asleep in Baby Bear's bed.
EndThe bears come home and find her. Goldilocks wakes up, gets a fright and runs away.
Retelling a story in three parts
BEGINNINGThe bears go for a walk.Goldilocks finds the house.MIDDLE (the problem)She eats, breaks a chairand falls asleep.ENDThe bears come home.She wakes up and runs!
A story mountain for Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The story climbs up to the problem in the middle, then comes down to the end.

Props, costume pieces and sound effects

You don't need a fancy stage! Simple things can help the audience understand your story:

  • Props: three bowls and a spoon for the porridge, a pillow for the bed
  • Costume pieces: a bow or yellow scarf for Goldilocks, an apron for Mama Bear
  • Sound effects: knock on the table for a knock at the door, crinkle paper for footsteps in leaves
  • Lights: a flashlight can be the sun, or a spotlight on the actor who is talking

One or two things are enough. The acting is the most important part!

Three bowls of porridge, big, medium and small, on a wooden table in a cozy cabin with three chairs.
Three bowls of porridge are all you need to show the Goldilocks story. Simple props help the audience understand. AI-generated image
PROPCOSTUME PIECESOUND EFFECTa bowl and spoona yellow scarfknock, knock!
Simple things help the audience: a prop for the porridge, a costume piece for Goldilocks, and a sound effect for a knock at the door.
Worked example

Example: Retelling The Little Red Hen

Let's plan a retelling of The Little Red Hen to share with the family.

  1. Roles: Little Red Hen, the cat, the dog, the duck. Two actors can play two roles each by switching a costume piece.
  2. Beginning: The Little Red Hen finds some wheat seeds. "Who will help me plant the wheat?" "Not I!" say the cat, the dog and the duck.
  3. Middle: She plants the wheat, cuts it, takes it to the mill and bakes bread, all by herself. Each time, the animals say "Not I!"
  4. End: "Who will help me eat the bread?" "I will!" they all say. "No," says the hen, "I will eat it myself!"
  5. Prop: a real loaf of bread (or a pillow!). Sound effect: say "ding!" when the bread is done baking.
  6. Perform it for the family. Bow at the end!

We retold the story in order (beginning, middle, end), used one prop and one sound effect, and performed for a familiar audience.

Talking about our drama

After a drama, actors and audience can talk about it:

  • How did it make you feel? ("I felt sorry for the Little Red Hen.")
  • What did you like? ("I liked the cat's lazy voice.")
  • What did I do well? ("I remembered all the parts in order.")
  • What do I want to work on? ("Speaking louder so everyone can hear.")
Just for fun

Something funny about Goldilocks: she tried three bowls of porridge, three chairs and three beds, but she never once knocked on the door!

Next time, Goldilocks: knock first, then say "Hello?"

Stories from many communities

Every culture has stories! Here are a few:

  • The Three Billy Goats Gruff, a folk tale from Norway
  • Anansi the Spider stories, from West Africa and the Caribbean. Anansi is a clever trickster spider.
  • The Mitten, a Ukrainian folk tale about animals squeezing into a lost mitten in the snow

First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities have their own stories, shared by Elders and storytellers. Many of these stories teach important lessons. Some stories belong to a community or family, and some are only told at certain times of year. We listen to them with respect, and we learn them from people of those communities.

Hands-on activity

Family theatre night

You need: a favourite picture book, 1 or 2 props, a costume piece, and an audience (family, or a row of stuffed animals!).

  1. Read the story together. Talk about the beginning, middle and end.
  2. Choose roles. One actor can play two roles by switching a hat.
  3. Pick one prop, one costume piece and one sound effect.
  4. Practise once. Then perform! Speak loudly enough for everyone to hear and face the audience.
  5. Take a bow.
  6. Ask the audience: "What did you like?" Then tell: one thing you did well and one thing to work on next time.

Your turn

1

Retell Goldilocks and the Three Bears in three sentences: beginning, middle, end.

2

What is a prop? Give an example.

3

What sound effect could you make for rain?

4

Choose a costume piece for a firefighter.

5

After a drama, say one thing you did well.

6

Name a story from a culture different from your own.

7

Why should actors face the audience when they speak?

More practice: warm-up

1

What are the three parts of a story?

2

What do actors do at the end of a show?

3

What does retell mean?

4

What could be a prop for Little Red Riding Hood?

5

Knocking on a table could be a sound effect for ___.

More practice: on your own

1

In The Three Billy Goats Gruff, what happens in the middle?

2

You are retelling The Mitten. What could you use as the mitten?

3

How did a drama you watched make you feel? Why?

4

Why should we use only one or two props, not twenty?

5

What is one way to learn a First Nations, Métis or Inuit story respectfully?

Challenge

1

Retell The Little Red Hen with two actors playing four characters. How will the audience know who is who?

2

Your brother forgot his line during the show. What could you do to help, in role?

3

Plan a 3-part drama of a real family event, like a snow day. Write or tell the beginning, middle and end, and one prop.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

When you retell a story, you tell it ___.

2.

A prop is ___.

3.

Which is a good sound effect for a thunderstorm?

4.

How do we learn a First Nations, Métis or Inuit story respectfully?

5.

Anansi is a clever ___ from West African and Caribbean stories.

6.

Which is a helpful thing to say after a drama?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 1 students use simple props, costume pieces and sound effects to support their drama for a familiar audience, express their feelings about drama experiences, name their strengths and next steps, and become aware of roles and stories from different communities and times.

How to help:

  • Hold a regular "family theatre night" with a favourite picture book.
  • Before performing, retell the story using three fingers: beginning, middle, end.
  • After performing, ask "What did you do well? What will you try next time?"

About stories from Indigenous communities: Many First Nations, Métis and Inuit stories are carried by Elders and storytellers, and some have protocols (for example, some are told only in winter, or only by certain people). Look for books by Indigenous authors and storytellers, and avoid "legends" retold by others without credit to a specific Nation.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up the order. Draw three quick pictures (beginning, middle, end) and put them in order before acting.
  • Soft voices. Practise the "back row voice": loud enough for someone at the back of the room, without shouting.