Creative learning offers many ways to narrate a fairy tale, or to create a new one for the purposes of the lesson. We encourage the reader to read the methodology in order to understand it and more over to be able to create news ways of teaching through narration and fairy tales.

·         Like a theatre action.

·         Participation of teacher and students (Interaction)

·         Narration by the teacher.

1.1       Science (Properties of the air)

In this lesson plan, the main learning objective is to identify the properties of the air. This is what we want the students to get at the end of the session.

In order to achieve this objective, we have to choose two antithetical main characters. In the example provided below, we have chosen a flag (unable to move around) and a Seagull which is constantly on the move, one who is knowledgeable about the properties of the air and one that does not have clue. Any couple of opposites that could be somehow related with the main theme could be used.

The, we need to select the properties of the air in which we would like to focus and construct a dialogue. It is important that these antithetical main characters present their ideas from different points of view. In our story, we have the point of view of a character that is not able to travel and of a character that is a traveller. Often in fairy tales, travelling is associated with knowledge and knowledge comes through travels.

It is important that the story constructed has a beginning (where the background situation is explained so that the students can understand who is who), a middle part (where the story is unfold) and an end (that will come as a conclusion).

Example of a story that can be narrated as a theatre action

Subject: Science

Topic: The air and space

The folktale of the loneliness of the flag which think that the air doesn’t exist and the space is empty

Once upon a time it was a flag.

AND she had a philosophical existential question which tortured her.

But let’s take the story from the beginning.

It was hung and forgotten on a pole high above a large building. In the front, it was written “School”.
To tell the truth It had been forgotten there long enough from the pre-pre-pre-national holiday.
And she was bored. Very bored. The time was passing by and it was getting older. Her colours faded, and the edges were torn from the air that was beating her.
And as we said air … it was a long time now that the air hadn’t passed through that place and our flag hung sad and motionless.
In her sadness she began to wonder why the air was not passing, to blow her and to breathe a bit of freshness. Only a strong and bad smell came and whipped her up there.
And who is this air anyway? And why didn’t it go through there? And why was it so arrogant and obnoxious? Does it no longer exist, does it die?

One day she decided and shouted at a flying seagull.

FLAG              Sir sir, would you like to come a bit closer?

SEAGULL       What do you want, I have a job, the boats came in to the harbour with a bunch of fish in their nets and I’m hungry.

FLAG              Well ok…ok. Come a bit closer I want to ask you something and I will let you go. Tell me why the air does not pass here anymore. Is he arrogant, has he left from our territory or has he died? 

SEAGULL       What are you talking about? The air is always here and there and everywhere.

FLAG              How is it always here? If it is such, why I’m not waving anymore?  I’m down, sad and poor;

SEAGULL       Look there on the sky. What do you see?

FLAG              Clouds. Still clouds like me.

SEAGULL       And what is a cloud?

FLAG              A cloud is a cloud dummy.  What else?

SEAGULL       No, clouds are air. Air with different thickness.

FLAG              You are insane. You say that the clouds I can see don’t exist and the air that I cannot see exists.  

SEAGULL       Believe it or not YES. The air is here but it’s not in a hurry, rushing and savage.

FLAG              No it is not. Because I know the air. It’s clean and cool. I have a bad smell on my nose only.

SEAGULL       It’s from the exhaust gas, cars and motorcycles down the road.

FLAG              Whatever it is. As it passed by, the air cleared all that. So now it’s not here.

SEAGULL       Oh Yeah? And how do you think the smell comes up here?
And how do you think I’m flying?
And look there at this shining sunbeam? What do you see?
(Someone blows a little talc in the light beam of a lens)

FLAG              Dust. Small pieces of dirty dust.

SEAGULL       Right. And how do you think this dust flies right and left?

FLAG              I do not know.

SEAGULL       From the air, into the air. The air is everywhere. Whether rushing or calm, cold or hot is here.

FLAG              You say so?

SEAGULL       Yes. Let me leave now because the sail ships enter the port quickly and their nets have a lot of fish. I am going to eat.

FLAG              Hahaha! Quickly? Quickly????  And how do you know that they come quickly. How do you see them from here.

SEAGULL       I see them. I’m not blind. Don’t you see their sails full.

FLAG              Full? Full of what?

SEAGULL       Full of air poor woman. Air is everywhere, and make everything. Makes the dust go here and there, the sail boats to go everywhere the captain wants, the smells to come up here to your nose, even me to fly. That’s enough now I’m leaving otherwise I will be hungry for the rest of the day.

The flag was alone again but now she had many things to think about.

Is the air there or not?

Is the air invisible but exists and is it everywhere in the space?

And to solve the existential philosophical question.

“That what we see may not exist and what we don’t see is present all the time”.

1.2       Botany

A plant is born. The procedure of sowing, growing, and bearing fruit, up to the time a new plant is reproduce.

We define our target: our intention is teaching the children the reproduction of the plants, and under what circumstances this takes place.

We make up an interesting little story, like:

·         The adventure of the restless spirit of a tiny seed of chickpea that decided to seek its fortune to unknown world and places.

·         A beginning that might run as following: “once upon a time…”
(Dialogue with mother chick pea and declaration that she wants to leave)

·         Development: meeting a number of remarkable people (air, soil, sun etc)

·         End (The end could be something like… they lived happily ever after…)

·         Repetition of the same story, the same plot, and same dialogue with the new seed, the outcome of this.

·         We define the controversial factors who talk to each other, fight and (1) so that the outcome brings out the desired final goal (outcome, deduction, message)

·         Our first hero is the seed

·         The other could alternatively be the air (that picks the seed and carries it elsewhere)

·         A lump of soil that happens to be next to where our seed has fallen.

·         The water running nearby, that waters the seed.

·         A pebble that temporarily obstructs the seed’s roots to expand and it’s leaves to grow the sun the most indispensable element for

And the story goes on and on until our new plant is ready to produce seeds of its own

                Definition  – clearing  of  the  final  conflict 

In  the given example, we have many:
Talking with the sun, the air, the soil, with the pebble, etc.

Conclusions

How nature operates, spring, winter, conditions permitting, etc.

1.3       History

History – elementary school – grade 3

Based on the book http://ebooks.edu.gr/modules/ebook/show.php/DSDIM-C103/737/4824,21988/

HERCULES

A history series in 14 episodes

Narration by the teacher:

(he can use puppets, mask, shadows, objects etc. according to the lesson concept)

Once upon a time in a village lived an old man. Plato. He was very old and wise. There was a dark and deep forest around the village and the villagers went in the forest to kill birds and rabbits to fit their families. But many times, one or two of the lost in the forest and never returned back again. The other villagers stared to afraid of the forest and they refused to go hunting.

Plato thought about it and found a method to encourage the hunters not to afraid and risk to go hunting in the forest. Moreover, he managed to make them brave, to be all together and collaborate, to help each other and manage not to get lost in the forest. How? By narration.

Plato gather all the villagers around the fire in the middle of the village and starting to say stories. One story just before hunting.

He said Once upon a time there was a young man name Hercules. He was very strong and brave. Because Zeus the king of the all Gods when Hercules was baby took a little milk from Hera (his Goddess wife) and fit the baby. So the baby became strong and unbeatable.

Episode 1

The villagers came to Plato and announced that they will not go to forest anymore because yesterday, when they hunted, a snake appeared and killed three of them.

Plato thought for a while and said them to sit down on the ground. He had something to say.

Plato: Listen to me. When I was young, I went to school. My teacher has a little baby who was very strong. Because my teacher went on the mountain and invited Zeus and told him that he wants the God to be the Godfather of the baby. Zeus accepted his proposal and became the Godfather of the baby. He promised to protect the baby and when he will grow up he will make him… almost God like him.

When Hercules was baby. Hera – who didn’t like what is happen before with the stolen milk by her husband Zeus – sent two poisoned snakes to bite Hercules and kill him.

But Zeus understood one minute before the snakes could bite Hercules and threw a thunder in the room. Hercules waked up grabbed the snakes and killed them.

Plato looked at the eyes of the villagers and said them: Well, if a baby can kill two poisoned snakes sent by Hera, then you adults can go in the forest and hunt unless you are cowards. And if snakes appear, you will do what the baby did.

Go hunting Now.

The villagers took courage and they went to the forest without being afraid.

Episode 2 and next.

The action continues like this where the villagers come to Plato in every episode and say that they are afraid to go hunting because a lion appears.

Plato says the story of Hercules and the Lion of Nemea.

The same happen with the wild bull of Minoa in Crete, Stymfalides birds, Lernaia Hydra and so on.