the little red hen is a cherished barnyard folktale about a carb-craving chicken and her entourage of slothful companions. the little green alligator is a taiwanese adaptation of said folk tale, with an alligator subtituting for a chicken, pizza filling in for bread, and an octopus, fish, frog, and rabbit standing in for the dog, cat, and duck.
for gaoshu elementary's 3-day winter break english camp, we decided to focus on the little red hen. we liked the theme of "no free lunch." we taught the bare bones of the traditional folktale, emphasizing key vocab such as "will you help me?," "no way," and "i don't THINK so!" then we had the kids pick their own animal principals & food craving, and voilà: the little green alligator who had to have a slice. by day 3, the last day of camp, the kids were ready to roll some dough and confront their protagonist in my backyard.
we rolled dough, we spread sauce, we added toppings (dried fish was a big hit & i was the only one surprised), we baked our personal pies... and waited... and finished illustrating our mini books... and waited... and performed... and then ate it all up.
as a surprise grand finale to the winter camp experience, i took everybody on a field trip to my house-- to check out the 3 alligators who live in my backyard! i'm not sure if the kids were most thrilled by the alligators, or by coming over to my house, or by the giant bottles of soda that they brought along for the walk.photos: alligator creeping in for a closer look; leah's pizza masterpiece; the first batch; sophia's pizza pattern; fun with toppings; eva patiently waiting; the ensemble cast; justin and the gaoshu gator; 20 kids + sarah at my house
Aaaaw yeah! Those Pizzas look grubbin'. And you should know, you're not the only one surprised by dried fish being a favorite topic. Hmm. These pictures are sweet! I love the one of Eva in the oven reflection. And is that Vikki's little sister in your class? I love those girls!
ReplyDeletethose pizzas WERE grubbin. hao chi! that is indeed vicky's little sister-- sophia with a PH, not an F (she corrected me). they'd probably be great at poker, with those game faces :)
ReplyDeletethose pizzas looked yummy!
ReplyDeletehow eileen will be missed as she is missed here
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monday i rode the bus home with george until the bus broke down... and riding and walking we thought of you, and george gets to see you!
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and today is a snow day... and each year you and julie get the day off and call me, but this year i got the day off and you are not here to snow day with!
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i send you love and have had fun playing around on your blog which i have finally bookmarked!
Bella thinks the croc "looks nice" and she thinks his name is Sunny. She's learning about the Big Red Hen, too!
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