Synopsis
Based on a West African tale, Anansi is the story of a very tricky spider who discovers a magic rock that he uses to steal food from all the jungle inhabitants. The last laugh is on Anansi, of course, but not before everyone has a chance to sing some fun songs about yams, dancing mangos, and Anansi's mischief.
Preview the script and songs!Key Concepts
Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock is a great complement to your curriculum resources in elementary school language arts. It can be used as part of a Folk Tale or Trickster component of the curriculum, and it also lends itself naturally to African studies and multicultural studies. And, like all of our plays, this show can be used to improve reading, vocabulary, reading comprehension, performance and music skills, class camaraderie and teamwork, and numerous social skills (read about it!) -- all while enabling students to be part of a truly fun and creative experience they will never forget!
Aligned with national standards! View the standards and vocabulary.Publication Info
Author: Ron Fink (Composer) and John Heath (Book and Lyrics)
ISBN:
978-1-886588-02-8
© 1995
Bad Wolf Press, LLC
2nd grade teacher (verified owner) –
<p>The music is very catchy and easy to teach & learn. The CD is great. I've used it with K-3 and it's ideal for second but works well for every grade level.</p>
Julie (verified owner) –
<p>Such a great play to do with my 3rd graders after our study of folktales. They loved learning all of the elements of drama and turning our classroom into a jungle for the production was an added bonus. We had a parent volunteer to make our simple costumes (headbands with ears) and invited other classes to come be our audience the last week of school. A great culmination to our year of learning together.</p>
Marie Hinton, librarian (verified owner) –
<p>This play is perfect for First Graders. They love the story and sing the songs constantly. The moral is clear to both students and parents. I appreciate that the story is written so that the language can be adapted for even English Language learners can paticipate</p>
Julie (verified owner) –
I did this with my 4th graders. They loved making the different costumes and the giant rock (paper-mache!) The songs are cute and easy to learn and gives every kid a chance to shine. The only song that is a little tricky is the Monkey's "What's that Smell?" but we changed it to have more of a tune. We also added some closing dialogue about Anansi *maybe* learning a lesson. It was a huge success.
Jacquita (verified owner) –
(See my review of Mother Goose's Character camp.)
Very cute story. I think our audience will really enjoy it. Our performance is at the end of February. I've found that our audience does not like the whole script sung, so we are only singing
It's So Hot and all the Down, Down, Down songs as characters "pass out." We will also Tango with A Mango, just to be dancing fools.
I've done Grammar Island, Grammar under the Big Top, Great Americans,Character Matters I,II, Mastering Math, Emperor's New Clothes,Test Taking Strategies,US Geography, and my very favorite The American Revolution. We've done some cool dancing and singing, but I would like more spoken parts for what I do with the scripts.
Thanks for clever materials that are entertaining and educational.