Designed for students beginning their study of grammar, Grammarosaurus is a great introduction to and review of English
language concepts. 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!
Key Concepts
- Simple contractions
- Uses of periods, exclamation points, and question marks
- Use of quotation marks
- Parts of speech
- Basic capitalization: proper names, words at the beginning of sentences, months, and days of the week
- Complete and incomplete sentences
- Commas with dates and items in a series, and in the greeting and closure of a letter
- Word order
For a more advanced show about grammar, see Pirates from Grammar Island.
Publication Information
Author: Ron Fink (Composer) and John Heath (Book and Lyrics)
ISBN: 978-1-886588-45-5
© 2008 Bad Wolf Press, LLC
Song Samples
Full Song List
1. Grammarosaurus
2. Capital
3. Plurals
4. Contractions
5. Make the Subject Match the Verb
6. Noun and Verb
7. Can You End a Sentence?
8. Comma
9. Quotation Marks
10. Grammarosaurus (Reprise)
Casting
Flexible casting from 11-40 students.
Use as many Grammarosauri as desired. There are a lot of characters
in the show, but many of them have just a few spoken lines. One student
can easily play several roles. Note that all roles can be played by either
boys
or girls; see our comments on page 38 of the Teacher's Guide.
Script
This is the first one-third of the script:
The duration of the show is about 25 minutes
CHARACTERS:
Jessica (reporter)
Roberto (reporter)
Capital Grammarosauri
Sally (roving reporter)
Plural Grammarosauri
Contraction Grammarosauri
Tourist
Cameraman
Subject/Verb Grammarosauri
Noun Grammarosaurus
Verb Grammarosaurus
Professor Participle
Professor Semicolon
Comma Grammarosauri
Dr. Pickwick
Quotation Marks (2)
Nessie
and a CHORUS composed of all students who are not playing
roles on stage at the time.
There is a big sign on the wall that reads:
Breaking News from Scotland:
Grammarosaurus Discovered!
Song 1 -
Listen now!
CLASS:
Extra! Extra! Stop that press!
Guess what they found in Loch Ness!
Greeting tourists on the beach
Teaching folks 'bout parts of speech
Grammar
Grammarosaurus
Grammarosaurus.
Extra! Extra! I'm not done
Nessie's not the only one
They think commas are a treat
Their sentences are complete.
Grammar
Grammarosaurus
Grammarosaurus.
Read the interview
They even know what colons do.
(spoken): Do you?
Extra! Extra! Stop that press!
Guess what they found in Loch Ness!
Greeting tourists on the beach
Teaching folks 'bout parts of speech.
Grammar
Grammarosaurus
Grammarosaurus
Grammarosaurus.
(ROBERTO and JESSICA enter. They each carry a
microphone. THEY address audience.)
JESSICA: Good evening. I'm Jessica, and this is Roberto.
ROBERTO: Welcome to our special report. We have breaking news from
Scotland.
JESSICA: People from all over the world are flocking here to talk to
the
Loch Ness Monster.
CAPITAL GRAMMAROSAURUS #1: Hey, I heard that!
CAPITAL G. #2: I'm NOT a monster!
CAPITAL G. #3: I'm a Grammarosaurus.
ROBERTO: How many of you are there?
CAPITAL G. #1: Lots.
JESSICA: How come you¹ve never come out in the open before?
CAPITAL G. #2: The world is in crisis.
ROBERTO: Economic crisis?
JESSICA: Environmental?
CAPITAL G. #3: Grammatical.
CAPITAL G: #1: The world needs us now.
CAPITAL G. #2: We Grammarosauri love different kinds of grammar.
CAPITAL G. #3: The three of us, for example, love capital letters.
ROBERTO: Capitals?
CAPITAL G. #1: Of course.
CAPITAL G. #2: But there's one capital letter we REALLY like.
CAPITAL G. #3: Because it's an entire word!
Song 2 -
Listen now!
CAPITAL GRAMMAROSAURI:
The first word in a sentence gets a capital
The other words don't usually even try
But there's one word that always gets a capital
My very fav'rite capital is I!
No matter where you put it it's a capital
Beginning middle end it stands up high
The subject I like best, well, it's a capital
My very fav'rite capital is I!
I, I, I, I
CHORUS: It's just one little letter
CAPITAL GRAMMAROSAURI:
I, I, I, I
CHORUS: It can't get better than I!
CAPITAL GRAMMAROSAURI:
Oh sure a person's name will get a capital
And certain words like Monday or July
But if I have to pick out just one capital
My very fav'rite capital is I!
CAPITAL GRAMMAROSAURI and
CHORUS:
I, I, I, I
It's just one little letter
I, I, I, I
It can't get better than I!
It can't get better than I!
(THEY exit. SALLY SWAMPWATER enters with three
GRAMMAROSAURI. )
SALLY (to audience): Hi there. I'm Sally Swampwater, your roving reporter.
I¹ve just come across three more Grammarosauri. Or is it Grammarosauruses?
PLURAL GRAMMAROSAURUS #1: I prefer Grammarosauri.
PLURAL G. #2: It's the Latin form.
SALLY: You guys know Latin?
PLURAL G. #3: Doesn't everybody?
SALLY: You must have been in that lake a very long time.
PLURAL G. #1: Yes---it's taking us a while to adjust to modern times.
PLURAL G. #2: But we do love the tea.
PLURAL G. #3: And it's just a few minutes before tea time!
SALLY: What do you find so confusing about life these days?
PLURAL G. #1: Lots of things. Forks, for example.
PLURAL G. #2: And the tax code.
PLURAL G. #3: And Harry Potter---is Dumbledore dead or not?
PLURAL G. #1: And especially plurals.
PLURAL G. #2: It used to be so easy to make a plural. You just added
an
"s"
PLURAL G. #3: But modern life is complicated!
Song 3 -
Listen now!
PLURAL GRAMMAROSAURI:
When I was young life was simple
Plurals just added an "s"
"Voice" became "voices"
"Choice" became"choices"
Plurals were easy to guess.
When I was young life was simple
Plurals just added and "s"
Then I got older
The world grew colder
Now ev'rything is a mess!
"House" becomes "houses"
"Mouse" becomes "mice"
"Moose" isn't "mooses"
And "die" becomes "dice."
It's so random it's causing me stress
I miss the "s."
GRAMMAROSAURI and CHORUS:
When I was young life was simple
Plurals just added an "s"
"Voice" became "voices"
"Choice" became "choices"
Plurals were easy to guess.
When I was young life was simple
Plurals just added and "s"
Then I got older
The world grew colder
Now ev¹rything is a mess!
"Child" becomes "children"
"Sheep" just stays "sheep"
"Goose" isn't "gooses"
A "foot" becomes "feet"
It's so random it's causing me stress
I miss the "s"
It's so random it's causing me stress
I miss the "s"
(THEY exit. THREE Grammarosauri enter. They're wearing
long coats. They whisper to each other. Then a TOURIST
carrying binoculars walks by.)
CONTRACTION GRAMMAROSAURUS #1 (to other GRAMMAROSAURI):
Hey look, it's a tourist.
(TO TOURIST, secretively):
Pssst. Hey, buddy.
TOURIST: Wow, a Grammarosaurus! I've come all the way from _______
(fill in name of your city) to see one of you up close.
CONTRACTION G. #2 (reaching into coat and pulling at a large letter "O"):
You wanna buy an "O"?
TOURIST: You mean the letter O?
CONTRACTION G. #3: Ssssshh! Yeah. The letter O.
TOURIST: What is this, Wheel of Fortune?
CONTRACTION G. #1: A nice fresh O. Took it right out of the phrase,
"Should not."
TOURIST: You stole an O?
CONTRACTION G. #2: Ssshh. We didn't really STEAL it. We BORROWED it.
CONTRACTION G. #3: We do it all the time...we take the O out of phrases
like
"should not" and put an apostrophe in its place.
TOURIST: You shouldn't!
CONTRACTION G. #1: Exactly. We end up with shouldn't!
CONTRACTION G. #2: It's a contraction.
CONTRACTION G. #3: And we LOVE contractions!
"This is my 3rd year of having my class perform one of your musicals.
This year we are getting ready to do Grammarosaurus. Wow!
The kids love, love, love the music (great instrumentation) and are begging
me to sign them up for parts. This is after just 3 times of listening to
the CD and they already have some of the songs memorized. Thank you for
your wonderful contribution to children and making learning fun."
---Ruth Kenney, Teacher (2nd grade), Terrace Park School, Mountlake Terrace,
WA
"It was a great success -- fun and exciting. Your plays make it
fun to learn about grammar. The plays are flexible enough to allow ALL
students to have a speaking part and to shine. The parts are easy to
learn and fun. Students were singing the songs all day long. Even the
shyest students came out. Our classes did very well on the end-of-year
tests and I contribute part of it to your fun learning process. I look
forward to doing more each year."
---Katherine Hawkins, NBCT Teacher (2nd grade), Brushy Creek Elementary,
Taylors, SC
"My students learned the songs quickly and enjoyed singing them.
They learned key English Language Arts facts that reinforced the skills
they have been learning in the classroom. The plays are clever and teacher-
friendly. In a time when standards are stressed, you can feel good about
taking time out to work on a play because the standards are incorporated.
Thank you Bad Wolf Press for making the job of this teacher much easier!"
---Rene Griffiths, Teacher, Bella Vista Elementary, Bella Vista, CA
"It was great!! The kids really loved it. There were both easy
parts and more challenging ones for those who were up to it. It was awesome!
My favorite part was that it served as a teaching and review tool for
basic grammar. The kids had fun and learned something too!"
---Cyndi Aghayan, Teacher (2nd grade), Foothill Elementary, Santa Barbara,
CA
"LOVED IT! Covers our writing/grammar standards perfectly. We used
each act in the play to teach students a week-long grammar lesson. Kids
were thrilled!"
---Kali Camara, Teacher (2nd grade), Monta Loma Elementary, Mountain
View, CA
"This was my first experience in over 30 years directing a musical. The balance of lines between the characters, the great sense of humor, and the open opportunity to allow the students to be creative was refreshing and simple. The music was easy to play for some middle school pianists, simply written and easy to read. There was plenty of room for improvisation with just the chords and melody given. The tunes were catchy -- the siblings of those in the play were singing them too!"
---Karen Wesley, Teacher (3rd-6th grade), Marion Home School Assistance Program, Marion, IA
"I teach in a school that is a very high poverty, majority of kids on free and reduced lunch and primarily second language learners. I've done Grammarosaurus with my class the past two years, and it is incredibly rewarding to watch them blossom. We do a school show during the day, and a night show for parents, which they absolutely love."
---Emmy Eichner, Teacher (4th grade), Wright Charter School, Santa Rosa, CA
Common Core and Other National Standards
Language Arts
- Grammarosaurus was written specifically to teach the Common Core Language Standards: Conventions of Standard English - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Reading Standards for Literature: K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Reading Standards: Foundational Skills:
- K and 1st: Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition
- 2nd: Phonics and Word Recognition
- 3rd, 4th, 5th: Phonics and Word Recognition, Fluency
- Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards: Comprehension and Collaboration - K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Language Standards: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use - K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Standard 10: Range, Quality & Complexity: Range of Text Types for K-5th
National Core Arts Standards
Vocabulary
Grammatical terms (including "grammatical" and "grammarian")
found in Grammarosaurus:
colons
semicolon
clause
punctuation marks
apostrophes
participle
direct quote
conjugating
hyphen
object
parts of speech
subjunctive
reported speech
General Vocabulary Building:
economic
adjust
satisfaction
scoop
sunflowers
psychologist
transference
environmental
die (dice)
footage
peek
bouquets
astonishing
inflammation
roving
random
lure
leak
groundhog
expert
buddies
Latin
tourist
whiz
absurd
date
nervous
Bigfoot
Phrases & Slang
"stop the press!"
"feeling negative"
"once and for all"
"tax code"
"cramp your style"
"be that as it may"
"biz"
"Loch Ness (monster)"
"breaking news"
"buzz off!"
"tea time"
"smiley face"
"beyond reach"
"so be it"
"Nessie"
Frequently Asked Questions About Bad Wolf Products and Licensing
How does your pricing and licensing work?
A: In short: each teacher/director using the play should have a copy of it. That's it! Your purchase gives you the right to use the play with as many classes as you wish, to photocopy the script for your actors, and to put on as many performances as you wish. This one-time purchase gives you a lifetime license. See below for more information on site licenses (for 3+ teachers or whole schools).
Q: What comes in the package?
A: Every musical play comes with the script and a 12-page Teacher's Guide that provides lots of tips and advice for using the play from start to finish. It also includes the audio recording for the play, which has all the songs both WITH and WITHOUT vocals. Sheet music is NOT included with the basic package, but it is available for $12. Extra/replacement CDs are also available for $12.
Every non-musical play comes with the script and the 12-page Teacher's Guide.
Q: I'm just one teacher putting on a play. If I use the play with multiple classes, do I have to purchase multiple licenses?
A: No! Your purchase gives you a lifetime license to be used with as many actors and classes as you wish. If other teachers/directors wish to use the play as well, they will need to purchase their own licenses.
Q: Do I need to purchase scripts for students?
A: No! Your purchase includes permission to photocopy the script for your actors.
Q: What is a "site license"? How do I know if I need one?
A site license is the economical choice when a whole school or grade level wants to put on the same play. Instead of each teacher/director having to purchase a script, the school/site can purchase
a site license. This comes with three copies of the play (or one digital download) and permission to make copies for any additional participating teachers, as well as all the actors. You do NOT need to purchase both a site license and individual copies of the play; just buy one or the other.
Q: I understand that I can get two or more scripts for $35 each. Do they have to be the same play?
Nope! The discount applies whether you are purchasing multiple copies of the same show or single copies of multiple shows.
Q: What is the difference between the printed and digital versions? Which one should I get?
There is no difference in terms of content. The printed version of a musical play comes with an audio CD in a plastic sleeve in the back of the book. The digital version comes with two downloadable files: the script (PDF format) and the songs (individual MP3 files compressed in ZIP format). The advantage of the digital version is that you will not pay shipping and you can start using it instantly. Please read the question following this one about the technical requirements for digital files.
Non-musical plays are available in the form of a printed book or a PDF file.
Q: What are the technical requirements for the digital version?
- You will need to have Adobe Reader (free) or another software application that can open PDF files.
- You will need to be able to open ZIP files. The vast majority of computers should be able to do this without difficulty. If you wish to download the music directly to your phone or tablet, you will need to download an app that will open ZIP files. Many free ones are available.
- You will need to have some kind of audio player (such as iTunes or Windows Media Player) that will play MP3 files.
Advanced technical knowledge is not required; but please note that we do not have the ability to offer technical support for issues related to digital files. If you are unsure, it is probably best to stick with the printed version.
Q: What is your return/exchange policy?
A: Bad Wolf proudly offers a 100% guarantee. You can always exchange a product for another or get a full refund. No time limits, no questions.
Q: Is it OK if I edit the script?
A: Yes! Consider the play to be a jumping-off point. You are always welcome to change or omit anything that doesn't work for your class, administration, or parents. You are welcome to rewrite
lyrics, lines, or jokes -- or add your own! (The kids love doing this, by the way.)
Q: How long does shipping take?
A: We say that you should allow for one week within the U.S., but most orders are shipped the same day and arrive 1-3 days later. International orders usually take around two weeks to arrive.
Q: Do I need to pay any performance royalties?
A: As long as your admission price is less than $5 per ticket, you never need to pay performance royalties with a Bad Wolf show. If you decide to charge more than $5 a ticket, or if you are using one of our plays for a PAID workshop, camp, assembly, etc., pay only a low 1-2% royalty on gross revenues. See our royalty page to view the rates and pay.