Thanks to Disney we have all enjoyed some of the great works of literature through movies. Have you considered reading the original books to see where Disney’s ideas came from? Watching movies is great entertainment, but reading adds so much value to a child’s education. Acting out great literature adds even more value as they learn to read, comprehend, and express their creativity.

Hi! My name is Danielle and I have homeschooled my kids from Pre-K through high school. We have found a lot of creative ways to fit drama into our homeschool, and now I want to share what I’ve learned and continue to learn with you.

Great Literature to Act out for Elementary Students

If you recall from Elementary Students Can Enjoy Great Literature with Drama - Part 1, here is the list of some of the great literature for elementary students found in the public domain:

• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (Scottish)

• The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling (British Indian)

• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (British)

• Aesop’s Fables (ancient Greek)

Upper Elementary

• The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (German)

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (British-American)

• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (British)

• Bible (I’ve added this to the list because there are always wonderful stories to act out in this best-selling book of all time, according to Guinness World Records, which is also available in the public domain.)

As you can see, these authors who have written some of the best stories ever told are from different parts of the world, as well as different centuries.

Let’s look at some ideas and examples from stories my kids and their friends have read and acted out.

Act out Aesop’s Fables

One of the first plays I wrote for our homeschool group of elementary students to perform is The Big Race – A Montage of Aesop’s Fables. We were studying ancient history that year and Aesop’s Fables, originating from ancient Greece, was a part of our reading list. I loved the brevity of the stories for the younger ages and the lessons they taught in each of the fables.

For the play, I decided to take some of our favorite fables and combine them into one story. In this short play, the animals from those fables head to "The Big Race" to watch the tortoise and the hare. It was so fun to have the kids dress up like some of their favorite animals and to see it all come together. These younger elementary students did a wonderful job of learning their lines and working together to perform these popular fables.

We had 33 Pre-K through 3rd graders join us for this play. The older kids played the main characters from each of the fables like the lion and the mouse, and the fox and the crow, while the younger students cheered on the tortoise and the hare as the cheerleaders. We even had commentators calling the events and helping the audience learn the lessons each part of the story was telling.

You don’t need that many students to act out a fable. You could have just one child or a few children and tell a wonderful story. It can be spontaneous right there in your living room by choosing a fable or two, or you could choose this play to perform it with a group of friends. Although we had 33 students, the play can be performed with as little as 14 actors.

The important thing is to enjoy great literature and add some fun and important skills by acting it out!

Act out The Secret Garden

My kids read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett in middle school, so it doesn’t stop being a good read in elementary school. After reading it along with my kids, I can see how this book could be a wonderful one to act out even if you just have two or three kids to perform it. Again, just pick a favorite chapter or two for the kids to act out.

The story is based on a spoiled child who has to move from India to England when cholera breaks out and kills her parents. She’s used to having servants do everything for her and discovers that isn’t how everyone lives when she moves to her uncle’s home, who is never there, and must relate to the people around her in a new way.

Once she discovers there is a hidden garden that has been locked up for ten years, the journey begins to find it, then continues as she and other new friends, including a cousin who is supposedly crippled and is kept in a room, grow in new ways as they interact with each other and the beauty of nature.

Just imagine the looks on your kids’ faces as they discover the secret garden or are challenged with the difficulties of living in this house. Imagine the creativity as they discover what has been hiding behind the wall or the empathy as they relate to the characters in this book. After they have acted out their favorite scenes, you could ask them to imagine being one of the characters and how they would feel if they were in that situation.

Act out Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Since Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a longer story, your kids could choose to pick their favorite scene to act out, or after reading the book, your kids could do a short play like we did based on the original work.

This is one of my favorite stories, maybe because I played the role of Alice when I was in elementary school. That’s why I decided to write this play for our upper elementary group. The kids had so much fun playing each role and were truly invested in every aspect as they helped with the scenery and props. Their creativity was flowing as they enjoyed acting out this classic story.

When writing the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 30-minute play, I started to see the difference between the original work and the additions Disney made. Disney combined Lewis Carroll’s original books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for their Alice in Wonderland story.

Disney is a giant company who can afford to buy the rights to many works, but many of the stories they have told are available in the public domain. This means the original stories are no longer covered by copyright, and anyone can make a derivative work from these originals – even you! (You can go to Project Gutenberg to learn more.)

Now, if you are just acting out the stories at home with your child, then you don’t have to worry about copyright issues. However, if you’re interested in writing your own playscript from one of these famous works, then going to the public domain is a great place to spark ideas for your play.

Some of my plays are based on original works from the public domain. How to Write a Playscript drama curriculum teaches you and your student how to create your own without having to start from scratch. If I can do it, so can you!

Act out Winnie-the-Pooh

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne was recently added to the list of books in the public domain since the original's copyright expired. I love the characters in this story and always imagined how I would make the costumes if we were to perform it. This idea came from the costumes I made for my son and daughter when they played a rat and a pig. We used extra-large sweatshirts to create the perfect costumes on a budget without any sewing.

(The rat's costume is an upside-down sweatshirt, while the pig's is right side up.)

When I think of the adorable characters from Winnie-the-Pooh, I just know little actors would look so cute in these costumes. Now your kids can perform this wonderful story with Winnie-the-Pooh 30-minute play!

Again, costumes aren’t necessary, they are just a fun addition if you have the means.

Act out Stories from the Bible

During Christmas time we have enjoyed a family tradition of bringing the story of Christmas to life with a Neighborhood Nativity play in our yard. We invite the neighborhood kids to come an hour before the play is to be performed and give them simple costumes to put on as they rehearse their parts. Only a short rehearsal is necessary since the narrator tells the story and the kids simply act out what is being said.

Sometimes kids want to have some lines, so we’ve created a script with possibilities for them to have lines of their own if they want. We also include some Christmas songs to sing along with the audience. This is a fun and simple way to act out a story from the Bible. (You can get yours for FREE here!)

Your Elementary Student Can Enjoy Great Literature with Drama

Whether you have the book, look it up online, or want to perform the play; your elementary student can enjoy and learn so much more about these great works of literature with drama:

• Act out the story directly from great literature

• Act out a scene/chapter

• Act out the play

• Learn how to write a playscript from a book then act it out

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Want to have your kids enjoy the plays we’ve enjoyed while my kids were in elementary school? If so, check out these plays for more information.

Thanks for joining us!

Danielle at homeschooldrama.com