THE MIXED UP CHAMALEON

The mixed up chamaleon.

I have choose this story because it's a tipical folktale, and one member of the group has tell it and we perfommed it in class.

PRE-TELLING:

Children are given a ticket before getting into the class. They have to give it to the zoo worker to get in. Once they are inside the class, the pre-telling starts.

-Zoo worker: Hello everyone, welcome to my zoo.  As you can see there are a lot of... Oh! Where are the animals? I can’t find them. Can you help me?

She starts looking for the animals and encourages the kids to do the same. When a child finds an animal, he or she has to put it in the cage. When all of them have been found, the zoo worker sings this song to get their attention and make them quiet:

"Shh, be quiet please sit down, please sit down, please sit down.

Shh be quiet, please sit down, listen, listen, listen".

-Zoo worker: Thank you! Here are all the animals. Do you know their names? Let’s say the names together…

She takes every toy and teaches the name to the children. And now, open your eyes, close your mouth and prepare your ears to this story…

TEACHING :

Once upon a time, there was a chameleon that lived in the forest. He was a very special animal because he could change the color of his skin.

When he was on a leaf he turned green and when he was on the sand he turned yellow. When he was hungry, he ate flies. He caught flies with his long tongue. He really liked flies. But he was not happy.

-          I don’t like being a chameleon. I’m sad.

One day, he was bored and he decided to go to the zoo. When he arrived to the zoo, he was walking and walking and he saw the, fish? Turtle? Elephant?

-          Oh look! It’s an elephant!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the elephant, I’m veeery big. I have a looong trunk. I’m veery happy. And my color is grey.

And the chameleon sang a song about the elephant. Let’s all try to sing along! Everybody stand up and dance with us!

“ Grey grey  the elephant is grey

Grey grey the elephant is grey.

Grey grey the elephant is grey

The elephant is grey, grey, grey”

-          -Wow! The elephant is very strong. I like him a lot! I want to be an elephant too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank (lights off and music) he turned grey like the elephant and a trunk grow from his nose and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being an elephant.

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a lagoon where he saw a, Giraffe? Polar bear? Flamingo?

-          Oh look! It’s a flamingo!

-          

    Hello everyone! I’m the flamingo, I’m veeery elegant and beautiful. I have  looong legs. I’m veery happy. And my color is pink.

-          And the chameleon sang a song about the flamingo!

“ Pink, pink the flamingo is pink

Pink, pink the flamingo is pink.

Pink, pink the flamingo it is pink

The flamingo is pink pink pink ”

-          Wow! The flamingo is very beautiful. I like him a lot! I want to be a flamingo too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank, (lights off and music) and he turned pink like the flamingo and his legs grew longer and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a flamingo

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a lake where he saw a fish

-          Oh look! It’s a fish!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the fish, I’m veeery small. I have short fins. I can swim. I’m veery happy.  And my color is orange.

“Orange, orange the fish is orange 

Orange, orange the fish is orange

Orange, orange the fish is orange

The fish is orange orange orange”

-         

      Wow! The fish can swim. I like him a lot! I want to be a fish too!

And suddenly he turned orange like the fish and his legs became fins and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a fish

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a terrarium where he saw a turtle

-          Oh look! It’s a turtle!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the turtle , I’m veeery small. I can live inside my shell.  I’m veery happy . And my color is green.

“Green, green, the turtle is green  

Green, green, the turtle is green

Green, green, the turtle is green

The turtle is green, green, green”

-          Wow! The turtle can live inside his shell. I like him a lot! I want to be a turtle too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a blank (lights off and music) and he turned green like the turtle and a shell grew on his back and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a turtle

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a really cold area where he saw a polar bear

-          Oh look! It’s a polar bear!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the polar bear, I’m veeery big. I can live in cold places and I’m very strong.  I’m veery happy .  And my color is white.

“White, White, the polar bear is white

White, White, the polar bear is White

White, White, the polar bear is White

The polar bear is White White White”

-          Wow! The polar bear can live in cold places. I like him a lot! I want to be a polar bear too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank and he turned white like the polar bear and his hands became claws and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a polar bear

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to an area with tall trees where he saw a giraffe

-          Oh look! It’s a giraffe!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the giraffe, I have a veeery long neck. I can eat  leaves from veeery tall trees .  I’m veery happy . And my color is yellow.

“Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow

Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow

Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow”

The giraffe is yellow yellow yellow”

-Wow! The giraffe has a very long neck. I like him a lot! I want to be a giraffe too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank and he turned yellow like the giraffe and his neck grew longer and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a giraffe. I’m so tired and hungry. I was happier when I was a chameleon. I wish I could be myself again!

Suddenly there was a flash and a bank and he turned a chameleon. He was happy to be himself again. Then a fly flew over

-          I can finally eat you!!!!

POST TEACHING:

Once the story is told, it's time for the animal domino. A teacher explains the activity, but before playing the game she asks about the story.

-          Kids, did you like the story?

-          Is the Chameleon happy when he is like the elephant?

-          Is the Chameleon happy when he is like the flamingo?

-          …

-          Is the chameleon happy when he is himself?

-          Do you want to play a game?

-          Let's play the animal domino

She hands out the domino pieces and leads the children through the activity. They have to stick the pieces in the blackboard until the game is completed.

The actors say goodbye and the performance ends.

 Finally here is the real version of: THE MIXED UP CHAMALEON

Hope you like the story, the performance and the pre, the telling and the post telling style.

Ester C.