Fieldston Lower 3rd Graders spent the past few weeks reciting lines, painting sets, and rehearsing songs in preparation for the 3rd Grade’s first-ever play, “Scribbleville.” This cross-curricular project incorporated students’ core studies of culture and identity while also building their confidence.
Adapted from the children’s book by Peter Holwitz, “Scribbleville” is about a town made only of scribbles that celebrates sameness. When a man with straight lines comes to town, Scribbleville “is turned upside down,” says Assistant Principal of Academic Life Shawn Chisty. “Through the play’s journey, characters learn about acceptance, plurality, and change.”
“Because our 3rd Graders’ core studies revolve around culture and identity, we explored how the Arts are an expression of culture, and that we can impart profound commentaries about culture through performance,” Chisty continues.
Throughout this journey, we witnessed the joy students experienced engaging in this work, allowing such a project to simultaneously build skills, instill confidence, and create lifelong memories.
Creating the play was multifaceted, starting with students comparing their script to the original story. The 3rd Grade teachers then gradually incorporated the themes of “Scribbleville” into their classroom lessons. “We created the script in-house and were able to explore the artistic choices and symbolism present in the story,” Chisty shares. “In Reading, students have studied story elements and the arc of a story; they were able to apply this learning to understand the characters’ journeys, each of their interactions with the main ‘problem,’ and the impact of the setting on the overall story. This ultimately allowed students to embody their characters more effectively.”
Students combined their reading analysis skills with character-building, asking questions about whether their role was part of the rising action, the falling action, or the climax. They also explored their characters’ desires and how to convey those feelings onstage.
To bring the world of Scribbleville to life, the 3rd Graders designed sets, props, and costumes in their Wood Shop and Social Studies Workshop classes. “It is no small task to transform our gym into a theater space, but our amazing Arts team helped the students make it happen,” Chisty recalls.
Students embraced their creativity as composers and choreographers in Music class, where they composed original ostinatos to play on xylophones throughout the show, choreographed three dance numbers, and learned Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” to perform as a finale. Music Teachers Bárbara Martinez and Angela Dixon encouraged students to experiment with different qualities of movement to shape the dance numbers. They also ensured that they learned essential theatrical vocabulary with the guidance of a diagram laying out “stage left,” “stage right,” and the blocking of everyone’s characters.
As any true actors would do, the 3rd Graders also rehearsed in their performance space, led by Chisty and 3rd Grade Teachers Alexa Shikar, Gio Casiano, Chris Lally, and Amy Conley. As students gradually grew confident enough to be “off book,” or have their lines fully memorized, teachers offered tips on projection and placement from the bleachers.
The students’ hard work culminated with their final performance, a joyful production that captured the power of understanding differences and being open to change.
“Young learners need experience with public speaking in many forms,” Chisty says. “Many of our projects and assemblies already include opportunities for students to present their work. Performing a musical is a beautiful medium for realizing this goal. Throughout this journey, we witnessed the joy students experienced engaging in this work, allowing such a project to simultaneously build skills, instill confidence, and create lifelong memories.”
