First Graders Teach Brandeis Core Values through Performance of The Unusual Woodpeckers

In front of a packed house in the beit midrash, first graders performed The Unusual Woodpeckers, a story the class collaboratively adapted from the play The Ugly Duckling. “Our students took ownership of every aspect of this play: the costumes, the music, the background, the props, and the script,” says teacher Nicole Schoentag. As part of adapting The Ugly Duckling, the class chose to change the characters and the ending of the story to make it more in line with our Brandeis core values of integrity, kindness, and service. They also decided to take out the word “ugly” from the title and replace it with “unusual.”

 

“This play tied into our Writer’s Workshop unit on fiction,” Ms. Schoentag explains. “We began planning in February, focusing on characters, setting, problem, and solution—the main teaching points of the Writer’s Workshop unit. The finished play was a magical showcase of student-centered, project-based learning.” MORE PHOTOS

Click here for a video of the performance.