Teaching The Borrowers

Instructions for You

Objective: Do you have an active bunch of students? You know the type we're talking about: Anything that gets them out of their seats holds their attention. This activity is designed to get your kids moving, by setting their creative writing skills into motion to generate a script for a scene from The Borrowers, and then acting it out. They're free to update the scene as much as they want, placing it in the modern day, the future, or casting it with dinosaurs. Think of it as Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Classroom Style.

This activity is designed to be done once you're finished reading the book, and depending on how long your class periods are, may take up to five sessions to complete.

Materials Needed: Computer with word processing software; copies of The Borrowers; video camera and the ability to screen videos in the classroom (optional)

Step 1: To get your students excited about this activity, ask them to share their favorite reality TV shows. We're thinking this is one class discussion that they'll happily participate in.

Step 2: Now it's time to bring The Borrowers into the mix. Start by asking your students about their favorite scenes in the book. Questions to pose to your class as they share these include:

• What makes this moment particularly memorable?
• What is the most dramatic part of this moment?
• If this same thing were to happen now, how would it be different? How would it be the same?

To be clear, the goal here isn't to come up with an exhaustive list—it's to get your students really thinking about a few stand-out parts of the text, what makes them so engaging, and what they might look like in an updated version. You're guiding your students through a mini-model of the work they're about to do on a grander scale.

Step 3: Break your class into groups of no more than five students. Explain to them that their task now is to agree upon a scene from The Borrowers to reimagine in a different setting—and yes, putting a reality TV twist on it is totally cool, but so is casting it with dinosaurs. Once they've agreed on their scene, they'll need to write a script for it (remind them that all key elements from the book, like personality traits, much be maintained), figure out a setting and gather props, and then—depending on your preference—either film their scene or act it out in front of the class.

Step 4: After each group presents, pose the following questions to them:

• Is there anything you learned about the book while doing this activity that you hadn't picked up on earlier?
• What was hardest about translating your scene from The Borrowers into a different context? What was easiest?

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: Have you ever wanted to produce your own reality television show? You know, the kind where cameras follow you around while you go about your business? Well, today's your lucky day, because you're going to do just this—except instead of cameras following you around (no need to rush home and clear your room), you're going to take one scene from The Borrowers and reimagine it into a reality TV context (or something other setting—that's between you, your imagination, and your partners). Think of it as Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Classroom Style.

Step 1: Question: What is your favorite reality television show? Don't be ashamed—they're pretty much everyone's guilty pleasure. Now raise your hand and let everyone in your class know what's clogging up your DVR.

Step 2: Now it's time to bring The Borrowers into the mix. Start by thinking about your favorite scenes in the book. Questions to consider as you think on this include:

• What makes this moment particularly memorable?
• What is the most dramatic part of this moment?
• If this same thing were to happen now, how would it be different? How would it be the same?

Step 3: With your group, your task now is to agree upon a scene from The Borrowers to reimagine in a different setting—and yes, putting a reality TV twist on it is totally cool, but so is casting it with dinosaurs. Once you've all agreed on your scene, you'll need to write a script for it (remember that all key elements from the book, like personality traits, should be maintained), figure out a setting and gather props, and then—depending on your teacher's preference—either film your scene or act it out in front of the class. Here are some questions to guide you as your work:

• Which characters are in this scene, and what key traits do they have?
• What is this moment really about?
• How can the same things be said in a different style of speaking?
• What props do we need to really pull this off?
• Is everyone contributing? Not everyone has to act, but everyone does need to pull their weight.

<strong>Step 4:</strong> On presentation day, after it's your group's turn, be prepared to answer the following questions:

• Is there anything you learned about the book while doing this activity that you hadn't picked up on earlier?
• What was hardest about translating your scene from The Borrowers into a different context? What was easiest?