Another method is to have the various members suggest lines to be spoken by the different characters and choose the best for the play. Sometimes a child who does little in the usual composition work and never gets a high mark, will suggest an excellent line or sentence, and to have it go into the play is a tremendous joy to him, especially if he doubts his own ability. Another plan that makes the class interest keen, is for each member to plan or write a scene, and without the members knowing the authorship of the various papers, have them read, and select the best by vote, whereupon the name of the writer is revealed. This method can be used in writing parts for one character or for all the characters, and in several other ways that will be of much value to the children.
Of course the teacher or leader must be the guiding spirit, because a well-built, correctly proportioned plot is necessary. But her suggestion should be chiefly by way of question, leaving the children to feel that they, and not the instructor, are doing the work, although in reality the teacher’s judgment is the foundation upon which the structure stands, and she must use it in building the play just as she uses it in telling the story.
For little people there are many stories with dramatic possibilities, some of which may be acted wholly in pantomime, some with combined pantomime and spoken parts, and others entirely of spoken parts. In working with foreign children it is well to begin with pantomime plays, as the child who knows he cannot express himself easily in English will always balk at taking a speaking part. Some of Æsop’s fables lend themselves particularly well to pantomime, especially “The Lion and the Mouse,” “The Fox and the Grapes,” “The Dog and His Shadow,” and “The Hare and the Tortoise.” _The Dramatic Festival_, by Craig, and _Festivals and Plays_, by Chubb, give valuable suggestions for pantomime work, as well as a list of plays adapted to it, and the worker with older children will also find these books to be excellent guides.
There is an equally large amount of material for dramatic work with older children. _Hiawatha_ never fails to delight fourth and fifth grade boys and girls. _Robin Hood_ in dramatic form is loved even more than in story, as are some of the exploits of King Arthur and his knights and of Pwyll, the hero of the Mabinogion. Any of these tales may be carried out simply or may be worked into elaborate performances with costumes and stage settings. If the latter be the choice, much pleasure and useful experience will come to the children through making the properties. Any boy who can whittle can fashion spears and swords, and gold and silver paper is wonderfully effective in supplying glitter. Does a knight need colored hose to be in keeping with his doublet? Let him borrow a pair of his mother’s or sister’s white ones and coat them with blackboard crayon of the desired hue. One laundering will make them spotless again, and there is no outlay of money for something that must be discarded at the end of the performance. Helmets, shields, and pilgrim hats can be made by the manual-training boys, and girls in the domestic-science class will enjoy sewing the costumes.