To access a complete list of GA Performance Standards for all grades and subjects, please visit http://www.georgiastandards.org/. Thank you for choosing the Center for Puppetry Arts for your study trip. We hope that your students’ experience here will live on in their memories for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Alan LouisDirector of Museum and Education Programs

Dear Educator,

Welcome to the Center for Puppetry Arts and our production of The Last Dragon on Earth, adapted and performed by Crabgrass Puppet Theatre of Halifax, Vermont. Founded in 1978, the Center is a cherished cultural and educational resource in Atlanta. We value your patronage and are delighted that you have chosen us as a teaching resource. Your students are in for a big treat!

This study guide was designed to enhance student learning before and after your visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts. The Last Dragon on Earth is an adaptation of E. Nesbit’s short story The Fiery Dragon published in 1899. This delightful puppet play is the perfect accompaniment to a thematic unit on dragons, children’s literature, fantasy, fables, folk tales or fairy tales.

All three areas of programming at the Center for Puppetry Arts (performance, puppet-making workshops and Museum) meet Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) and Georgia Bright from the Start Pre-K Program Standards. To access the GA Performance Standards that have been correlated to each programming area according to grade level, click the links below:

The Last Dragon on Earth, P-K & K The Last Dragon on Earth, Grade 1The Last Dragon on Earth, Grade 2The Last Dragon on Earth, Grade 3The Last Dragon on Earth, Grade 4The Last Dragon on Earth, Grade 5The Last Dragon on Earth, Grade 6

A Note from the Education Department

Center for Puppetry Arts® Study Guide

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The Last Dragonon Earth By Crabgrass Puppet Theater of Halifax, V T

Jamie Keithline

© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved. 2

Edith Nesbit was born on August 15, 1858 in London. A writer and poet, she published under the name E. Nesbit. Most famous for her children’s fiction books The Railway Children and Five Children and It, Nesbit was a prolific writer of many poems, plays, short stories, both fiction and non-fiction. Her short story, The Fiery Dragon, on which The Last Dragon on Earth is based, was originally published in 1899 in The Strand maga-zine. Unlike her predecessors Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows) and Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonder-land, Through the Looking Glass) who created second-ary worlds of fantasy apart from everyday life, Nesbit crafted an innovative body of work that combined realistic, contemporary children in real-world settings with magical objects and adventures that sometimes included travel to fantastic worlds. Many subsequent writers have named her as an influence, including P.L. Travers (Mary Poppins), C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series).

About the Author

Edith Nesbit

CRABGRASS PUPPET THEATRE is an award-winning touring puppet theatre founded in 1982 by Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall. Jamie and Bonny met in 1979, while performing in Laughingstock!, a puppet-and-actor production at the University of Connecticut in which Bonny played Jamie’s father. They have been working together ever since!

Bonny Hall started a puppet troupe while in high school in Greensboro, N.C., and liked it so much that she decided to make it her profession. She made her way to the University of Connecticut, the only university in the country to offer Bachelors and Masters degrees in puppetry. While at UConn, she ran into Jamie Keithline. Jamie was studying acting, but he fell in with the wrong crowd and wound up becoming a puppeteer. Following graduation, Bonny and Jamie toured the East Coast with the Pandemonium Puppet Company. They now live in Halifax, Vermont, a tiny town in the hills near Brattleboro. Jamie and Bonny have given many thousands of performances in schools, libraries, museums, and arts festivals, and have performed at over two dozen regional, national, and international puppetry festivals.

Crabgrass Puppet Theatre has twice been awarded the prestigious Citation of Excellence from the American Center of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA-USA), the highest honor in American puppetry, in 2001 and again in 2005. In 2008, Bonny Hall received a Commendation for Design in the Puppet Theatre from the Arlyn Award Foundation.

Crabgrass Puppet Theatre’s performing venues have included the World Trade Center, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, the Philadelphia Museum, Paper Mill Playhouse, the North Carolina Museum, the New York State Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the California Academy of Sciences, the Detroit Institute for the Arts, and hundreds of schools, museums, and theaters across the country. Crabgrass Puppet Theatre performs more than 200 shows each year, reaching over 100,000 people throughout the U.S.

About the Company

3© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

The Last Dragon on Earth is performed with rod, shadow, and hand puppets.

Rod puppets are moved from below or behind with rods (sticks). The Dragon is a rod puppet, with one main rod attached to the head, and a strap attached to the underside of the Dragon’s belly which the puppeteer grasps to control the body and tail.

Shadow puppets are two-dimensional (flat) figures that are placed against a screen that has a light behind it, so that the audience sees the shadow of the puppet. The puppets have rods that allow the puppeteers to hold them against the screen and move different parts. Shadow puppets can also be played on an overhead projector.

Hand puppets are one of the earliest forms of puppet theater. Many countries and cultures have hand puppet traditions, including China, Great Britain, and France. There are several different ways to manipulate hand puppets; with these puppets we put our index and middle fingers in the head, the thumb in one arm, and the fourth and fifth fingers in the other arm.

Style of Puppetry

For as long as anyone can remember, princes have killed dragons and rescued princesses. It’s the way things have always been done. But what happens if the princess doesn’t need rescuing, and the dragon to be killed is the very last one on Earth?

This Princess is much better at swordplay than the Prince and is ready to confront the Dragon. But the Prince, an intellectual sort of chap, informs her that this is the last dragon on Earth.

The King insists that they go ahead with the dragon slaying. “It’s tradition!” the King tells them. “Everyone knows you can’t have a wedding unless the Prince rescues the Princess and chops off the Dragon’s head.”

The Prince and Princess soon learn that the Dragon has no interest in having the Princess for brunch. He only wants to be left alone. “But we want to get married!” the Prince explains. “How nice for you. I hope you’ll be very happy together. Now go away!” growls the Dragon irritably. The Prince and the Princess are stumped.

“What can we do?” asks the Princess. “My father said you have to bring him the Dragon’s head if we’re going to get married.” “Yes . . .” says the Prince, “but he didn’t say it couldn’t be attached to the rest of the Dragon, did he? Perhaps it’s time for a new tradition!”

This modern fairy tale is a wonderful introduction to the concept of species extinction and is brought to life by Crabgrass Puppet Theatre with their trademark blend of beautiful puppets, fabulous pop-up scenery full of castles and caves, and hysterically funny action.

Synopsis

4© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

Bibliography• Blumberg, Rhoda. The Truth About Dragons. Scholastic, 1980.

• Carlson, Laurie. Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide. Chicago Review Press, 1998.

• Carus, Marianne. Fire and Wings: Dragon Tales from East and West. Cricket Books, 2002.

• DePaola, Tomie. The Knight and the Dragon. Putnam Publishing Group, 1992.

• Gibbons, Gail. Behold…the Dragons! Morrow, 1999.

• Grahame, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon. Henry Holt & Company, 1988.

• Gravett, Christopher. Eyewitness Books: Castle. Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

• Green, John. Life in a Medieval Castle and Village Coloring Book. Dover Publications, Inc. 1990.

• Hart, Avery & Mantell, Paul. Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience the Middle Ages Williamson Publishing, 1998.

• Kent, Jack. There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon. Golden Books Publishing, Inc., 2001.

• Levin, Freddie. 1-2-3 Draw Knights, Castles and Dragons: A Step-by-Step Guide. Peel Productions, Inc., 2002.

• Nesbit, E. Five Children and It. Puffin, 2008.

• Nesbit, E. The Last of the Dragons. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980.

• Nesbit, E. The Railway Children. Puffin, 1994.

• Passes, David. Dragons: Truth, Myth and Legend. Golden Books, 1993.

• Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Scholastic, 2001.

• Thayer, Jane. The Popcorn Dragon. William Morrow and Company, 1989.

• Topsell, John. How to Raise and Keep a Dragon. Quarto Publishing Inc., 2006.

Children’s books written by Edith Nesbit

http://www.crabgrasspuppets.com/Visit the Crabgrass Puppet Theatre online.

http://www.edithnesbit.co.uk/Visit the Edith Nesbit Society in the UK.

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/komodo_dragon.htmRead all about Komodo dragons, the world’s largest living reptiles, at the Honolulu Zoo’s website.

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/china/color/index.htmVisit this website to print a Chinese dragon coloring sheet.

http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1346Get a recipe for Chinese New Year dragon cookies (Loong Paeng) here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_GeorgeRead about St. George, Patron Saint of England (and famous dragon slayer), at this informative website.

http://www.multiculturalarts.com/NewFiles/dragon.htmlVisit Multicultural Arts.com to print and color a Chinese dragon shadow puppet.

http://www.thepuppetstudio.com/w.shadow.htmlSee a colorful Balinese shadow puppet dragon at the Puppet Studio website.

Internet Resources

5© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

Townespeople from The Last Dragon on Earth

P-K & K: Geometric Castles

Georgia Bright from the Start Pre-K Content Standards covered: Mathematical Development MD 4 a (Recognizes, describes and compares basic geometric shapes), MD 4 c (Uses language to indicate where things are in space: positions, directions, distances, order; Language and Literacy Development, LD 5 d (Associates symbols with objects, concepts and functions). Georgia Performance Standards covered: Kindergarten, Mathematics, Geometry: MKG1 a, b, c, d, e; MKG2 a, b.

Objective: Students will create a castle scene using squares, circles, triangles and rectangles.

Materials: Geometric Shape Template Sheet, sample images of castles, scissors, bottled glue or glue sticks, 12” x 18” sheets of blue (representing the sky) construction paper, crayons or markers.

Procedure: 1. Teacher should photocopy several Geometric Shape Template Sheets for each student. Teacher

may have to precut shapes depending on students’ prior experience cutting with scissors.

2. Have students identify and sort each shape on the Template Sheet: squares, circles, triangles and rectangles.

3. Show students sample images (actual photographs or illustrations) of castles. Ask them to identify any geometric shapes that they see.

4. Give each student a 9” x 12” piece of blue construction paper. (More industrious students might need a larger sheet of paper.) Ask students to use their shapes to create a castle of their own. Suggest that they arrange the shapes to complete the whole picture first before permanently gluing anything to their construction paper.

5. Students may enhance their castle scene using crayons or markers to add people, animals, dragons, etc. to their pictures.

6. When students have finished, ask each student to describe her/his picture to the class naming each geometric shape used. Ask students to describe the location of certain shapes on their castles, for example, “I put the triangle over the rectangle to form a tower.”

Assessment: Collect work samples for student math portfolios.

Learning Activities

6© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

7© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

Geometric Shape Template Sheet

1st & 2nd Grade: Dragon Fraction Activity Sheet

Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade 1, Mathematics, Number and Operations M1N4 c; Grade 2, Mathematics, Number and Operations M2N4 a, b.

Objective: Students will relate fractions (halves, thirds, fourths, etc.) to concrete pictorial models of the fractions.

Materials: Blue crayons, chart paper and markers (or a dry erase or chalk board), Dragon Fraction Activity Sheets from this study guide (one per student).

Procedure:1. Review fractions with students. Explain that the number below the line (denominator)

represents the whole and the number above the line (numerator) represents the part of the whole. Demonstrate this concept using groups of like objects and write the numerical representation in the form of a fraction on the board or on chart paper.

2. Distribute Dragon Fraction Activity Sheets and blue crayons.

3. Ask students to color the number of dragons that will represent the fraction given for each group. For example, since ½ is one out of two, just one dragon should be colored blue.

Assessment: Collect student handouts and check for accuracy. Remediate if necessary.

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Learning Activities

The Prince from The Last Dragon on Earth

© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

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Name _____________________________________ Date ________________

Dragon Fraction ActivityDirections: Using a blue crayon, color the correct number of dragons to represent the fraction shown for each group.

1/2 2/3

6/6 1/4

© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

3rd & 4th Grade: Surprising Animal Stories

Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade 3, English Language Arts and Reading, Writing: ELA3W1 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i; ELA3W2 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j. Grade 4, English Language Arts and Reading, Writing: ELA4W1 a, b, c, d; ELA4W2 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h.

Objective: Students will write and illustrate their own short story about an animal that behaves in an unexpected way.

Materials: Paper and pencils or computers with word processing software and crayons or markers.

Procedure:1. The Last Dragon on Earth is a story where an animal acts in a way that surprises people because

they assume that such beasts are their natural enemies. Ask students to list other creatures (real or imagined) that most people have been conditioned to fear.

2. Students should then pick a creature from their list. Ask students to write a story about their creature that will surprise the reader.

3. Prewriting – brainstorm possible story ideas. What is it about the animal that people fear? What might the animal do in the story to counteract this fear?

4. Drafting – use prewriting ideas to complete first draft.

5. Revising – improve sentences, expand sentence variety, organize to form a clear beginning, middle and end.

6. Editing – check for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

7. Publishing – add illustrations and share writing with others.

Assessment: Collect writing samples for Language Arts portfolios.

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Learning Activities

© 2009 Center for Puppetry Arts®. All Rights Reserved.

Dinner scene from The Last Dragon on Earth

5th & 6th Grade: Gods or Monsters? Dragons in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Georgia Performance Standards covered: Grade 5, , English Language Arts and Reading, Reading: (for informational texts) ELA5R1 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h; Grade 6, English Language Arts and Reading, Reading and Literature: (for informational texts) ELA6R1 a, b, c, d, e.

Objective: Students will work in groups to conduct research. Students will state the cultural similarities and differences in the ways Westerners (Europeans, Americans) and Easterners (Asians) have perceived dragons throughout history.

Materials: Computers with Internet access, trade books about dragons from school media center or public library, paper, pens or pencils.

Procedure:1. First, explain to students that The Last Dragon on Earth is a story that challenges people’s ideas about

something that is automatically perceived as a threat in Western culture. Survey students’ prior knowledge of dragons. What images come to mind at the mere mention of the word? Are they positive or negative images? Explain to students that the same symbol can have different meanings in different cultures around the world.

2. Divide students into small groups and tell them that their assignment will be to find as much

information on dragons as possible. After they have gathered their information, they are to work together to classify that information as having either a Western or an Eastern perspective.

3. Before students begin their search for materials, have students keep one page of notebook paper for their observations about Western perceptions of dragons and one page for their observations about Eastern perceptions of dragons. Remind students that illustrations of dragons contain important cultural information.

4. Students should visit the school media center or public library to locate books, print or multimedia encyclopedias, periodicals, Web sites, etc., to find information on dragons. What do Chinese dragons symbolize vs. dragons found in English literature? Is there one “correct” interpretation? (Chinese art and culture resources as well as the story of St. George and the Dragon will be very helpful.)

5. When students have finished, ask each group to share what it learned about the different cultural perspectives of dragons. Ask students to give specific examples of why different cultures might have different perceptions about dragons.

Assessment: Ask students to write a paragraph summarizing what they learned from the activity. Keep paragraphs in students’ portfolios.

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Center for Puppetry Arts® is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and is supported in part by contributions from corporations, founda-tions, government agencies, and individuals. Major funding for the Center is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council. Major support is provided by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. This program is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center is a Member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts. The Center also serves as headquarters of UNIMA-USA, the American branch of Union Internationale de la Marionnette, the international puppetry organization.

Learning Activities

Study Guide Feedback FormThe following questions are intended for teachers and group leaders

who make use of the Center for Puppetry Arts’ study guides.

1404 Spring Street, NW at 18th • Atlanta, Georgia USA 30309-2820Ticket Sales: 404.873.3391 • Administrative: 404.873.3089 • www.puppet.org • info@puppet.org

Headquarters of UNIMA-USA • Member of Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts and Theatre Communications GroupText by Alan Louis • Design by Melissa Hayes

© Center for Puppetry Arts® Education Department, September 2009.

1. In what grade are your students?

2. Which show did you see? When?

3. Was this your first time at the Center?

4. Was this the first time you used a Center Study Guide?

5. Did you download/use the guide before or after your field trip?

6. Did you find the bibliography useful? If so, how?

7. Did you find the list of online resources useful? If so, how?

8. Did you reproduce the grade-appropriate activity sheet for your class?

9. Additional information and/or comments:

Please fax back to the Center for Puppetry Arts at 404.873.9907. Your feedback will help us to better meet your needs. Thank you for your help!

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