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Holiday High Jinks
By Cara Bafile

Grade Level: 3-6

Story Preview: When a feuding cat and dog discover that their family has holiday travel plans, they join forces with a spunky mouse to keep everyone home for the holidays.

Roles: Narrator 1 (speaks in rhyme), Narrator 2, Mother, Angela, Muffin (the cat), Rascal (the dog), Moose (the mouse)

Setting: Christmas Eve at home, present day

Theme: Friendship and turning the other cheek.

Vocabulary:

• menace -- something that threatens to cause harm
• physique -- structure of the body
• piqued -- awakened or grabbed
• scheme -- plot or plan
• pip-squeak -- one who is small
• sabotage -- disrupt, interfere with
• ruffian -- hooligan or tough guy

Props: Optional props include cat ears, dog ears, and mouse ears.

Follow-Up Questions:

• Why were Muffin and Rascal shut in the kitchen together on Christmas Eve?
• Why does Moose believe he is "big?"
• What makes Mouse "big" from Muffin's point-of-view?
• Why does Moose tell everyone to "please turn the other cheek?"
• What character of the holiday season is Moose like? How do you know?

Follow-Up Activity: Have the students divide into small groups of about three and write "interviews" with the character of Moose from this story. They should prepare a list of questions and write responses as Moose. Questions might focus on what really happened on Christmas Eve, how Moose happened to be in the house that night, and his true identity. If you choose, students might share their interviews as skits, with one or two students acting as reporters and one playing the role of the mouse.

Additional Notes: The lines for Muffin (the cat), Rascal (the dog), and Moose (the mouse) contain words that replicate sounds made by those animals -- "purr," "ruff," and "eek." Before reading the script, discuss with students the correct spelling and meaning of each of those words. Encourage readers to emphasize the animal sounds in those words as they read them.

Article by Cara Bafile
Education World®
Copyright © 2005 Education World

12/02/2005