This week we have been reading the second book of the Jungle Book (rather than chapters, the book is divided into three long books.) In the section we just read, Mowgli has been learning the laws of the jungle from Baloo, who sometimes hits him when he doesn’t listen or is cheeky. Bagheera disapproves, and doesn’t think the child should be beaten, but Baloo has his own way. We’ve talked as a class about how this is different from the movie, and different from what is acceptable today.
To explore the events of the story, and the relationship between characters, students created tableaux in drama. A tableau is like a frozen picture, the actors are not moving or speaking, and the audience closes their eyes or looks away as the actors get ready so that the tableau is a surprise. In groups of two or three, students chose an event from the story and decided how to show it in two tableaux. The tableaux were quite powerful, as you can see from the photos.
**April 16 update – To comply with Burnaby School District guidelines for sharing online photos of students these images were removed. Please email me if you are interested in seeing them.
