ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

by Judith Viorst

SYNOPSIS

Alexander is having a bad day. A terrible day. A terrible, horrible day. To be quite honest, it’s a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But then, everybody has bad days, sometimes. In this delightful adaptation of her popular children’s book, Judith Viorst sets Alexander’s rather trying life to music and brings to the stage one of America’s feistiest characters. Not only does Alexander wake up with gum in his hair, but his mother forgets to pack him dessert, and his best friend decides he’s not his best friend anymore. And if that’s not bad enough, Alexander’s brothers don’t have any cavities but -- he does. And just when it can’t get any worse, there are lima beans for supper and -- yuck! -- kissing on TV. It is enough to make anyone want to go to Australia. Alexander’s struggles with life’s daily dramas will not only entertain but educate young audiences as they identify with Alexander and the obstacles he encounters, encouraging them to share their feelings and to realize that bad days happen -- even in Australia.

Before The Play

Ø Read the book to familiarize students with the story.

General Use

I. Central Issues

Alexander’s mother tells him that everyone has bad days, sometimes. Do you think that is true?

Ø As a group, brainstorm ideas for coping with bad days. Some good examples to include may be:

Ø Talk to someone you trust. List those people--mother, friend, sister, neighbor, teacher, grandfather...

Ø Talk to/play with a pet.

Ø Draw a picture about your day.

Ø Write down how you are feeling--maybe in a journal or diary.

Ø Think of some other things in your day or life that are going well or that you are happy about. Make a list or draw a picture of these.

Ø Exercise. It can really help to get frustration out and make you feel strong and healthy.

Ø Read a book or story that you like or that makes you happy.

Ø Think of something you like to do and go do it!

Ø How can you tell if someone is having a bad day? What kinds of sounds might they make? What might they look like (body language, facial expression)?

Ø What are some things you could do to help someone else who is having a bad day?

Creative Writing

Ø A journal or diary is often a daily record of personal activities, reflections, feelings, events, and/or observations. If Alexander, his mother, Paul and Phillip, or another character from the story kept a journal, what do you think he or she might have written?

Ø One of the things that contributes to Alexander’s bad day is that his friends, Paul and Phillip, won’t include him in any of their activities. How did that make him feel?

Ø Also, Alexander’s best friend, Paul, says he is no longer Alexander’s best friend. Why are friends are important and how can we develop friendships?

Ø What do you think are good qualities for a friend to have? What do you try to do to be a good friend? Write a story about friends.

Ø Write an alternative ending to the story from different decision points throughout the story.

Ø Write or tell about a time when:

Ø You rode in a carpool

Ø You got a prize in the cereal box

Ø You were smushed in the seat of a car between several people

Ø You had a bad day at school

Ø Write a story about Alexander having a wonderful day, instead!

Language Arts / Vocabulary

Art

Ø Make a mural. On a piece of butcher paper, draw the progression of things that happened to Alexander throughout his bad day.

Ø Design a greeting card encouraging Alexander to feel better. What could you say to help him feel that everything is going to be okay. It can be very nice when someone notices that you are frustrated and tries to help. Create a card for someone you know who could use a little cheering up. Why not send a greeting to someone you know who hasn’t been smiling much lately?

Ø SHOES! Most people have a favorite pair of shoes. Draw your favorite pair of shoes and write a few sentences or words describing them.

Ø What is for dinner? Alexander didn’t like lima beans. Do you? If you could cook dinner for yourself, what would you make? Draw a picture of your favorite dinner and describe what it is. What if you were cooking dinner for other members of your family? What foods do they like? Draw the favorite meals of your parent(s)/brother(s)/sister(s).

Ø On the maze below, help Alexander find his way to Australia without running into the dental drill, copy machine, lima beans, or kissing on TV -- yuck!

Geography/History

Ø Where is Australia? Is it a country, a continent, a city...? Find out about the history of Australia. Who are the native/indiginous people to that land? What language do those people speak? When and how did others begin to move into the continent?

Ø Find Australia on a map. What are the major cities in Australia?

Ø What is the terrain of Australia like? On a traced map, students can place cities, moutains, deserts, rainforests,..etc and color in the spaces accordingly.

Science

There are a myriad of fascinating and unique animal and plant species living in Australia. What kinds of animals do you find there that you don’t find anywhere else?

Ø What is a Monotreme (platypus and echidna)? A Marsupial?

Ø Other examples include:

Ø Dasyurids (Tasmanian devil, quoll, antechinus, dunnarts and others); marsupial "mole"; numbat; bandicoots and bilbies; kangaroos and wallabies; bettongs and potoroos; dingos; possums, gliders and cuscuses;honey "possum"; koala; wombat; rodents, bats; penguins (southern coasts), emu, cassowary, grebes, albatrosses and kin, waders, herons and kin; turtles, crocodiles, lizards (frilly-necked lizard), skinks, snakes.

Ø Do a report on one of these animals and what makes it unique.

Ø What are the different ecosystems that support these various species?

Ø What is an “Extinct Species?” Investigate some extinct species that once lived in Australia.

Red-finned Blue-eye

Lake Eacham Rainbowfish

Swan Galaxias

Northern River Shark

Grey Nurse Shark (east coast population)

Speartooth Shark

Oxleyan Pygmy Perch

White-bellied Frog, Creek Frog

Armoured Mistfrog

Mountain Mistfrog

Fleay's Frog

Lace-eyed Tree Frog, Australian Lacelid

Loggerhead Turtle

Gulf Snapping Turtle

Corangamite Water Skink

Adelaide Blue-tongue Lizard

Grassland Earless Dragon

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Tasmanian)

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (south-eastern)

Norfolk Island Green Parrot, Red-crowned Parakeet (Norfolk Island)

Coxen's Fig-Parrot

Northern Royal Albatross

Gouldian Finch

Orange-bellied Parrot

Semon's Leaf-nosed Bat, Greater Wart-nosed Horseshoe-bat

Mala, Rufous Hare-Wallaby (central mainland form)

Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Karkarratul, Northern Marsupial Mole

Western Barred Bandicoot (Shark Bay)

Konoom, Smoky Mouse

Carpentarian Rock-rat

Long-footed Potoroo

Mountain Pygmy-possum

Southern Right Whale

Ø Some helpful internet resources on these topics include:

http://www.ea.gov.au/biodiversity/

http://eis.net.au/~ecotoura/wildlife.html

Whales - http://orrca.org.au/

Mammals - http://www.australianmammals.org.au/

All of the bio links you could want - http://eis.net.au/~ecotoura/Wildlifeinfo.html

Ø Alexander goes to the dentist and discovers he has a cavity (and his brothers do not!). What is a cavity? Why do people get cavities? What does the dentist do about a cavity? The dentist gives Alexander a shot of Novocain. What is Novacain and what does it do?

Ø What could Alexander do to try to prevent getting more cavities? Learn about teeth, gums, and good oral hygiene.

Ø Some helpful internet resources on these topics include:

American Dental Association - http://www.ada.org/

American Dental Hygienists’ Association - http://www.adha.org/

THEATRE/PERFORMANCE

Ø This play uses full animal suits for the kangaroo and koala instead of having the actors just painted and dressed as an animal. Why might they have chosen to do it this way? What do you think it is like for the actor inside the animal suit? Do you think it would be harder to move and/or see with the large head on?

Ø Because there are a lot of small roles in this play, one actor can play several parts. If you were supposed to play one of Alexander’s brothers in one scene, then be a koala in the next, how could you change your appearance quickly? Do you think the full animal costume might help with this? What if you were just changing from one person to another--how could you make yourself look different in a short amount of time? How much can you change your appearance just by changing your body movements, facial expression, and voice (acting)?

Additional - Write to CTC

Ø After watching the play, write about it. Tell what you liked or disliked about the story, the characters, costumes, or set. support you thoughts with examples and reasons. Mail to: P.O.Box 2007, Sunnyvale, CA 94087. Teacher’s comments are appreciated!