Grade: Elementary
Subject: Literature

#973. Drama for Arthur Stories

Literature, level: Elementary
Posted Sat Apr 10 09:15:51 PDT 1999 by Brian Beckenstein (beckensteinb@foxborough.k12.ma.us).
Igo Elementary School, Foxborough, MA
Materials Required: puppets or costumes
Activity Time: 1 hour
Concepts Taught: Puppet Show/Play about familiar Arthur stories

I have wrote a puppet show/play for two Arthur Stories by Marc Brown - Arthur's New Puppy and Arthur Meets the President.

Appropriate for grades 1-3


Arthur's New Puppy

Arthur
D.W.
Narrator
Mother/Francine
Father/Buster


Narr.: Arthur loved his new puppy.
And Pal loved Arthur.

Arthur: He's a very active puppy.

D.W.: He's a very naughty puppy.

Arthur: Don't worry. I'll have him trained in no time.

Narr: Arthur took his new puppy, Pal, to the garage.

Arthur: Here's your new home.
You'll have the whole garage to yourself.

Narr: But Pal did not like the garage. As soon as Arthur put him down,
Pal ran and hid. Arthur's parents walked in.

Arthur: He feels lonesome.
Can he stay in the house?
Please, please, please?

Mother: Oh, all right. But only for a day or two.

Narr: Arthur made a cozy spot for Pal in the kitchen.

Arthur: Look, he's so excited!
D.W. Look at your pants!
You have excitement all over them.

Arthur: It's o.k. He's just a baby.

D.W. Well, I think baby dogs should wear diapers.

Narr: Later, Pal ate his dinner in a flash.

D.W.: Oh, oh. He has that look in his eyes again.

Arthur: Quick, his leash!

Narr: But when Pal saw his leash, he ran and hid.

D.W. I don't think he likes his leash.

Arthur: Help me find him.

D.W. I guess he didn't have to go after all.
I was wrong.

Arthur: No, you were right. He just went.

Narr: Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Pal yelped and howled until he woke up the entire family.

Arthur: Go to sleep.

Narr: But Pal wanted to play.

Mother: Don't forget to close his gate.

Father: Good night.

D.W. Good luck!

Narr: The next morning Arthur was still in the kitchen.

D.W.: Wake up, sleepyhead, and be careful where you step.

Arthur: Oh, no! I forgot to close Pal's gate!

Mother: Here's your scooper.

Father: You think this is bad, wait until you see the living room.

Mother: My new drapes!

D.W.: My doll!

Arthur: Bad dog!

Mother: Pal is moving to the garage.

Father: Here's the key to the garage.
I'll help you move his things after dinner.

Narr: Father put the key on the hall table.
Arthur packed up Pal's things and went to get the garage key, but it was gone.
The whole family searched for the key Pal watched.

Mother: It must be here somewhere.

Narr: But the key was nowhere to be found.

Arthur: It looks like you can stay in the house one more night.

D.W.: I heard Mom and Dad whispering,
and Pal's in big trouble.
They said he better be trained soon or else!

Arthur: Shushh! You'll hurt his feelings.

Narr: That night, Arthur remembered to close Pal's gate.
At school, Arthur told Francine and Buster about training Pal.

Arthur: I'm going to teach him to do all kinds of things!

Buster: I used to have a puppy, too.
But he was too much trouble.
My parents sent him to a farm.

Francine: My cousin had a problem puppy.
No one could train him.
One day he just disappeared while she was at school.

Narr: After school Arthur hurried home.

Arthur: Pal, today we're going to start training lessons.

Narr: Each day, Arthur took Pal out in the backyard and trained Pal.

Arthur: Good dog, Pal. I think I'll put on a puppy show for my family. When they see how well you're trained, they'll never send you away.
Narr: That day, Arthur's family gathered in the backyard.

Arthur: Come! Sit! Down! Good dog!

Mother: He is a good dog!

Arthur: You mean he won't have to live on a farm?

Father: Of course not, not even in the garage.

Narr: No one noticed Pal run behind the rosebushes.
When Pal returned, he sat up and wagged his tail.

D.W. Look, he has something in his mouth.

Arthur: It's the key to the garage!

Father: Good boy, Pal!

Mother: Amazing!

Narr: That night Arthur gave Pal a special dinner.

Arthur: Time for your walk, Pal. I'll get your leash.
Hey, where is your leash? I know I left it right here.

Narr: While Arthur's family was looking for the leash, no one noticed Pal run behind the rosebushes with the leash in his mouth.

The End!

Arthur Meets the President
Arthur
Mr. Ratburn
D.W.
Mother
Mr. Haney
Father
Muffy/Francine
Buster


Mr. Ratburn: Listen Carefully, class. This is a national contest, so do your best work.

Muffy: I love contests. What do I win?

Mr. Ratburn: The winner visits the White House in Washington.

Arthur: What do we write about?

Mr. Ratburn: The subject is 'How I Can Help Make America Great'.

Narr: Everyone started writing. Arthur started thinking. He thought about the time he and D.W. helped old Mrs. Tibble clean her yard. He thought about how much more they could do in the neighborhood if the whole class helped. Then he began to write.
Weeks later, when Mr. Haney, the Principal, was opening the mail his hands began to shake.

Mr. Haney: It's a letter from the President!

2
Everyone: Open it!

Mr. Haney: Attention everyone! The President of the United States has written to announce the winner of the 'How I Can Help Make America Great' contest. And the winner is our very own Arthur! He and his class are invited to attend a special ceremony at the
White House.
Everyone: Yeah!!

Mr. Ratburn: Congratulations, Arthur! You'll have to work hard to memorize your paper so you can recite it to the President next Wednesday.

Arthur: Memorize....recite?

Mr. Ratburn: Of course. We'll all be cheering you on.

Narr: After school, Arthur slowly walked home.

D.W. You're on TV! The announcer said that you'll be reciting your speech for the President!

Arthur: I feel sick.

D.W.: Not as sick as you'll feel when you're giving your speech.

Mother: There's so much to do before we leave.
Arthur, you'll need a new suit.

D.W. What about me? I need to look beautiful when I meet the President.

3
Father: The President is very busy. He'll only have time to meet Arthur and hear him recite his essay.

Arthur: If I can remember it.

Father: Of course you can. Just relax. Pretend I'm the President and practice right now.

Narr: The thought of sitting next to the President made Arthur's mind go blank.

Arthur: Ah...ah...ah...

D.W.: Uh, oh.

Narr: On Monday everyone went to the airport and boarded the plane.
Arthur tried to study his speech on the plane.

Mr. Ratburn: Don't forget to mention me to the President for the Teacher of the Year award.

Buster: Aren't you excited?

Arthur: I'm too nervous to be excited.

D.W.: You need help. I'll make the speech for you.
I have a lot of ideas about how to run the country.

Narr: That night at the hotel Arthur was too worried to sleep.

Mother: What's the matter, Arthur?
4
Arthur: What if I forget my speech and the President laughs at me?

Father: The President would never laugh at you.
Why don't you write your speech on note cards and keep them in your pocket,
just in case.

Arthur: What a great idea!

Mother: Now try not to worry, and go to sleep.

Narr: The next morning everyone met in front of the White House.

Francine: Arthur, You look so handsome!

Mr. Ratburn: Ready to meet the President?

Arthur: I guess.

Muffy: Here comes the President!

Narr: The President's helicopter arrived.
Arthur reached in his pocket to take out his note cards but the wind blew them all away.

Arthur: My speech!

Mr. Ratburn: Relax, you'll be fine.

Narr: D.W. wasn't so sure. She had a plan.


5
Arthur: Good afternoon, Mr. President.
When I think about what I can do to make America great...ah...ah...ah...
Narr: Suddenly Buster giggled.
Soon everyone was giggling.
Even the President was laughing.
Arthur turned bright red.
And when Arthur saw what they were laughing at, he laughed too.

D.W.: Hey, Arthur, look over here!

Narr: D.W. had climbed a tree and was holding a poster that had Arthur's speech on it.
Now Arthur felt much better. He recited his whole speech without forgetting a single word.

Arthur: And in conclusion, we can all help make America great by helping other.

D.W.: Good! Then help me down!


The End!