Performance+and+Mr.Pip

Created by Surabhi Mukhi Pages 34 to 47 of //Mister Pip// make really interesting reading in terms of humor and for collecting facts about the island. Mr. Watts decides to invite over parents to talk about topics of interest.Two of the parents, Mrs.Masoi and Mrs.Laimo chose to address the classroom on various topics.The finer points to notice are seeing the children's reaction on seeing their parents address the classroom. Mr.Watts steps aside as the teacher and the parents take over. Mrs.Masoi shares with the class certain cooking tips regarding pigs, octopuses, turtles, etc. Matilda's mother, Mrs.Laimo, addresses the class to talk about faith and discusses the contents of the Good Book (aka the Bible).She also talks about crabs and how they send signals to the island fishermen about the weather.

The setting of the classroom and the parents with Mr.Watts as an audience makes an interesting Mini Performance Exercise.The performance based reading of the text can be undertaken by writing the lesson in script form and creating a set of casts and narratives regarding the scenes.

The students will gain in manifold ways as they will get an opportunity for close reading, gathering facts about the island, and understanding parental roles in the text. It also highlights student observation regarding the setting, placement of characters, as well as the expressions and reactions that follow.

The students can write about their experiences in journals to be discussed the next day in class. It is a fun exercise which can be undertaken several times as the students will find many opportunities of performance aimed towards close reading of the text.