Page 3: Hans Christian Andersen. About his life and stories Page 5: The Original Snow Queen and Z-arts version Page 6: Life in 1845 Page 7: Pre Show History Activity Page 8: Post Show History Activity Page 9: Pre Show Science Activity Page 10: Pre Show Geography Activity Page 11: Pre Show Maths Activity Page 13: Post Show Music Activity Page 15: Drama Activities KS2/3 Pre and Post Show Page 27: Creative Writing Activities Page 29: Digital Engagement Activities Page 31: Online Safety Page 33: Word search/ Quiz/ Code game Page 34: Resources 2 Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense in Denmark 2nd April 1805. His father was a shoe maker and his mother was a washer woman. His father died when he was only 11 and so he had to take on work to help support his mother. He had jobs as an apprentice weaver and tailor. But he really loved singing and performing, when he was 14 he moved to Copenhagen to be an actor but he wasn’t able to make a career of it. He eventually went back to school when he was 17 and it was then that he realised his passion for writing. During his career Hans Christian Andersen had over 160 stories published. These include stories which are still told and read today such as ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Ugly Duckling’. His stories became popular all over the world particularly in England and Germany. It was on one of his visits to England that he became friends with another famous writer, Charles Dickens. Andersen was always self-conscious about his humble beginnings – this is reflected in the themes of many of his stories. He particularly explores wealth, self-worth and the meaning of life. Throughout his life, he cared a lot about what other people thought of him and worried about fitting in, this was particularly relevant in the plots of The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Ugly Duckling. The story of The Red Shoes was based on an early memory when Andersen’s father was making a pair of red silk shoes for a wealthy woman, she was unsatisfied with his work and so he cut up the shoes in front of her. Andersen’s stories did not always result in happy endings and so these endings have been adapted by other story tellers, particularly when the stories are being made into films. 3 Andersen died on the 4th August 1875; he had consulted with a composer shortly before his death and asked that the music at his funeral should ‘keep in time with little steps’ as he knew there would be many children at his funeral. In his last will and testament Andersen donated his rare books and manuscripts, including proofs editions of Charles Dickenson’s work, to the Danish Royal Library. Other Hans Christian Anderson Stories include; • The Princess and the Pea • Thumbelina • The Sandman • The Emperor’s New Clothes • The Little Match Girl • The Tinderbox • The Red Shoes • The Steadfast Tin Soldier There is a statue of Hans Christian Anderson in Central Park in New York which was created by Georg John Lober, it features the writer holding a book which has the first few lines of the story ‘The Ugly Duckling’ written in it and at his feet there is a duck who seems to be listening to the story. The sculpture was commissioned to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth. During the summer, there are still readings of Andersen’s stories to children. There is also a statue of Andersen in Rosenborg castle gardens in Copenhagen and two in his home town of Odense. Did you know that International Children’s book day is held on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday every year? 4 The Z-arts performance of the Snow Queen has been modernised and is set in a different time to the original story. However, the themes of friendship and good vs evil remain clear. Z-arts Snow Queen A young boy, Kai is in thrall to a presence beyond his gaming screen. It’s a threat that will come to take him from the real world, only for his foster sister, Gerda to pursue him into the wintery, digital realm of Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen. A modern twist on the Hans Christian Anderson classic the Snow Queen, blending live action with film, puppetry and digital storytelling. A young girl goes on a journey to find her friend. Along the way she meets talking flowers, nosey birds, a grumpy reindeer and other magical creatures who help her find her strength to battle with Snow Queen, a shape-shifting icy goddess who represents all that you want most in the world. Original Synopsis A long time ago, an evil troll had a magic mirror which showed everything as ugly and bad. The mirror shattered into tiny pieces and they spread across the world. One summer’s day friends Kai and Gerda were playing and pieces of the troll’s mirror got into Kai’s eyes and heart. From that moment Kai could only see the bad in the world and everything was ugly to him. During the winter, Kai took his sledge to play in the snow and he met the Snow Queen. She took Kai outside of the city walls, never to return home. Gerda noticed Kai had gone missing and went on a quest to find him and bring him home. Gerda had to travel through many lands and encounter many dangers to find Kai. But she finally made it to the Snow Queen’s palace. When Gerda found Kai, she was so upset that she began to cry and kissed her friend on the cheek – this saved him. The pieces of the troll’s mirror melted. Kai could once again see the good and beauty in the world and was glad that his friend Gerda had saved him. 5 Andersen’s life in 1845 would have been very different to life in 2015. Below are some major events that happened in the year Andersen wrote The Snow Queen. 1845 World Events Edgar Allan Poe wrote the poem ‘The Raven’. The rubber band was patented by Stephen Perry in London. The rules of baseball were formally set by a team in New York – The Knickerbockers. The potato famine in Ireland began causing around one million deaths between 1845 and 1852. Horace Wells unsuccessfully demonstrated that laughing gas would allow him to extract a tooth painlessly. Why not try writing a list of all the major events that have happened in 2015? THE VICTORIAN age in British history is named after Queen Victoria, who was Britain’s queen from 1837 until her death in 1901. There were big differences between life for Victorian children and life for children now. There were no TVs, no computers, no central heating and no air travel. Most children went to work instead of school. The Industrial Revolution changed the face of Britain. Many people moved from small towns, villages and farms to cities and large towns to work in factories. The population grew from 16 million in 1801 to over 41 million by 1901. Men, women and children worked in factories, and in coal mines. Factory and mine owners became very rich but the workers were very poor. They were paid low wages, and lived in unhealthy, overcrowded slums. 6 Activity 1: Can you use the internet to research what life was like in Victorian England? Compare the following to life in Victorian England to life in England in 2015; • School/Work for children • Holidays • Entertainment/Hobbies • Housing Why not try playing some of the games that Victorian children would play? Oh Great Queen/King: One player sits on a throne as the Queen or King – you could put a coloured throw over a chair to make it look royal or maybe use the teachers chair! The other players line up and pass before the throne one by one. Each player stops in front of the queen/king and must say the line 'Oh great Queen (or King), I worship thee and bow down before thee' in a very serious manner. The Queen/King then makes funny faces and strange poses to make her/his subject laugh. Should she/he succeed in making the subject laugh then the player who laughs takes on the role of the next Queen/King. Hunt the Ring:The players stand in a circle, leaving one person in the middle. A long piece of string, with a hoop (such as a curtain ring) threaded on it, is tied in a circle around the inside of the players. The players take hold of the string circle and pass the ring about from one to another. The player in the centre must guess who has the ring (you may want to give the player 3 guesses). Their task is made as difficult as possible by those holding the string making fake hand movements to conceal the whereabouts of the ring. When the player in the middle guesses correctly in which hand the ring is concealed (or their 3 guesses have been used), they joins the circle and the player who has been caught holding it will take their place. Curriculum Links: History Key Stage 2 Pupils should; • Note contrasts over time. • Regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. 7 Activity 2: After you have watched the performance, read the original story with the class. You could make a list of the differences between what they saw on stage and what is in the original story. Have a discussion about why the writer, Philip Osment, may have decided to make these changes. Do the children know of any other classic stories/fairytales that have been modernised? Although there are differences, the themes of the story are the same. Can the children identify any of the themes? Although some elements of the performance are different to that of the original story, the moral remains the same. Extension: Philosophy for Children and Visual Arts Activity 3 :Have a discussion about morals in relation to fairy tales/stories. What is a moral? Can any of the children give examples of morals from other stories that they know? E.g. The Tortoise and the Hare – Slow and steady wins the race. Activity 4: Write a list of all the stories that the children have been discussing with the moral next to it. Ask the children choose a moral from the list and draw a picture of a character from the story it features in. You could display these in your classroom! Curriculum Links: English: Spoken Language Pupils should be taught to: • listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers • ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge • articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions • give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings 8 The Snow Queen’s palace is in a cold and icy land. During the story The Snow Queen orders Kai to lower the temperature to minus 50 degrees. Can you match the statements to the correct temperatures and mark them on the thermometer? You need a thermometer 1:Water freezes at ___________ 2:Water boils at _____________ 3:A healthy human body should be around _______ 4:Lowest recorded temperature in Antarctica is _____ 5: Aluminium melts at _________________ Pick from the 5 answers below 660 ° C 0°C -89.2° C 100° C 37° C Why not try taking thermometers into the playground and keeping a record of the school day temperatures in December? The children can guess what they think the coldest day will be. See who was right on the last day of term! Curriculum Links: Science Key Stage 2 • Making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers • recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables 9 Activity 1: Can you find these places on a map? • Denmark • Copenhagen You need a compass • Odense Activity 2: Denmark is part of Scandinavia; can you find out about the other Scandinavian countries? Activity 3:Unlike many European countries Denmark do not use the Euro as their currency. Can you find out what currency they use in Denmark? Activity 4: Some of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories are influenced by traditional fairytales from other countries. Using the points of a compass; can you map the route from Denmark and help these stories to find their way home? • The Emperor’s new clothes: Spain (Libro de los ejemplos) • The Princess and the Pea: Sweden (Princess who lay on seven peas) • Thumbelina: England (Tom Thumb) • The Swineherd: Italy (Pentamerone) • The Flying Trunk – Saudi Arabia (Arabian Nights) Curriculum Links: Geography Pupils should be taught to: • Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe. • Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country. • Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries. • Use the eight points of a compass 10