*Narrators 1, 2, 3 (N1, N2, N3)
Children 1, 2, 3
Auntie: the children’s aunt
Uncle: the children’s uncle
*Brothers 1, 2, 3: Tala’s older brothers
Characters
Choose the character you will play. *Starred characters have large speaking roles.
ART BY JAMES MADSEN
Play,
The Girl and the Chenoo
When a giant people-eating monster shows up, Tala fights back with a secret weapon
A Native American legend of the Passamaquoddy people
Learning Objective: Students will read and identify the theme in a play based on a Passamaquoddy folktale.
Scene 1
A campfire by a river in Maine
Narrator 1: Under a sky of shooting stars . . .
Narrator 2: . . . three children beg their aunt and uncle for a story.
Narrator 3: They love hearing legends about their ancestors.
Child 1: Tell us one from long ago, about our people!
Auntie: First let’s hear what you know about our tribe.
Child 2: We are called the Passama . . . quo . . .oh no, I can’t say it.
Child 3 (proudly): I can. Passamaquoddy [passuh-muh-KWAH-dee]!
Child 1: Our people were here before this land was called North America.
Child 2: Each of us had a spirit animal.
Child 3: A person couldn’t see or hear their spirit animal. But they could feel its power.
Child 1: A spirit animal would help guide a person and give them courage when they needed it
Auntie: Uncle, will you tell them about the brave girl Tala?
Child 2: Doesn’t Tala mean wolf? Is her spirit animal a wolf?
Auntie: Yes. Spirit Wolf walks unseen by Tala’s side. He gives her courage.
Uncle: And Tala will need courage when she meets the Chenoo!
Children 1, 2, and 3: What is the Chenoo?
Auntie: Well, listen and you will find out!
Scene 2
Deep in the snowy forest
N1: Tala’s three brothers set up a hunting camp.
N2: Every winter they leave their people to hunt for food and gather pelts.
Brother 1: Did you lash the poles together tightly on our wigwam?
Brother 2 (teasing): No, I made them loose so they’ll crash down on our heads.
N3: Tala appears, holding out their hunting gear.
Tala: Time to head out, brothers. I fixed the feathers on your arrows.
Brother 3: Good, I’ll be back with a dozen rabbits.
Brother 1: Rabbits? I’m coming back with abear!
Tala (laughing): Just don’t let him chase you into our camp!
N1: Tala waves farewell as her brothers depart.
N2: Then she trudges through the deep snow to collect firewood.
Tala (spying two beavers): I should follow those beavers. They’ll know where to find wood!
N3: But as she gets closer, she see the beavers are shaking with fear.
Beaver 1 (looking down): What beast has a footprint the size of a boulder?
Beaver 2: And claws the size of antlers?
Beaver 1: Only one terrible, monstrous thing.
N1: Tala sees the footprints and freezes with terror.
N2: She knows exactly what made those tracks.
Tala (fearfully): No! It’s the Chenoo!
N3: The Chenoo is a fearsome man-eating monster.
N1: Spirit Wolf stands close beside Tala, though she cannot see him.
Tala (to herself): The Chenoo will kill us! My brothers and I must fight this beast, or we must run away.
Spirit Wolf (howling): No, Tala! There is another way. Let your heart guide you.
N2: Tala suddenly knows what to do.
ART BY JAMES MADSEN
Scene 3
Inside the wigwam
N3: The next morning, the brothers prepare to hunt.
Brother 2 (whispering): Yesterday I saw giant footprints with massive claws.
Brother 3: Those were just from bear cubs rolling in the snow with sticks.
Brother 1: Don’t be a coward. Let’s go!
N1: When they leave, Tala does not begin her usual chores.
N2: Instead, she fills an enormous pot with all the food they have to make a thick stew.
N3: Then she gathers bearskins into a great pile.
Spirit Wolf (looking on): This is a dangerous plan, but Tala has chosen the right path.
N1: Suddenly, there is a crashing in the woods.
N2: Animals cry. Birds shriek.
N3: A huge shadow looms over the wigwam.
Spirit Wolf: Tala, I am right beside you.
N1: A hideous head peers through the doorway.
N2: It has jagged teeth, wild eyes, and matted hair.
Spirit Wolf: Tala, be brave! It’s the Chenoo!
N3: Tala feels strong and confident.
N1: She calmly smiles and holds out her hand.
Tala: Hello, Grandfather, welcome.
N2: Tala knows the Chenoo is not her grandfather. Both her beloved grandfathers died years before.
Tala: Would you like some venison stew, Grandfather?
N3: The Chenoo is stunned and baffled. Tala coaxes him inside.
Chenoo: I’m here to eat you. Aren’t you afraid?
Tala (gently): No, Grandfather. I see you are tired and hungry. Here, eat this instead.
N1: Tala motions to the enormous clay pot.
N2: The Chenoo lifts it like a teacup and downs the stew in one gulp.
N3: Then he climbs onto the bearskins to sleep.
N1: His snores rattle the walls.
Scene 4
Outside the wigwam
N2: Tala waits outside until her brothers return, carrying geese and a boar.
Tala (whispering): Brothers, I must tell you something. The Chenoo is here.
Brother 2 (alarmed): What? What will we do?
N3: Spirit Wolf stands by Tala.
Tala: You must call him Grandfather. Greet him and be polite.
Brother 3 (confused): Tala, don’t you think we should run?
N1: Just then the Chenoo steps out, jaws open, ready to eat one of them.
Tala (softly): Grandfather, my brothers are here to greet you.
N2: Trembling, the brothers manage a welcome.
N3: The Chenoo is surprised by their kind words.
N1: He reaches for them, but snatches the geese and the boar and gulps them down instead.
Chenoo (roaring): More! More food!
Tala (whispering): I’m sorry, brothers, there is nothing left. I gave the Chenoo all we had.
Brother 1: We’re doomed.
N2: The Chenoo eyes the brothers hungrily.
Chenoo: Why don’t you scream and run away like the others?
Brother 2: That is not our way, Grandfather.
N3: The Chenoo stares, then runs off and returns with a moose under each arm.
N1: That night they feast as never before.
ART BY JAMES MADSEN
Scene 5
At the camp
N2: Over time, Tala and her brothers grow less fearful of the Chenoo—and even come to appreciate his help.
Brother 3: Lately, we have almost too much food.
Brother 1: And more pelts than we can carry.
N3: But one day, Tala sees that the snow is melting.
Tala: Grandfather, it’s the time when we must return to our people.
Chenoo (pleading): Take me with you!
Tala: As you wish, Grandfather.
N1: Just then two hawks swoop and shriek overhead.
Hawk 1: Chenoo!
Hawk 2: Chenoo! Chenoo!
Chenoo (sadly): I had forgotten how others will see me. Tala, I need help.
Tala: What can we do?
Chenoo: Build me a sweat lodge.
N2: Tala and her brothers do as the Chenoo asks, filling a small hut with a raging fire and hot stones.
N3: The Chenoo enters and sits amid the smoke.
Chenoo: Oh, oh, how it burns!
Tala: Grandfather, it’s time to come out!
Chenoo (shouting): No, give me more wood, more fire!
N1: Finally, the Chenoo staggers out, choking.
N2: He coughs out a piece of ice in the shape of a man.
Chenoo: Here, Tala, it is my heart. Chop it up and toss all the pieces into the flames.
N3: Tala and her brothers watch as the shards of ice crackle and melt in the fire. When they look up, they are shocked to see that the Chenoo is no longer a hulking beast.
N1: He is but a frail man with white hair and kind eyes.
Chenoo (holding out his arms): Children, my heart of ice has been melted. I am ready to meet your people.
Scene 6
Around the campfire
Child 3: I wish I could be brave like Tala.
Child 1: Spirit Wolf helped Tala be brave.
Uncle: But it wasn’t just bravery that changed the Chenoo.
Child 2: I know. It was Tala’s kindness and acceptance.
Auntie: Yes, Spirit Wolf helped her realize that the power of kindness could melt the coldest heart.
Spirit Wolf (howling): Ahhhhoooooooooo!
Write to Win
Imagine a Chenoo has been spotted near your school. Using ideas and details from the play, write a letter to your classmates advising them how to react. Send it to “Chenoo Contest” by June 1, 2017. Ten winners will each receive a book of Native American tales.
Activities
(7)
Core Skills Workout
Skills Activities
Quizzes
(2)
Quizzes
(2)
Activities
(7)
Download All Activities
Core Skills Workout
Skills Activities
Quizzes
(2)
Quizzes
(2)
More About the Story
Skills
theme, fluency, vocabulary, close reading, key idea, plot, inference, character’s motivation, interpreting text, narrative and opinion writing
Complexity Factors
Levels of Meaning
This play retells a Native American folktale about a girl who welcomes a threatening beast into her home. On another level, it teaches a lesson about the power of kindness.
Structure
The first and last scenes of the play feature a contemporary family and frame the retelling of the folktale.
Language
The play includes a words related to Passamaquoddy culture, such as wigwam, pelts, andvenison.
Knowledge Demands
One character is an invisible spirit animal; prior reading of tales with supernatural creatures will be helpful.
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. Preparing to Read
Set a Purpose for Reading (10 minutes)
- Have students open their magazines to pages 16-17 and read the title of the play. Direct them to work with a partner to find clues on the page that tell them what a “Chenoo” might be.
- After a few minutes, call on students to share with the class the clues they found. (Students might cite the words “people-eating monster” in the subhead, the description “man-eating monster” in the character box, and the creature in the illustration.)
- Call on a student to read the Up Close box on page 17. Invite students to predict how Tala might treat the Chenoo.
- Point out the line that describes the setting in Scene 1: “A campfire by a river in Maine.” This folktale comes from the Passamaquoddy, a tribe in Maine and New Brunswick, Canada.
Preview Vocabulary (15 minutes)
- Show our vocabulary slideshow to preview challenging words students will find in the play. Several of the words relate to Native American culture of the Northeast.
- Highlighted terms: pelts, wigwam, fearsome, venison, coaxes, sweat lodge
- For reinforcement, distribute our vocabulary activity sheet.
2. Reading the Play
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class. After reading, discuss the close-reading and critical-thinking questions.
Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)
- Reread Scene 1. What is a spirit animal? (key idea) A spirit animal is an invisible animal that gives guidance and courage to a person, even though the person doesn’t see or hear the spirit guide.
- In Scene 2, how does Tala first react when she realizes that the Chenoo is nearby? How does Spirit Wolf affect her? (plot) At first, Tala is terrified and thinks she and her brothers will have to run away or fight the monster. Spirit Wolf helps her realize she has another option.
- At the end of Scene 2, Tala “suddenly knows what to do.” Based on what you learn in Scenes 2 and 3, what is it? (inference) Tala knows that she must greet the Chenoo like a family member and make him feel welcome.
- In Scene 3, why does Tala call the Chenoo “Grandfather” even though he is not her grandfather? (theme) Tala calls the Chenoo “Grandfather” to be kind and respectful to him and to show that she is not afraid of him. It is a way to let the Chenoo know he is accepted as if he really were a member of her family.
- In Scenes 3 and 4, how do Tala and her brothers treat the Chenoo? What is the result? (theme) Tala speaks politely to the Chenoo and offers him food and a place to rest. She convinces her brothers to treat the Chenoo as she does, calling him “Grandfather.” The Chenoo is confused by their kindness but ends up not eating them. Instead, he catches two moose so they all can feast.
- What does the Chenoo mean when he says in Scene 5 that he “had forgotten how others will see” him? (inference) Because the Chenoo has been accepted and treated kindly by Tala and her brothers, he has forgotten that he is frightening to most creatures, until the hawks shrieking overhead remind him. Others will see only the scary, maneating part of him and will not believe he could be good inside.
- Why does the Chenoo ask Tala and her brothers to build a sweat lodge? Why does he stay in it even though he seems to be suffering? (character’s motivation) He asks them to build a sweat lodge because he wants to become a decent human and go with Tala and her brothers back to their people. He stays in it because he knows he must endure the heat to melt his heart.
- In Scene 5, the Chenoo coughs out a piece of ice shaped like a man. What is it and what happens to it? What does this part of the story show about the Chenoo and about Tala? (interpreting text) The piece of ice is the Chenoo’s heart. Tala chops it up and throws it in the fire, where it melts away. This part of the story shows that the Chenoo is no longer a terrible monster. His icy heart, which made him a man-eating beast, was melted by Tala’s care.
Critical-Thinking Question
- What do the three children learn about kindness and acceptance from listening to the story of Tala and the Chenoo? (theme) The children learn the importance of treating others with kindness and acceptance—even when they seem scary and different. Treating others kindly can help those people see the good within themselves and inspire them to be kinder; it has the power to “melt the coldest heart.”
3. Skill Building
Featured Skill: Theme
- Have students complete the theme activity to help them respond to the writing prompt on page 20.
Differentiate and Customize
For Struggling Readers
To help students practice fluency, work with them individually to read one part while you read the others. Record the reading and play it back. Practice until the student can read smoothly. Then record again so he or she can hear the improvement!
For Advanced Readers
Ask students to read or watch a version of Beauty and the Beast. Then have them work in pairs to complete a Venn diagram comparing that story with The Girl and the Chenoo. They can then write an essay comparing and contrasting the two stories.
For ELL Students
Working with ELL students, point out the stage directions in parentheses and explain that they help readers know how a character says a line. Go over each stage direction to make sure students understand the words. Then have them practice saying lines, incorporating stage directions in their voices
For Guided Reading
Read the play with your guided reading groups, using our close-reading and critical-thinking questions to discuss the theme of the play. As you meet with groups, other students can work independently or in pairs on the theme activity sheet.
Text-to-Speech