Art Form: Theatre

Supplies Needed

Thank You, Omu! book

Paper and pencil

Vocabulary

Character - A person in a story, or an animal or other entity that has human characteristics

Character profile - A list of facts or traits that make a character unique

Backstory - The history or background created for a character in a scene or play

Monologue - A longer speech spoken by a character in a scene or play

Instructions

1. After reading the book, Thank You, Omu!, go back and look through the story (both the text and the illustrations) for clues about Omu’s personality and life. Write down any clues you find to create a character profile of Omu.

2. Write a list of questions about things the book doesn’t tell about Omu. Some examples are: What is or was her profession (job)? Does she have grown children? What hobbies does she have?

3. Imagine Omu’s backstory, describing her life over the years, including things like where she has lived, her life as a child, people in her family, jobs, travel, hobbies, etc. Remember, you are creating Omu’s backstory, so you will be making it up. Just be sure that it makes sense in the context of the book and who the book describes Omu to be.

4. Develop a monologue for Omu, or for someone in her life who we don’t see in the book, about Omu and her life.

Extensions

Make a map to go along with the monologue, showing important places in Omu’s life. It can be a map of a city, a map of the world--wherever you imagine she’s gone in her life.

Write an entry in Omu’s journal, or a social media post, for the night of the big community dinner. How would Omu describe and document it?