Read the play aloud to your class before they read it on their own. This will help to familiarize children with the play's content and action. Go over vocabulary that might be new to students.
Teaching Tips
Celebrate Groundhog Day by reading or performing this play, using whichever ending applies. Then make a mock television newscast of the outcome. Invite students to play the newscaster, reporters on the scene, people being interviewed about the event, and the groundhog. Begin by having the newscaster tell television viewers what happened when the groundhog came out of its burrow. Then have the reporter interview the groundhog by asking, "How do you feel after [seeing/not seeing] your shadow today?" Next, have another reporter interview people about what they think about an early spring or six more weeks of winter. End with the newscaster wrapping up the story in the "TV studio."