SCENE - Map starts blank - with a large piece of white felt hung on the wall.
Speaking Parts (written by Beth Thompson):
SAL - Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to our great American Puzzle! We are going to tour this big and wonderful country of ours! See this map we made? Isn’t it awesome?!
SAM - Hey! That doesn’t look much like a map to me!
SAL - Ah ha! I knew we could trick ya, SAM! You see, the map isn’t finished yet! As a matter of fact, it’s just begun! Watch!
(She blows whistle. Narrator 2, carrying Northeastern piece of map enters with Narrator 1. As Narrator 1 recites lines, Narrator 2 tapes map section in place on outline, then says lines.)
NARRATOR 1
If you go to visit the Northeast, you’ll find
Factory and mill and dock and mine.
Men and women everyday
Working hard the American way!
NARRATOR 2
A long time before there were cars & trucks
Shippers had help to earn their bucks.
They’d tie their boat to a mule.
That way they’d never run out of fuel!
Song: Erie Canal
Song / Dance: Goin' to Boston
Speaking:
SAL - You see, SAM, each part of our country has great natural resources, which have shaped our country into what it is today.
SAM - Neat!
SAL - Now it’s time to place another piece of our great American Puzzle. It’s the SOUTH! Do you know what great natural resource comes from the Southeast?
SAM - Um…let me see…uh…oh, I know! Disney World!
SAL - I said natural resource, SAM! They can’t be man made – or MOUSE made!
SAM - Oh, you mean cotton?!
SAL - That’s right! Cotton, it is! (She blows whistle. Narrator 4, carrying Southeastern piece of map enters with Narrator 3. As Narrator 3 recites lines, Narrator 4 tapes map section in place on outline, then says lines.)
NARRATOR 3:
First we plant the cotton
Then we make it grow.
Its beautiful white blossoms
Seem like fields of summer snow.
NARRATOR 4:
Then they pick the cotton
Under the summer sun.
Then it’s ginned and baled
And sent away to be spun!
Song: Dixie / Cotton Needs Pickin' Medley
Speaking:
SAM - Well, that map sure is growing now! This is fun! Let’s bring in the next part of the puzzle.
SAL - O.K. How about the Southwestern states? Now where are those guys? I just saw them a moment ago… (She blows whistle. Narrator 6, carrying Southwestern piece of map enters with Narrator 5. As Narrator 5 recites lines, Narrator 6 tapes map section in place on outline, then says lines.)
NARRATOR 5
Cowboys and ranchers, we live up to those words,
Riding the plains, rounding up all the herds!
NARRATOR 6
We heat our irons so the cattle we can brand.
Our livestock is famous all over the land! Yahoo!
Song: Git Along Little Dogies
Speaking:
SAL - And now, here come visitors from our great American “breadbasket,” smack dab in the center of the country! (She blows whistle. Narrator 7 tapes Midwestern map section in place on outline, then says lines.)
NARRATOR 7
Through the center of our country lies a broad and fertile plain;
There the sun and rain and soil bring forth potatoes and grain.
Wheat, corn, barley, oats and rye are removed from their plant beds.
Then they are finely ground into flour, which are baked into bread!
Song / Dance - Sandyland
Circle Dance: Partners stand next to each other, all in one circle.
Verse 1: All move 4 walking steps toward center of circle, raising hands gradually to shoulder height. Move 4 steps backward into place, lowering hands to original position. Repeat.
Verse 2: Turn to partner, R arm swing, L arm swing, R arm swing, get ready.
Verse 3: Promenade with partner around circle.
Speaking:
SAL - And now for the Mountain West – where the Native American tribes cherished and cared for the land. (She blows whistle. Narrator 9, carrying Mountain Western piece of map enters with Narrator 8. As Narrator 8 recites lines, Narrator 9 tapes map section in place on outline, then says lines.)
NARRATOR 8
In the Mountain West part of our land,
Native Americans made their way.
Working and playing in the hot dry sun,
Each and every day.
NARRATOR 9
That was the life of a Native American,
As they made blanket, basket and jar.
They did their work with skill and pride-
America’s first citizens they were!
Song / Dance - Dust of the Red Wagon / Pleasure Dance Medley
Dust of the Red Wagon Dance Steps:
Concentric circles moving around the "fire." Use reverse step: two shuffle steps forward and two steps back. Each step is ball, heel, both forward and back, bending the body slightly forward. The forward step is longer than the one back.
On "white" twist while hopping on one foot. Continue shuffle steps in circle.
On "white" twist while hopping on one foot. Continue shuffle steps in circle.
Pleasure Dance:
Boys and girls in facing rows, six to eight feet apart. R foot forward with stomp (toe first), then L come to meet R, looking down. Move forward seven steps, then seven backwards.Raise & lower hands in unison as they move, as though they were shaking corn from a basket. R 2 steps, hop around, then to L. End, all kneel.
Speaking:
SAM - (pointing) Look… the map is almost done!
SAL - Almost! There’s just ONE section left – the great Pacific West! (She blows whistle. Narrator 11, carrying Pacific Western piece of map enters with Narrator 10. As Narrator 10 recites lines, Narrator 11 tapes map section in place on outline, then says lines.)
NARRATOR 10
Greetings to all who have come here today,
And best wishes to all the rest.
From all the wood choppers
And the log rollers of our great Pacific West.
NARRATOR 11
And don’t forget our long and winding
Rivers flowing through,
The Yakima, the Klickitat,
And the Columbia River, too!
Song / Dance: Down the River
Speaking:
SAL - Well, there it is, ladies and gentlemen! The good old U.S. of A and all of its natural resources!
MEGAN - Hey, wait a minute! Don’t you think you just MIGHT have forgotten something?
SAM - Oh dear! It’s Alaska and Hawaii! How could you have forgotten to include our two newest states?!
MEGAN - Just because they’re unattached to the rest of the states doesn’t mean we should leave them out, you know!
SAL - Oh, uh, absolutely! Right you are! Now, you just go put them right up there with the rest of our puzzle. (Alaska and Hawaii added to map) Whew! Well, now that we’ve taken care of THOSE two, how do you think our map looks NOW, Sam?
SAM - Terrific! Well, ALMOST terrific!
SAL - “Almost” terrific? Why “almost”? The puzzle’s all together now, and no pieces are missing!
SAM - Oh, the puzzle’s just fine; it’s the MUSIC that needs something more.
SAL - What do you mean?
SAM - Well, we had a special song about each region, and that was really nice. But now we need a song to celebrate the whole thing!
SAL - I have the PERFECT song in mind! Listen!
