Recommended for elementary school students! A collection of classic play ideas that will excite upper graders too
Plays performed at elementary school arts festivals and graduation ceremonies are important events that leave lasting memories for children.
For a truly memorable stage, you’ll want to choose pieces that let each child’s individuality and growth shine.
Still, many teachers and parents may be worried that “the classics are too boring” or that “the scripts are too difficult.” In this article, we introduce enjoyable plays suitable for elementary school students.
By creating a wonderful production together with classmates, it’s sure to become a cherished memory.
Picture books, literary works, and recitation (1–10)
The Cat That Lived a Million Times
The picture book The Cat That Lived a Million Times is famous for being a real tearjerker.
Many of you may have read it as children.
How about performing that story as a musical? The tale begins when the cat that lived a million times becomes a stray and meets a white cat.
It also sounds fun to put care into making the costumes and props for the feline characters and others.
Paco and the Magical Picture Book
It’s a blockbuster Japanese film.
The tagline is “A story children want to read to adults.” It has laughs along the way and a moving ending, making it easy to adapt into a play.
Let’s start by creating a script based on the movie.
The key is to bring out each character’s unique personality!
Swimmy
This is a work by the American picture-book author Leo Lionni.
Do you know “Frederick: A Little Mouse with a Big Heart,” which even has LINE stickers? That one is also by Leo Lionni.
In Japan, “Swimmy: A Little Fish Who Learned About Teamwork,” translated by Shuntaro Tanikawa, is well known.
It’s perfect for large class performances because it features many fish.
It has been staged and adapted into musicals for school presentations in many places, so there seem to be many reference videos uploaded.
When in doubt, choose this one! It’s a highly recommended piece that can be performed by lower grade students.
Harry Potter
If you can create the world of Harry Potter through a play, you’ll definitely set your class apart from the others.
Since there are many works in the Harry Potter series, it’s hard to decide which one to adapt, isn’t it? The production begins with discussing it as a class or taking a vote.
By the time the performance day arrives, I think your class will be united as one.
Costumes, lighting, and sound are also very important to capture Harry Potter’s unique atmosphere.
Working together to create a single production will become a lifelong memory.
On a Stormy Night
Although the original work of “On a Stormy Night” is a picture book, it was also adapted into a film and became a hot topic.
It’s a story about a wolf and a sheep who meet on a stormy night; while you’re on edge wondering if one will be eaten, you can’t help but be moved by their mysterious friendship.
Sketch: “School Things Everyone Experiences”
Let’s perform a short skit in front of everyone.
There are many kinds of skits, but how about doing one based on everyday “school life moments”? There seem to be plenty of relatable themes, like school lunch, cleaning time, or teacher quirks.
The audience will surely be nodding along and saying, “So true!” Let’s prepare lots of ideas that everyone can enjoy together!
Jugemu
If you’ve watched NHK’s program Nihongo de Asobo, you might know this one.
It’s one of the rakugo pieces with the punchline that the entire string of words—“jugemu jugemu gokō no surikire …”—which sounds like a spell, is actually a person’s name.
A fun aspect of Jugemu—really of rakugo in general—is that there are modernized versions of these old stories that make them easy for contemporary audiences to understand.
For Jugemu, for example, there’s a version where, by the time the parent finishes calling out the child’s name to send them off to school in the morning, summer vacation has already begun.
Try coming up with a Jugemu that fits your own life for your mornings.
