Story Preview: Two young computer whizzes help doctors in a race against time to save Humpty Dumpty!
Roles: Narrators 1 and 2, twins Carol and Christopher Megabyte, Mr. and Mrs. Megabyte, Dr. Menditwell, King Prosperous, Bob Blab, Suzy Speaks
Setting: Present day in a kingdom in a faraway land.
Additional Resources
* Did He Fall or Was He Pushed: The True Story of Humpty Dumpty by Anna McKeay is another play based on the character of Humpty Dumpty. In this script, other nursery rhyme characters are questioned about their knowledge of Humpty Dumpty's accident.
* ClassBrain's Humpty Dumpty: Was It Really An Accident? by Robin E. May Dorey is a lesson with a mock trial play that uses the Humpty Dumpty story to introduce students to the law.
* Humpty Dumpty: The Whole Story from RichlandOne Interactive is a lesson in which students develop and write stories based on Humpty Dumpty or other nursery rhymes of their choosing.
* The Humpty Dumpty Nursery Rhyme Unit from abcteach includes a printable word search, a fill-in-the-blank activity, and a coloring page for student fun.
Theme: Nursery Rhymes
Vocabulary:
anchorperson: a reporter who leads a television news program
beloved: much loved, favorite
critical: dangerous, extreme, serious
exclusive: single, restricted
isolate: set apart from others
perch: a place where something sits or rests
proclaim: announce, state to the public
shatterproof: unbreakable, strong
skeptical: doubting or questioning
whiz kids: gifted, talented young people
Props: (Optional) desk and/or smock for doctor; classroom computer for the twins; paper crown for the king; piece of paper to symbolize a check or a bag to represent money for the king; toy microphone for reporter; student-drawn or teacher-selected printed picture of Humpty Dumpty
Follow-Up Questions:
What do the names Carol and Chris Megabyte, Dr. Menditwell, King Prosperous,
Bob Blab, and Suzy Speaks tell about those characters in the play?
How much money does King Prosperous offer to anyone who can help the
doctors?
How does Carol describe the pieces of Humpty Dumpty's broken shell?
Why is Dr. Menditwell amazed by Carol and Chris's work?
How long did Humpty Dumpty's surgery take?
How do you think a rebuilt Humpty Dumpty would look? Draw a picture
to illustrate your idea.
Follow-Up Activity:
Invite students to compare and contrast the classic Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme and this play. Organize students into small groups to create charts noting the similarities and differences between each version. Then ask each group to write another stanza for the Humpty Dumpty rhyme based on the action in the play. When completed, ask groups to read their completed rhymes to the class. You might want to compile students' rhymes into a booklet for the classroom library
Additional Notes:
Education World's Summer BOOK-TIVITY #6 tells about the book Whatever Happened to Humpty Dumpty? by David Greenberg. This source provides humorous sequels to Humpty Dumpy and other popular nursery rhymes. Scroll down the page for the description of this book.
The book Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll from Dover Publications is an abbreviated version of this classic tale for students in grades 3 to 5. Humpty Dumpty is one of the characters in the story.
Can Humpty Dumpty Be Saved? 
