1. Ext. forest clearing - day It’s a wonderful Spring day in Animal Town, and MR. LION (the town art teacher) is outdoors again with the kids, this time teaching them about Dancing. We open on his face as he strikes a dramatic pose, and then launches into an abstract and sometimes funny and expressive dance routine that communicates different emotions and actions. The kids, including ELINOR, ARI and OLIVE, THE GOAT TWINS (MARY and LIZZIE), SALLY and TITO, smile as they look on. Mr. Lion finishes in a flourish and hangs there for a moment before opening his eyes. Mr. Lion And that, is the joy of dancing! The kids <SFX: ooh , aah and clap> . elinor Wow, Mr. Lion, that was amazing. Ari Yeah, we could tell you were really sad at first... Olive But then you found a flower. Mary/Lizzie And that made you really happy. Mr. Lion beams. Mr. LION That’s right! That was a dance about how sometimes I’m sad, but then flowers cheer me up. The kids <SFX OOOHH...> . Mr. lION (CONT’D) You see, kids, dancing isn’t just a great way to move our bodies and get healthy exercise. It’s also a way to communicate ! To show your ideas and tell others how you feel. Mr. Lion does an extra little fun dance move. Mr. LION (CONT’D) It’s also... a lot of fun! The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. MR. LION (CONT’D) And now, it’s YOUR turn. For class today, I want you to work with others and come up with your own dance that communicates something you all think is special. The kids pair up and look at each other with excitement, except Elinor who looks a bit thoughtful. MR. LION (CONT’D) And at the end, we’ll have a little show where everyone can share their dance. How does that sound? The kids <SFX: YEAH!/AWESOME/YOU BET! WALLA> and the group starts to break up. Elinor, still looking pensive, hangs back and talks to Mr. Lion. Elinor Mr. Lion, what if we don’t know what to make our dance about? MR. LION Don’t worry, Elinor, I’m sure you’ll come up with something great . Elinor looks a bit more encouraged. Mr. LION (CONT’D) When you find something that you want to dance about, you’ll feel it. And then you’ll want to share it with the whole world! Elinor reflects on this as she joins Ari and Olive, who have moved to a spot in the clearing near the tree line. Ari looks like he’s warming up to dance. Olive Ok , what should our dance be about? Elinor Well, Mr. Lion said it should be something we all think is special. Ari Ooh , I know! We should do a cha-cha dance about my favorite snack: peanut butter and pickles! Ari demonstrates by doing a fun shimmy and groove with gusto where he mimes eating peanut butter and pickles and rubs his tummy. While doing the final flourish, though, he trips on himself <SFX: WH-WHOA!> and falls in front of Olive, who catches him in a dance dip move. Ari, still hanging from Olive, grabs a nearby stick with some leaves on it and puts it in his mouth (like a rose) and strikes a pose: Ari (CONT’D) (slightly muffled) Ta da ! The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. Olive Um , I’m not sure I like peanut butter and pickles as much as you do, Ari. Olive has an idea. Olive (CONT’D) I know! We should do a beautiful ballet about my favorite thing: books! Olive demonstrates a few kid-graceful moves and pirouettes while holding and miming reading her nature book, finishing in a plié . Elinor Wow, Olive, you’re so good at ballet. Ari Yeah, I’m not sure I can dance ballet like that. OLIVE What about you, Elinor, what do you think we should dance about? Elinor thinks for a moment. Elinor Hmm, I don’t know. Mr. Lion said it should be something we all think is special, but I’m not sure what. Ari I don’t know either, but look at Mary and Lizzie. Their dance does look pretty special. The kids look over to where the goat twins are practicing their dance, and it’s pretty good. The goat twins do a perfectly synchronized mirror-image series of hip kid dance moves while a few other kids look on. They finish with flair. Mary And that’s our dance about... Lizzie How much fun it is to be... Mary/lizzie Twins! The gathered kids <SFX: CLAP and CHEER>. Olive Wow, their dance is so good. Elinor looks lost in thought in their problem <SFX HMMM...> , and as the three of them ponder <SFX: HMMM...> , something catches Elinor’s attention. Next to her is a small sandhill crane chick, looking up at her ( https: // images.app.goo.gl / a8Wnwv2EcwmE2Knc8 ). Elinor Oh, hello little bird. The bird makes some funny moves, which include an awkward jump and a spin with a one wing out ( https: // www.youtube.com / watch?v = vQthhI6ukTE ). Elinor thinks it’s cute. ELINOR (CONT’D) (giggling) Aww ... She turns to call her friends. Elinor (CONT’D) Olive! Ari! Come look. olive What is it, Elinor? Ari and Olive come over, but when Elinor turns around, the bird has meandered over to the edge of the clearing. ELINOR You have to meet this bird. C’mon , let’s go observe it. Ari turns to Mr. Lion. Ari We’ll be right back, Mr. Lion! Mr. Lion waves back. Mr. Lion Ok , don’t go too far! 2. EXT. SHALLOW POND - DAY After a few beats of following, still just a few steps away from the clearing, the kids emerge and discover a nearby shallow pond, where a whole flock of crane birds are hanging out. Elinor Whoa, look at all these birds. Olive I don’t think I’ve ever seen this kind of bird before. Ari The ir legs are so long . And look at the cool red feathers on their heads. Elinor There’s the little chick bird. The kids spot the crane chick. Suddenly, they see something even more amazing: some of the birds start to move in interesting ways! ARI ( gasp !) What are the birds doing? The cranes do dips and jumps and twirls and spins, by themselves and with other cranes ( https: // www.youtube.com / watch?v = N9ZjZqR4mt8 ). ELINOR Wow! Look how they’r e moving. Olive It looks like... they’re dancing? They see other crane birds stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air in graceful and energetic ways ( https: // www.youtube.com / watch?v = 6WLHZ2RIiNY ). Elinor It does look like they’re dancing. That is SO interesting. Ari I didn’t know birds could dance! The kids are amazed <SFX: WOOOOW...> . Elinor thinks for a moment. ELINOR I wonder... why are these birds dancing? Olive Maybe they’re in a dance class , too . ELINOR Mmm , I don’t think birds have classes . Ari I know! Maybe they ’re trying to do the cha-cha! Ari does a little cha-cha dance, and Elinor and Olive <SFX: GIGGLE>. Olive I’m not sure birds know what the cha-cha is, Ari. Ari Yeah, maybe it’s not a bird thing . Elinor Let’s take a closer look and see if we can figure out why they’re dancing. We need more observations. The kids stealthily move a little closer to watch the birds and observe them dancing. They scan the flock. First, they see one bird doing moves in front of another bird. OLIVE Look, that bird is dancing in front of that other bird. ELINOR It flapped and jumped, and now it’s running around the other one. Both birds then start to jump one after the other, and then they alternate head bobs. Ari Now it looks like they’re dancing together. Olive Aww ... I think they like each other. (NOTE: dances come from these references: https: // digitalcommons.unl.edu / cgi / viewcontent.cgi?article =1450&context= tnas http: // christyyuncker.com / Craneattackdisplays.html ) Elinor looks over at another group of cranes. Elinor Look, over there. The kids see another bird chase a few other birds away with an angry looking dance. First, the crane lowers its head and walks back and forth repeatedly, then stands tall and runs forward towards the other birds with wings flapping. OLIVE Uh-oh, that doesn’t look like a very happy dance. Ari Yeah, all the other birds are walking away. Something jogs Elinor’s memory (happy dance?) <SFX: HMMMM...> and we see a thought bubble form above her with a flashback of Mr. Lion dancing from earlier in the episode. Elinor That’s it! I think I figured it out. Olive What is it, Elinor? Elinor We were able to tell how these birds felt and what they were telling the other birds. OlIVE Ohhhh . Elinor Maybe these birds are dancing to communicate, like Mr. Lion said! Ari You mean they’re dancing to talk to each other? Olive nods , and looks back at the first dancing bird they observed. Olive Uh-huh. I think you’re right, Elinor. That bird danced to tell the other bird that it likes it. Ari also catches on, and looks at the second bird they observed. ARI Ohhhh , and that bird danced to tell the other birds to stay away. Elinor Yes! You can use dance to communicate. Even birds do it! They also use dance to talk to each other. Olive We figured it out! Smiles and <SFX: YAY!/AWESOME WALLA> and high fives. At that moment, Mr. Lion walks over. Mr. Lion Ah, there you are, kids. What are you looking at? Elinor Mr. Lion, we found these birds that dance! Olive Yes, and they dance to communicate, just like you said. Ari And they even do the cha-cha! ( does a little dance, then pauses) Ok , not really. Elinor and Olive smile and <SFX: GIGGLE> as Mr. Lion looks at the crane birds. Mr. Lion Ah yes, these are Sandhill Crane birds. They’re one of many birds that like to dance. Isn’t it amazing? We pull out to see the kids and the cranes dancing in the foreground. Mr. Lion (CONT’D) And you’re right, scientists think these birds dance to communicate. They dance to tell each other when they’re mad, and when they like each other. Just then, they see the crane bird chick they saw earlier. The chick seems to be trying to imitate the older birds, and is just dancing by itself. Elinor There’s the little crane chick we saw before. MR. LION Wonderful! Some scientists think that sandhill cranes sometimes also just dance for fun, to communicate how happy they are. They watch the little bird spin and jump and bob its head. Olive Go little chick bird! Ari Yeah, woo hoo ! Elinor looks at all the birds. Elinor I think i t’s so special that these birds dance. Olive Yeah... Suddenly, Elinor has an idea. Elinor ( gasp !) Ari! Olive! That gives me an idea for what our dance should be about. Ari and Olive look excited. Olive I think we know what you mean, Elinor. ELINOR C’mon ! The kids dash off back towards the clearing. Mr. Lion stays for a beat and watches them rush off , then follows them. Mr. Lion Ah, inspiration! I love it! 3. EXT. FOREST CLEARING -- DAY It’s a short time later, and the class is in the middle of the dance show. We catch the show as Sally and Tito are doing their dance. Sally and Tito dance a fun happy dance where they point up at the sky and embrace the warm sunlight a few times before plopping down on the ground. Mr. lion Bravo! Bravo! ( clapping ) Sally, Tito, that was wonderful! I could tell that you were trying to communicate how happy you are, and how much you like being out in the sun. Sally and Tito nod vigorously. Mr. LION (CONT’D) Ok , who would like to go next? Elinor, Ari and Olive raise their hands. Mr. Lion (CONT’D) Elinor, Ari, Olive, you’re up! The kids walk up to the middle of the clearing and they explain their dance. Elinor Ahem . Like Mr. Lion said, dancing is a way to communicate. Olive Yeah, it’s a way to show others something you think or something that you’ve learned. Ari So, our dance is about something that we learned today. It’s called... The Crane Dance Dance ! We hear a few musical beats and as the kids get ready to dance, they sing one verse: Elinor/OLIVE/ARI You can use dance To communicate Just move your body It’s really great! The music continues, and the kids do their dance. First, Ari dances in place in the center. Then, Olive and Elinor come running in, flapping their arms while doing circles around Ari. As the other kids watch, some of them yell out what they think is happening. mary Look, it’s birds! Next, Ari joins Elinor and Olive on a loop around as he looks like he’s following them. Elinor and Olive circle to the middle as Ari looks on, and they take turns jumping and moving like the birds we saw earlier. The audience kids yell out: lizzie They’re dancing! Sally Birds can dance? I didn’t know that. Tito Awesome! Elinor and Olive are expressive in their dance, taking turns and then dancing together in a way that says, “I like you!” and “I like you too!” SALLY It looks like they’re communicating! The kids do a few more fly around moves and dance together to express their excitement at learning something new, and they end their dance by repeating the song verse. Elinor/OLIVE/ARI You can use dance To communicate Birds can do it They’re really great! Mr. Lion and the other kids <SFX: CHEER>. Mr. Lion Bravo! Bravo! That was amazing ! Elinor, Ari, Olive, you danced about something you learned and how that made you feel. Elinor Yeah, we learned that some birds also dance to communicate. Olive And that you can use dance to communicate all kinds of things, like how you feel and what you learn. Ari And how you feel WHEN you learn, which is... happy! He does a few cha-cha moves, and all the kids <SFX: GIGGLE/LAUGH>. Mr. Lion beams. Mr. LION And that makes ME feel happy too! (flash of inspiration) I have an idea, let’s ALL dance like the crane birds to show how happy we are! All the kids <SFX: CHEER/YEAH WALLA> and join in a happy dance of flapping and jumping and bobbing their heads. As the camera pulls out , we catch crane birds dancing nearby and we... FADE OUT.

EWW174 Do The Crane Dance D2 .

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ELINOR WONDERS WHY EWW 174 Do The Crane Dance By Jorge Cham Elinor’s Question : Why do cranes dance? Logline: When Mr. Lion encourages the kids to make up dances to express themselves, Elinor gets some inspiration from some cranes she sees dancing nearby. Curriculum Goals: LS 3a . Observe ways that animals and plants get what they need to live and grow. [Elinor and her friends observe the ways that cranes use dance to communicate.] ND2 . ( RTL Crosscutting concept 'Systems'): Begin to understand that systems developed in our world often work in similar ways to systems found in the natural world. [Elinor and her friends discover that birds use dance to communicate, just like we do] Arts. (From the Arts Framework): Dance is a way to explore and express behaviors, feelings, ideas/concepts, and stories using movement. [Elinor and her friends use dance to communicate something they've learned] FIRST DRAFT: May 08, 2020 SECOND DRAFT: May 21, 2020 POLISH: THE END ELINOR Ari Mz. Mole Olive Oliver Tito Silas SR. TAPIR SR TAPIR Ba bump, ba bump, ba bump You all are in my heart Ba bump, ba bump, ba bump Even when we’re far apart! R Ranger Rabbit MR RACCOON MS LLAama MS LLAMA ELINOR/OLIVE/ARI SR. TAP Mr. Lion Mary Lizzie Mary/lizzie Kids Sally (V.O.) (O.S.) (O.C.) (CONT'D) (SUBTITLE) (LOUDER WHISPER) INT EXT I/E 1 ELINOR WONDERS WHY SCHOOLYARD – DAY CLASSROOM ARI/ROCKY FUN MINI-MONTAGE END MONTAGE CIRCLE CARPET -- DAY SNACK AREA –- DAY CLASSROOM -- DAY SCHOOLYARD TABLE –- DAY EXT. PARK – AFTERNOON EXT. FOREST CLEARING DAY NIGHT AFTERNOON MORNING EVENING LATER MOMENTS LATER CONTINUOUS THE NEXT DAY CUT TO: FADE IN: FADE OUT. FADE TO: DISSOLVE TO: BACK TO: MATCH CUT TO: JUMP CUT TO: FADE TO BLACK. SONG: