St. Joseph Community Consolidated School District #169
Nutcracker
'Tis the holiday season and the Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Nutcracker Prince come alive with a teaching and study guide for Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. Background information, activities, games and puzzles are all included in...
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The Nutcracker
First graders define a ballet as a story told through dance. They listen to melodies and demonstrate beat and accent through body movement. They watch the ballet.
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Symphonic Poetry
Students interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic music in...
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The Dancing Flute
Learners use a cardboard tubes as props as they create their own dance steps to express the emotions invoked in a portion of The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky.
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Analyzing Two Dances and Making a Dance Map: The Nutcracker
Young scholars discuss dance elements and create a dance map. They choose a dance theme and incorporate movement into their dance maps and choreography. They also experiment with different types of music.
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Fill The Bill
Students identify and describe five different types of beaks. Using that information, they explain how each of them is adapted to feed on different foods. In groups, they travel around the room to various stations in order to practice...
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Sounds of the Season
During Christmas time, use common carols and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker music as the basis for writing advertisements. Learners can work in teams or individually as they listen to songs via the links provided. A "Christmas Music Comparison...
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Symphonic Poetry (SMART Board Lesson)
Let music and poetry collide in this well-orchestrated language arts lesson plan. After studying program music and C. Debussy's Prelude to an Afternoon Faun, view the attached SMART board lesson plan to read through "Fog" by Carl...
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"Nutcracker"
Students recognize the timbre of a celesta by listening to music that contains the celesta. They listen to music from Tchaikovsky's "Danse de la Fee-Dragee" (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies), track #14 and describe how the music...
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Hot, Hot, Hot, Cold
Learners dance the image of falling snow. They move, swing, fall, and rise to music working to depict snow falling, the sun, and high/low movements. This is a well-thought out lesson that aids them in seeing movement as a form of...
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Christmas Celebrations
Second graders view a video of the Nutcracker ballet and then compare and contrast holiday celebrations in Germany and the United States. They use the computer to write a paragraph exploring their observations.
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Carrot Seed Lesson Plan
Students create a seed museum. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify various seeds and the plants the seeds will grow into. Students write a description of the plant, illustrate the plant and create a seed museum in...
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Simple Machines in the Home
Students explore simple machines used in the home. In this simple machines lesson, students discover that many household items are constructed from simple machines. Students interact with nutcrackers, peelers, egg slicers, and egg beaters.
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Archeology: Weapons of the Texanos
Students develop archaeological context skills through a simulation which places them in the year 2500. After listening to the teacher read, "Weapons of the Texanos," they record what they think the weapon is. Next, in groups, they...
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Retell A Story Through Dance
Students tell stories through dance. In this ballet lesson plan, students learn pantomime dance skills and examine "The Nutcracker" ballet performances as they examine ballet as storytelling.
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Autumn Season
Students explore a nut theme for the autumn season. They assemble one acorn craft and use as a puppet for the introduction and presentation of the theme. They plan for a classroom bulletin board idea that incorporates the acorn craft.
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Lever as a Simple Machine
Students study the three different types of levers and develop a simple machine. In this levers and simple machines lesson, students look at different types of levers, and experiment with a ruler and a marshmallow to determine how they...
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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
High schoolers identify what Tchaikovsky's personality was like and what kind of school he attended first. Then they identify and research what was happening in Russian politics during his lifetime. Students also identify who the...
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Simple Machines
Fourth graders examine a machine and how its parts work together. In this simple machines lesson, 4th graders work in groups to study different gadgets, analyze how the parts of the gadget work and draw sketches of the gadget. Students...
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How Do You Celebrate?
Investigate the customs of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa with a holiday instructional activity. Pupils use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the customs of each holiday before writing an informative paragraph about...
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Tools: Science Stations
Students explore technology by completing engineering activities in class. In this simple tools instructional activity, students utilize three science stations to perform tasks using a nutcracker, bottle openers, hammers and other tools....
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Weightlessness
Students compare and contrast the terms "weight" and "mass". In this physics lesson, students observe an experiment in which objects are placed on a balance scale and weighed under different circumstances. Partners drop items and observe...
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Emotions in Motion
Young scholars use dance as a form of communication. For this meanings of dance lesson, students create dances to communicate a variety of emotions.
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Let's Party!
First graders identify similarities/differences of celebrations and list ways to celebrate. They investigate celebrations from around the world.