Magic Tree House Series, Activity: Listen!

TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE

Inside this guide: Before the Play About the Show ...... 2 Activity: Next Adventure ...... 11 Where will Jack and Annie go next? Using your social sciences Big Ideas ...... 3 curriculum, have students draft a description of the duo’s next Questions for Discussion and Writing Prompts . . . . .3 historical adventure, its setting, and why their mission is such an important one. Vocabulary ...... 4 Activity: Prices in 1915 ...... 12 New Orleans Geography ...... 5 Use a historical price list from 1915 to practice math skills, and Introduce your students to the history and geography of New compare prices from the era of A Night in New Orleans and Orleans with some overview information and a quick mapping today’s grocery stores. activity. Extend the activity by making postcards to illustrate Additional Resources ...... 16 some of the geographical and cultural highlights of the city. Online resources for more about The Magic Tree House series, Activity: Listen! ...... 9 jazz, Louis Armstrong, and New Orleans history. Listen to some examples of Louis Armstrong’s music to intro- Reading List ...... 17 duce students to his work and prepare them to see the play. Links to music samples and video are included. Provided by Multnomah County Library SchoolCorps.

Teacher Info & Important Dates Friday, October 4, 2013: Full balance due, Based on “A Good Night for Ghosts MAGIC TREE HOUSE last day to reduce seats #42” by Mary Pope Osborne. Book and lyrics by Will Thursday, October 17, 7pm: Teacher preview Osborne and Murray Horwitz. Music and additional lyrics by Allen Toussaint. Directed by Stan Foote. Teacher Length: 60 minutes resource guide by Allison Davis. Location: Newmark Theatre About the Show

A live jazz band sets the stage for this colorful, vivid musi- The trio travel through the streets of New Orleans together, cal. In A Night in New Orleans (based on the Magic Tree delivering loads of coal, hauling bananas, sampling gumbo House book A Good Night for Ghosts) fearless explorers and other Cajun treats, and making music. But when a sud- Jack and Annie travel back in time to 1915 New Orleans den storm brews, an encounter with pirate ghosts in a where they encourage a young Louis Armstrong to follow haunted blacksmith’s shop gives Jack, Annie and Dipper his dreams. more than they bargained for! The ghosts of Jean Lafitte and his pirate crew calm down when Dipper grabs Annie’s With only a magic trumpet and a book about the history of magical trumpet and delivers a beautiful solo. jazz to guide them, Jack and Annie try to help a teenaged Armstrong to see that his musical gifts are worth pursuing. Even after the danger has passed, Dipper doesn’t take Jack Armstrong, nicknamed Dipper, is a good-natured, hard- and Annie seriously. In desperation, they finally show him working teenager who is committed to working hard doing their jazz book and reveal a photo from the future—Louis manual labor to support his family. When Jack and Annie Armstrong, the king of jazz! As he gazes at the photograph, meet Dipper on the streets of New Orleans, they try all sorts Dipper admits that the image is familiar because it matches of subtle and not-so-subtle tactics to help convince him to a secret dream that he’s had all along. Finally convinced, pursue his music, but Dipper isn’t so easily convinced. Dipper joins his musician friends aboard a riverboat to Economic necessity and his experiences at the Waif’s Home, begin his life as a musician. With their assignment accom- where he lived for two years serving a sentence for a foolish plished, Jack and Annie return to the present to await their prank, have made him cautious and committed to staying on next adventure. the right path.

2 The Big Ideas Questions for Discussion and Writing Prompts • Dreams and goals are just as important as obligations and responsibilities. 1. Why do Jack and Annie have to persuade Dipper (Louis Armstrong) to keep focusing on his music? Why do you • Music and the arts are essential parts of life. think Dipper is reluctant to do this?

• The choices we make define who we become. 2. In The Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans, music is frequently used to tell the stories you’ll see on stage. • Learning about history and the past is a fantastic Describe an example of another play, movie or other work adventure. that uses music to tell stories.

3. How would you describe Dipper? What is his life like when he meets Jack and Annie?

You can make music 4. Imagine that you are Jack or Annie. Write a note to Dipper telling him why he should take a risk and concentrate on any way you want, playing music.

any time. There’s music 5. What kind of music does Dipper play? What is your favorite kind of music to listen to, and why? What is your favorite everywhere! musical instrument?

6. Why did Dipper get sent to the Waifs’ Home when he was younger? How did that experience change him?

7. Why can’t Dipper ride the street car with Jack and Annie?

8. If you were able to travel back in time, what historical figure would you most like to meet?

9. What are the ‘heebie jeebies’? Is there something that gives you the heebie jeebies?

10. What is a genius? What do you think makes a person a genius?

3 Vocabulary

Crawfish: fresh water crustaceans that resemble small Beat: the pronounced rhythm that is the characteristic driv- lobsters. ing force in some types of music; a single stroke or blow especially in a series. Creole: a person descended from the original French settlers of Louisiana or the French dialect spoken by this cultural Rhythm: the aspect of music comprising all the elements group. Also can refer to cooking with a spicy sauce of toma- that relate to forward movement; a characteristic rhythmic toes, peppers and onions. pattern.

Gumbo: New Orleans’ signature dish. A rich stew that con- Scat singing: vocal improvisation using wordless sounds or sists of a roux, shellfish, meat, and seasoning vegetables. nonsense syllables. Scat singing in jazz allows a singer to Gumbo is traditionally served over rice. improvise a solo of melodies and rhythms that shows off just their voice. Roux: a French cooking base of flour and fat; often used as the base for gumbo. Improvisation: acting spontaneously and in the moment. Improvisation can be used in making music, acting, dancing, Andouille sausage: a spicy pork sausage. Pronounced and many other art forms, or in problem solving, talking or ANN-DOO-EEE. just every day life. Beignets: donuts traditionally served with powdered sugar. Pronounced BEN-YAYS.

French Quarter: the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When the city was first built in 1718, life cen- “If you don’t have words, tered around this area, originally known as the Vieux Carré (Old Square). just sing what you feel!

Bourbon Street: a famous street in the heart of the French If you put your heart Quarter. The location of Jean Laffite’s old blacksmith shop. in it, people will Riverboat: large boats that use steam power to ferry passengers and freight both up and down the Mississippi River. understand you.” Jazz: American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre.

Blues: a song often of lamentation characterized by 12-bar phrases, 3-line stanzas in which the words of the second line usually repeat those of the first.

Melody: a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds.

4 Vocabulary cont.

Instrument families Musical instruments are often referred to as part of a family, because groups or families of instruments are often con- “You could say I have structed from similar materials, resemble each other, and create sound in similar ways. Jazz uses instruments from all a rich life. I might not of the different instrument families. get to have everything. String instruments: musical instruments that produce sound from one or more vibrating strings. Sound can be But I get to feel produced by plucking (guitar, banjo, ukelele), bowing (violin, viola, cello, bass –although these instruments are everything!.” sometimes plucked too), orstriking (piano, dulcimer).

Brass instruments: brass players use their breath to produce sounds by vibrating their lips into a cup- shaped mouthpiece. Valves, which look like buttons, open and close different parts of the pipes of the instrument, which changes the pitch of the sound. Most, but not all instruments in this family are made of brass. Examples: trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba.

Woodwind instruments: like brass players, woodwind players use breath to create sound. But unlike brass instruments, woodwind players blow air through a mouthpiece (for example, a flute). Some instruments’ mouthpieces use a thin piece of wood, called a reed, which vibrates when you blow across it. The clarinet, oboe, and saxophone all use reeds.

Percussion instruments: any instrument that produces noise when hit, shaken or scraped. Some instruments in the percussion family are tuned and can hit different notes (a drum kit, a xylophone, etc.), while others are untuned and create no definite pitch (cymbals, for example).

5 New Orleans Geography

About New Orleans Overview New Orleans was founded by French settlers in 1718, as the Introduce students to the geography of New Orleans and capital of the French colony of Louisiana. Its location near the learn a little more about the region with a brief mapping juncture of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico made activity. it a strategic port. The new city was named La Nouvelle Orleans for Phillipe, Duc d’Orleans. Grade Level In 1762 and 1763, the French signed treaties that ceded New 2-5 Orleans to Spain, and for 40 years, New Orleans was a Spanish city. Spanish rule there resulted in a great deal of trade Standards between Cuba and and Mexico. In 1788 and 1794, huge fires Social Sciences: Geography: Understand and use geo- ravaged the city, destroying much of the original French archi- graphic skills and concepts to interpret contemporary and tecture of the city. Most of the buildings in what is today called historical issues. the French Quarter were actually constructed by the Spanish. 2 .10 Use and apply cardinal directions; locate and iden- In 1803, Louisiana reverted back to the French, who later sold tify physical features on maps. the land to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Until 1830, the majority of the city’s residents spoke French. 3 .7 Use a simple grid system, symbols and other infor- Although Louisiana became a state in 1812, it maintains an mation to locate the physical and political features of international flavor even today. places on maps and globes.

By the mid-1800s, New Orleans was the third-largest city in 5 .8 Use various types of maps to describe and explain the United States. It was also one of the richest cities and daz- the United States. zled visitors with Parisian couture, sophisticated culture, and delicious restaurants. The city had a thriving classical music Length scene and was the first important American opera city. It was 30 minutes also an economic hub; shipping much of the produce from the interior of the United States to the Carribean, South America, Materials and Europe. New Orleans was also a center of the slave trade. Print the OCT worksheets included in this guide: By 1900, the city’s streetcars were electrified. The city grew. New pump technology drove the ambitious draining of the United States Map sheet (class set) low-lying swampland located between the city’s riverside Colored pencils crescent and Lake Pontchartrain. New levees and drainage canals meant that many more residents could live below sea Pencils level. During the early 20th century, jazz was born and evolved in New Orleans’ clubs and dance halls. Louis Armstrong was Student atlases or other maps for students to reference one of the architects of this uniquely American genre of music.

6 New Orleans Geography cont.

Activity Instructions 4. Questions: If you would like, have students answer some or all of these questions on the backs of their map sheets 1. Prep: Print a class set of United States Map sheets. (questions intended for both younger and older students):

2. Prompt: Explain to students that they’ll be doing some a. Imagine that you are traveling to New Orleans. In what mapping to learn more about New Orleans and where direction would you travel? Look at your atlas’ com- it is in relation to their home city and state. pass if you need help.

3. Map: Instruct students to label the following on their b. Using a ruler and the atlas scale, estimate how far away map sheets: New Orleans is from your city.

States (outline in a different color for each state, and label) c. Name three bodies of water in the New Orleans area.

• Oregon d. Make an educated guess about what the climate in New Orleans might be like. Explain. • Washington e. What is the elevation of New Orleans? Based on • Louisiana this information, what might be dangerous about Cities (label with a dot and city name) living there?

• Portland, Oregon Extension: Postcards Home • Vancouver, Washington Use A Good Night for Ghosts, titles from the reading list on page 17, or online research to introduce students to New • Your home city, if different from above Orleans in 1915. Distribute large index cards, one per student, to create postcards. On the blank side, students draw an • New Orleans, Louisiana image associated with the city, and on the lined side write a State capitals (label with a star and city name) note home to a family member describing what they’ve seen. Example ideas: a river boat, a jazz concert, gumbo or other • What are the capitals of Oregon, Washington, and Creole food, the French Quarter. Louisiana? Find and label.

Rivers (label and draw in blue)

• Willamette River

• Columbia River

• Mississippi River

7 Name: ______Activity: Listen!

Overview Materials Listen to some examples of Louis Armstrong’s music so stu- Recordings of Louis Armstrong’s music (see below for examples) dents know a little more about the kind of jazz Armstrong Computer, ipod, or other audio equipment played and what it sounds like. Students can use the listening time to reflect on the music, or if you’re pressed for time, Paper and pencil play these recordings while students are doing other inde- pendent work. Colored pencils, markers, or crayons (optional)

Grade Level Activity Instructions 2-5 1. Prep: Prepare samples of Armstrong’s music that students can listen to. See below for links. Some include Standards video, some are audio only. Arts: Aesthetics and Criticism 2. Prompt: Discuss Louis Armstrong with students, based AR .03 .AC .02 Identify and describe personal preferences on their knowledge of him from Osborne’s novel A Good connected with viewing or listening to a work of art using Night for Ghosts and any additional resources you may terminology that conveys knowledge of the arts. have shared with students (see the Reading List and Online Resources pages for more information about AR .05 .AC .02 Describe personal preferences and iden- Armstrong). What was Armstrong’s early life like? How tify how essential elements and organizational principles would students describe young Louis Armstrong? in a work of art contribute to those preferences. 3. Play: Explain to students that they’ll be listening to some Arts: Historical and Cultural Perspectives examples of Armstrong’s music. Encourage them to write down words or draw what they hear or think of while AR .03 .HC .01 Identify an event or condition that influ- they’re listening to the music. Do they recognize particu- enced a work of art. lar instruments? Does the song sound happy, sad, or have AR .05 .HC .01 Identify and describe the influence of a different feeling? If students are having trouble, ask events and/or conditions on works of art. them to draw Armstrong and the people making the music. After students have time to respond, play the Length music again and have a discussion about what they heard. Identify the different instruments for students. 20 minutes

9 Note: Heebie Jeebies is a great example for students to listen to, as it’s an earlier example of Armstrong’s music, and contains both him playing the trumpet and scat singing. “Sure I wanted to. “Heebie Jeebies”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksmGt2U-xTE But I can’t.

“West End Blues”: That’s just the way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Hbh_-IRs8 it has to be. “Wonderful World”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM Mama Lucy, Mayann, “When the Saints Go Marching In”: and Baby Clarence are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA all depending on me.”

10 Activity: Next Adventure

Overview Activity Instructions Students create Jack and Annie’s next adventure based either 1. Prep: Decide the parameters of the assignment. Will stu- on New Orleans history or a different social sciences unit in dents be using early 20th century New Orleans history, or your curriculum. Students use the 5 W’s to demonstrate a different historical period you’ve been studying in class? knowledge and understanding of the historical significance of Will they be staying in your local area, or travelling some- the assignment they create. where else in the world? Students can work indepen- dently or in small groups to complete the activity. Grade Level 2. Prompt: Give students their instructions. Imagine that 2-5 they are writing a description of Jack and Annie’s next assignment to travel back in time. Have them consider the Standards 5 Ws in their description: Social Sciences: Social Science Analysis • Who: who are Jack and Annie being assigned to meet? 2 .20 Compare and contrast past and present situa- • What: what do Jack and Annie need to do? tions, people and events. • When: what time period are they traveling to? 3 .20 Identify how people or other living things might be affected by an event, issue or problem. • Where: where are they traveling to?

4 .20 Describe the sequence of events in given current • Why: why is this adventure important? and historical accounts. • How (optional): as a bonus question or follow-up Language Arts: Writing: Text Types and Purposes assignment, have students consider how Jack and Annie will achieve their mission. 2 .W .2–5 .W .2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions 3. Mission Briefing: Allow time for students to draft a para- to develop points, and provide a concluding statement graph or two explaining the adventure. or section. Extension Length If you have time, have students create book covers that show 45 minutes Jack and Annie on their next adventure, with an illustration that shows where they are going and who they are meeting. Materials Paper and pencil

11 Activity: Prices in 1915

Overview Activity Instructions How was life different in 1915? How have prices changed? Use 1. Prep: Post the following prices somewhere visible in the a price list for a mathematics activity around currency, units, classroom: and addition and subtraction skills. Then compare prices in 1915 to prices in 2013 and discuss possible causes with Flour (5 lbs) 21¢ students. Bread (1 loaf) 7 ¢

Grade Level Steak (1 lb) 23¢

2-4 Bacon (1 lb) 27¢ Standards Butter (1 lb) 36¢ Mathematics: Operations and Algebraic Thinking Eggs (1 dozen) 34¢

2 OA. .1 Use addition and subtraction within 100 to Milk (1/2 gallon) 18¢ solve one- and two-step word problems. Potatoes (10 lbs) 15¢ 3 OA. .8 Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Coffee (1 lb) 30¢

Mathematics: Measurement and Data Sugar (5 lbs) 33¢

2 .MD .8 Solve word problems involving dollar bills, 2. Prompt: Discuss the prices of these food staples with quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, using $ and ¢ as your class. How do students think these prices compare appropriate. with prices in 2013? Why do students think there is such a difference? 4 .MD .2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving … money, including problems involving 3. Problems: Use the price list to create story problems for simple fractions or decimals. your students or use some of the suggestions below.

Prices Then and Now: Length 4. Distribute copies of the Prices Then and Now sheet to students. Have them research 30 minutes, plus out of class time prices today for these items by looking online or visiting a grocery store. Materials Print the OCT worksheets included in this guide:

“Prices Then and Now” worksheet (class set)

Paper and pencil

Price list (see below) posted on the board or somewhere visible

12 Activity: Prices in 1915 cont.

Questions for Discussion 4. Dipper’s mother wants to make a batch of beignets but she needs some ingredients. She sends Dipper to the 1. Based on what you know about prices of food in 1915 and store to buy a dozen eggs, a 5 lb sack of flour, a 5 lb sack how much Dipper makes at his job delivering coal, do you of sugar, and one pound of butter, and gives him $1.50 to think Dipper is making a lot of money? Why or why not? take to the store. 2. How might money influence Dipper’s reluctance to pur- • How much do these groceries cost? ______sue his dream of being a musician? • How much change should the store clerk give 3. What food item’s prices changed the most between 1915 Dipper? ______and today? Which food item’s price changed the least? Why do you think prices of different items change at 5. At the end of the day on Thursday, Dipper’s boss gives different rates? him two quarters, two dimes, three nickels and five pennies for his day’s pay. Sample Story Problems • How much money has Dipper earned? ______1. Dipper tells his friends that he gets paid fifteen cents for every load of coal he delivers. Dipper delivers five loads • How many loads of coal did Dipper deliver on of coal on Wednesday. How much does Dipper make Thursday? ______that day? ______Price list Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics 2. After he gets paid, Dipper has to go to the grocery store. of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Here is his grocery list: Edition, Part 2., Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011. Accessed at: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873707.html • 3 loaves of bread

• A 10 lb sack of potatoes

• A dozen eggs

How much do these groceries cost? ______

Does Dipper have enough money? If so, how much does he have left over? ______

3. Dipper wants to buy a pound of coffee. How many loads of coal will he need to deliver in order to buy it? ______

13 Sample Story Problems: Answer Key

1. Dipper tells his friends that he gets paid fifteen cents for 4. Dipper’s mother wants to make a batch of beignets but every load of coal he delivers. Dipper delivers five loads of she needs some ingredients. She sends Dipper to the coal on Wednesday. How much does Dipper make that store to buy a dozen eggs, a 5 lb sack of flour, a 5 lb sack day? 75 cents of sugar, and one pound of butter, and gives him $1.50 to take to the store. 2. After he gets paid, Dipper has to go to the grocery store. Here is his grocery list: • How much do these groceries cost? $1 .24

• 3 loaves of bread • How much change should the store clerk give Dipper? $0 .26 • A 10 lb sack of potatoes 5. At the end of the day on Thursday, Dipper’s boss gives • A dozen eggs him two quarters, two dimes, three nickels and five pen- How much do these groceries cost? 70 cents nies for his day’s pay. 90 cents Does Dipper have enough money? If so, how much • How much money has Dipper earned? does he have left over? Yes; 5 cents • How many loads of coal did Dipper deliver on 6 3. Dipper wants to buy a pound of coffee. How many loads Thursday? of coal will he need to deliver in order to buy it? 2 loads

14 Worksheet: Prices Then and Now Name: ______

Price in 1915 Price in 2013 Difference

Flour (1 lb.) 21¢

Bread (1 loaf) 7 ¢

Steak (1 lb.) 23¢

Bacon (1 lb.) 27¢

Butter (1 lb.) 36¢

Eggs (1 dozen) 34¢

Milk (1/2 gallon) 18¢

Potatoes (10 lbs.) 15¢

Coffee (1 lb) 30¢

Sugar (5 lbs.) 33¢

15 Online Resources marypopeosborne com. Louis Armstrong Blog and biography of the Magic Tree House author. www louisarmstronghouse. org. www magictreehouse. com. Website of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, Official website of the children’s book series. NY, where Louis Armstrong and his wife lived. mthclassroomadventures org. www npr. org/2007/08/01/12208712/louis-armstrong-the-. Mary Pope Osborne’s Classroom Adventures program. man-and-his-music-part-1 Documentary series by National Public Radio on the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong. Jazz www nps. gov/jazz/historyculture/index. htm. New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park New Orleans www neworleansonline. com/neworleans/history. artsedge kennedy-center. org/interactives/jazzintime/. Official tourism site of the city of New Orleans. Includes lots timeline html. of culture and history information and photographs. Jazz timeline created by the Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge. Includes photos and audio recordings. nutrias org/photos/photolist. htm. Archives of historical photos of New Orleans from teacher .scholastic com/activities/bhistory/history_of_jazz. htm. its public library. History of jazz from Scholastic. nutrias org/~nopl/maps/mam924%2001. jpg. Map of New Orleans, 1924

16 Reading List

Jazz and blues Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. In New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her Jazz on A Saturday Night by Leo Dillon. Leo and Diane Dillon adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather use bright colors and musical patterns that make music skip the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them. off the page in this toe-tapping homage to many jazz greats. Little Pierre: A Cajun Story from Louisiana by Robert D. San The Blues of Flats Brown by Walter Dean Myers. To escape an Souci. A very tiny but clever boy outwits his older brothers, an abusive master, a junkyard dog named Flats runs away and ogre, an alligator, and a giant catfish to rescue a rich man’s makes a name for himself from Mississippi to New York City daughter in this Cajun version of a French fairy tale. playing blues on his guitar. A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson. Told in Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxanne Orgill. alternating voices, four friends from the same New Orleans Follows the beloved American jazz singer’s rise to fame, neighborhood describe what happens to them and their com- describing the difficult historical and cultural factors that munity when they are separated, then reunited, as a result of she overcame. Hurricane Katrina.

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods. Saint Louis Davis Pinkney. A brief recounting of the career of this jazz Armstrong Beach is enjoying life in New Orleans, playing clari- musician and composer who, along with his orchestra, created net for the tourists in his spare time, accompanied by Shadow, music that was beyond category. a local stray dog. When Hurricane Katrina approaches, Saint faces unexpected challenges in trying to rescue Shadow. Bessie Smith and the Night Riders by Sue Stauffacher. Black blues singer Bessie Smith single-handedly scares off Ku Klux Klan members who are trying to disrupt her show one hot July Stories with time travel night in Concord, North Carolina. Includes historical note. and historical figures Play, Louis, Play! The True Story of a Boy and His Horn by Oh No! Not Again!: (or How I Built a Time Machine to Save Muriel Harris Weinstein. Recounts the childhood of Louis History) (or at Least My History Grade) by Mac Barnett. When Armstrong in New Orleans from the perspective of his horn. she does not get a perfect score on her history test, a young girl builds a time machine to remedy the situation.

New Orleans/Cajun Culture Honus and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman. Today Is Monday in Louisiana by Johnette Downing. Joey, who loves baseball but is not very good at it, finds a Illustrations and rhythmic text celebrate edible treats that valuable 1909 Honus Wagner card and travels back in time to characterize Louisiana, such as beignets and po boys. Includes meet Honus. facts about the foods mentioned and a recipe for red beans and rice. Stage Fright on A Summer Night by Mary Pope Osborne. Jack and Annie travel in their magic tree house to Elizabethan Mardi Gras: A Cajun Country Celebration by Diane Hoyt- London, where they become actors in a production of A Goldsmith. Introduces a Louisiana Cajun family and their Midsummer Night’s Dream and try to rescue a tame bear. celebration of Mardi Gras including the music, the food, and the costumes.

17 Reading List cont.

Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci by Jon Scieszka. In their latest Ghost Stories/Spooky Stories time travel adventure, Fred, Joe, and Sam da Brooklyn meet Leonardo da Vinci and try to avoid becoming toilet scrubbers from American History in a sixteenth-century Italian army. Ghosts of the White House by Cheryl Harness. George Washington’s ghost pulls a girl out of her school White House Joining the Boston Tea Party by Diane Stanley. With the help tour and takes her on a personal tour of the building, introduc- of their grandmother’s hat, the twins journey back in time to ing her to the ghosts of previous presidents. the Boston Tea Party. Spooky America: Four Real Ghost Stories by Lori Haskins The Hour of the Outlaw by Maiya Williams. Rowan, Nina, Houran. Recounts four fact-based tales of hauntings, includ- Xanthe, and Xavier are reunited for their first solo time travel ing a ghost horse on the coast of Massachusetts, a haunted trip, venturing to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1856 in search of an painting at a Virginia plantation, a skeleton in Colorado, and unhappy teen whose decision to run away from his father a ghostly sea captain of California. seems to have changed history. Ghosts: A Nonfiction Companion to A Good Night for Ghosts George Washington’s Socks: A Time Travel Adventure by Elvira by Mary Pope Osborne. A guide to ghosts discusses the his- Woodruff. In the midst of a backyard campout, ten-year-old tory of human belief in them, famous hauntings in the United Matt and four other children find themselves transported back States and Great Britain, and some possible alternative expla- into the time of George Washington and the American nations for them. Revolution, where they begin to live out American history first- hand and learn the sober realities of war. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Collected from Folklore by Alvin Schwartz. Tapped from the oral traditions of American folklore, these ghost stories and tales of weird happenings, witches, and Famous American Figures in the Arts graveyards have startling, funny, or surprising endings. Georgia’s Bones by Jennifer Bryant. Artist Georgia O’Keeffe was interested in the shapes she saw around her, from her The Skull Talks Back and Other Haunting Tales by Joyce childhood on a Wisconsin farm to her adult life in New York Carol Thomas. This collection of six scary tales will send shiv- City and New Mexico. ers up your spine! The stories have been selected from Every Tongue Got To Confess, Zora Neale Hurston’s third volume 13 American Artists Children Should Know by Brad Finger. Brief of folklore. biographies of American artists along with reproductions of their works, timelines, and a glossary of art-related terms.

Come Look with Me: Discovering African American Art for Children by James Haywood Rolling. This title pairs great works of art with thought-provoking questions, encouraging children to learn through visual exploration and interaction.

Come Look with Me: American Indian Art by Stephanie Salomon. Combines high-quality American Indian art reproductions with information and questions about each art piece.

18 Teacher Resource Guide

On The Way

Scat Singing Activity SW Salmon Before leaving on the bus, play Louis Armstrong’s “Heebie Hatfield Hall Jeebies” for students and point out the scat singing in the 1111 SW Broadway recording. What do students notice? What sounds and syl- SW Main lables do they hear? Explain that this kind of singing is called scat singing, a way for a singer to improvise music while SW 10th showing off their vocal stylings. SW Madiso On the bus or on the way to the theater, start a game of ‘scat n telephone.’ One student makes up a line of scat singing and sings loud enough for the students in the seat behind them SW Jefferso to hear. They pass the line to the students behind them, and n so on, until the line has been sung all the way around the h SW Columbia bus. Is it the same as the original scat singing? Repeat with a rk

Pa new volunteer singing a new line. SW Nint

SW Variation: have students try scatting the alphabet or the let- h SWSW Broadway Cla ters of their name, using nonsense syllables that begin with y h each letter. SW 6t

SW Market SW 5t Link to “Heebie Jeebies” recording: http://www.youtube .com/watch?v=ksmGt2U-xTE

SW Mill Downtown Portland Scavenger Hunt Print copies of this downtown Portland scavenger hunt check- list and complete it on your bus ride, or if you have some walking time before or after your visit to Oregon Children’s Theatre. Students can work in pairs or individually. When you’re back at school, talk with students about what they saw.

Lost or running late? Call us at (503) 228-9571. On The Way

Downtown Portland Scavenger Hunt

Name and date ______

A non-Oregon or Washington license plate Cyclist

The Portland sign Street performer

A statue or sculpture Pedicab (a bicycle that can carry passengers)

Star shapes Timbers jersey

Two bridges—do you know their names? A person wearing a hat that’s not a baseball cap

MAX or street car Water fountain

Pedestrian holding a cup of coffee Police officer

An umbrella Bonus Items! A food cart Mounted police

Skyscraper—can you count how many Window washers stories it has?

OHSU tram A person wearing a suit

Chess board Teacher Resource Guide

Career Advice After the Play: Ask your students to write friendly letters to young Louis What did you see? Armstrong after he’s met Jack and Annie and as he’s about to begin his musical career. What advice would students give Download the After the Play worksheet on the next page and him as he’s beginning this new life? If you would like, please print a class set. Soon after seeing the play, ask students to share these letters with us by mail or email: complete the drawing and response portions of the sheet either in class or at home. Feel free to share some or all of Oregon Children’s Theatre these with OCT — we love hearing student feedback about Attn: School Services our productions! See above for how to send us mail. 1939 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232

Or email letters to [email protected].

We love getting mail! If you or students have questions or comments they’d like to share with us or a specific person, like one of the actors, please feel free to drop us a line! What did you see? Name and date ______

What did you see on stage? Recall a scene you remember and draw it in the space above. Include scenery, characters, and props. What did you see? cont.

1. Describe what is happening in your drawing.

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2. List two or three things you liked about the play.

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3. If you were directing your own version of this play, what would you do differently?

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4. Write one question you had about the play that you’d like to ask Oregon Children’s Theatre. Questions can be for actors, the director, a designer, etc.

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______OCT School Services

In-School Residencies Loud and Clear Loud and Clear is a four week program designed to help students meet standards in public speaking. An experienced OCT instructor leads students through theater exercises which demonstrate proven techniques of oral presentation. Students receive clear, constructive feedback in this experien- tial and positive learning environment. For more information, visit www.octc.org/schoolservices/loudandclear.

Read, Write, Act Educational Theatre Program Over five weeks, students learn to adapt a piece of written The Educational Theatre Program is a collaboration between literature into a story for the stage. Work with our instructors Oregon Children’s Theatre and Kaiser Permanente, offering to select the book you want to work with and determine learn- engaging theatrical productions promoting healthy life ing goals. Students read the book, dramatize key scenes that choices to schools and communities for FREE. tell the story, and create scripts. The residency culminates in a staged reading. For more information, visit www.octc.org/ Now Booking: The Pressure Point! schoolservices/readwriteact. The Pressure Point! utilizes an interactive game-show format to offer strategies for working through challenging decisions and responding to peer pressure—and pressures of all kinds—in Teacher Liaisons a positive way. Designed for grades 4-6. OCT invites teachers who have an interest in theater arts to join the OCT Teacher Liaison Program. OCT seeks to develop To book your performance, visit www.etpnorthwest.com. relationships with teachers who are willing to be an arts advo- www.octc.org cate at their school, provide colleagues with information about (503) 228-9571 OCT and offer input on OCT programs. Liaisons are invited to special events throughout the year and receive behind–the- scenes information. If you are interested in joining the OCT Teacher Liaison network, please email [email protected].