When I Was A Teacher, I
Back when I was teaching sixth grade in the South Bronx, I won a grant to take my entire sixth grade class to go see the Broadway show, "Rent."
I devised a multi-unit curriculum incorporating the show into everyday classroom learning. "Seasons of Love" formed the foundations for math lessons, "Rent" provided me with language arts materials, "La Vie Boheme" served as my history teachings, and the themes of the show allowed my students to learn about diversity, tolerance and AIDS awareness.
Every student in the class knew the show inside and out. They knew the evolution of the production, they knew every character and plotline, they knew all about the cast members, and they knew every word to every song.
The day before the show, the actor who played "Angel" visited our South Bronx classroom. The students sang with him and asked him questions. Then before he left, he taught everyone the hand motions to "La Vie Boheme" so that when they were at the show, they would be able to dance along. He also promised to add a Macarena-like dance move to his "Today 4 U" number just for them (which he did).
At the show -- which for most of the students was their first Broadway experience -- the students didn't realize you weren't supposed to sing along...and I wasn't about to stop them! And once the cast members on stage caught on to what was taking place in the balcony, they fed on the energy for the entire matinee.
Classsroom intoxication.
I devised a multi-unit curriculum incorporating the show into everyday classroom learning. "Seasons of Love" formed the foundations for math lessons, "Rent" provided me with language arts materials, "La Vie Boheme" served as my history teachings, and the themes of the show allowed my students to learn about diversity, tolerance and AIDS awareness.
Every student in the class knew the show inside and out. They knew the evolution of the production, they knew every character and plotline, they knew all about the cast members, and they knew every word to every song.
The day before the show, the actor who played "Angel" visited our South Bronx classroom. The students sang with him and asked him questions. Then before he left, he taught everyone the hand motions to "La Vie Boheme" so that when they were at the show, they would be able to dance along. He also promised to add a Macarena-like dance move to his "Today 4 U" number just for them (which he did).
At the show -- which for most of the students was their first Broadway experience -- the students didn't realize you weren't supposed to sing along...and I wasn't about to stop them! And once the cast members on stage caught on to what was taking place in the balcony, they fed on the energy for the entire matinee.
Classsroom intoxication.