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calif_missions.jpg (20376 bytes) California Missions and More
.
An Easy to Use
History Play
for Elementary and Middle School


Grades 2-6
25 minutes
$39.95
(2 or more Book/CD sets @ $30 each)

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*  Read the first one-third of the script
*  Listen to samples of the songs!
*  Teacher reviews
Vocabulary from California Missions

Play Description:

This 25 minute musical play can be done as a complete play, skits, read-aloud,
or you can just sing songs.  The relevent history is presented in a fun and
engaging way. No music or drama experience needed. Grades 2-6.

In our most recent historical review, students take the audience on a tour of early
California up to statehood. The show begins just before the arrival of Cabrillo in 1542,
exploring the life of California Indians before hispanic colonization and settlement.
Missions, presidios, and pueblos can't be far behind. With tough rancheros, bold
Russian and American traders, as well as the adventures in the war with Mexico
and the gold rush, California Missions is filled with colorful characters and catchy
tunes.
California Missions and More is a great complement to your curriculum
resources in elementary school history
.
Teacher Reviews:

"My fourth graders performed this play last year, and it was a huge success.
I loved that it coincided chapter by chapter with our history text. The kids
were so excited to learn the next song, but I would tell them we needed to
learn about it first so they would eagerly dig right in! Catchy songs, clever
lyrics (the adults were cracking up.) Highly recommended!"

---Dawn Smith, Teacher (4th grade), Pachappa Elementary, Riverside, CA

Read More Teacher Reviews

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National Education Standards:
Fulfills National Arts Standard 3 for Dance, 1 and 8 for music, and 2, 3,
and 5 for Theater.

Fulfills National History Standard 2 for K-4, Standards 1 and 3 for 5-12.
Fulfills California Fourth Grade History Standards 4.2 and 4.3

Casting:

Flexible casting from 11-40 students.
Use as many Administrators, Wives, Californios, etc. as desired.
One student can easily play several roles if needed. Note that all roles
can be played by either boys or girls; see our comments on page 31
of the Teacher's Guide.

Read the Script:

This is the first one-third of the script:

CHARACTERS:

JB (Director)          
Johnson (assistant to JB)
Native Americans (group #1)
Joseph de Gálvez
Administrators
Junipero Serra
Captain Portolá
Set Director
Girl
Native Americans (group #2)
Costume Designer
Ranchero Wives
Farmers (husband and wife)
James Polk
Jedediah Smith
John Sutter
James Marshall
Californians
and a Chorus made up of all students who are not playing roles at the
time.

(Lots of people are busy on a movie set. They are moving things around,
rushing back and forth. There is a director’s chair that says, cleverly enough,
"DIRECTOR" on the back. The Director, JB enters, with her assistant
JOHNSON, who always carries a clipboard.)

JB (shouting out directions, perhaps clapping hands to get attention):
Okay, people, let’s get moving. We’ve got a movie to film and we’re
already behind schedule.

JOHNSON: We’re all set, JB.
(to CAST and CREW of movie)
Your heard the director. Scene One of JB’s most brilliant work,
"California Missions."

JB (cringing): Aaaach.

JOHSNON: What is it, JB?

JB: That title. California Missions. It’s so, so…

JOHNSON: Mundane?

JB (ignoring JOHNSON): So…

JOHNSON: Prosaic?

JB: Icky. It’s icky. It needs something more.
(Thinks for a second, and then a light-bulb goes on over her head)
I’ve got it! Johnson, I’m a genius.

JOHNSON: What is it?

JB: The new title of my movie:
(pause: emphasize the “and more”)
California Missions—and more.

JOHNSON: Brilliant, JB!

Song 1

CLASS (sings):
We’re gonna make a movie ’bout the Missions       
The kind of film our fans will all adore
Yeah it’s got grit and luster
A holiday blockbuster
California Missions—Missions and more.

Early California so exciting
There’s mountains and there’s valleys to explore
A history bonanza
A film extravaganza
California Missions—Missions and more.

Oh yeah
Oh yeah
On with the show
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Cue the lights and cam’ras here we go.

From Spanish exploration up to statehood
There’s tragedy and romance here galore.
Let’s travel the king’s highway

JB:
As long as it is my way

CLASS:
California Missions—Missions and more.
California Missions—Missions and more.


(JB takes her seat in the Director’s chair. The set clears. Three NATIVE
AMERICANS enter. Note that the gender is important for two of these
characters.)

JOHNSON: Okay, Scene One. It’s the sixteenth century, before the
Spanish start exploring California. Where are the Indians?

NATIVE AMERICAN #1: Excuse me.

JOHNSON: Oh, you’re here. You look great.

NA #1 (female): Thanks. But you really shouldn’t call us Indians.

NA#2 (male): That’s right. There are hundreds of thousands of us
throughout the west coast, and we belong to dozens of different tribes.

NA #3: Hey, has anybody seen my acorns?
(looks around, panicked)
I think I’ve lost my acorns!

JOHNSON: What?

NA #2 (pointing): Is that them in that basket over there?

NA #3: Yes! My acorns!
(races over and grabs basket)
I love acorns. Little ones. Big ones. Some of them get these cute little
lines on them and look just like they’re smiling. See? There are fourteen
different varieties of acorn in early California. Would you like me to name
them?

JOHNSON: No! I mean, we’ve got to shoot this scene. Are you all so, uh,
fond of acorns?

NA #1: No. That’s the point. We live in all kinds of places and live all
kinds of lives.

Song 2

NA #1:                                        
Some of us make baskets

NA #2:
Some make great canoes

NA #3:
Some of us wear deerskins

NA #1:
Some wear just tatoos.

NA #1:
I live in the desert

NA #2:
I live by the sea

NA #3:
I live in the mountains
Near an acorn tree!

ALL THREE:
Don’t call us Indians
We are not all the same
Don’t call us Indians
We do not know that name
We’re Chumash and we’re Yokuts
Miwok and Pomo too
Don’t call us Indians
If that’s alright with you.

NA #1:
Some of us pick berries

NA #2:
Some of us catch fish

NA #3:
Some of us find acorns
What a nutty dish!

(getting carried away)

Acorn paste for breakfast
Really tasty goop
Lunch is acorn porridge
Dinner’s acorn soup!

(Spoken:) I LOVE acorns!

ALL THREE and CHORUS:
Don’t call us Indians
We are not all the same
Don’t call us Indians
We do not know that name
We’re Chumash and we’re Yokuts
Miwok and Pomo too
Don’t call us Indians
If that’s alright with you.

(NATIVE AMERICANS exit)

JB: Cut! Brilliant. Perfect. It’s got a message but it’s catchy. And there’s
the food angle. I’m not a big fan of acorn porridge myself, but I think there
may be an untapped audience out there of nut lovers. Johnson—get me
on one of those cooking shows for the publicity tour.

JOHNSON: Right, JB. Okay, Scene Two. We need Joseph de Gálvez
on the stage.  Where is the Spanish Visitor-General of Mexico?

GÁLVEZ: (entering, accompanied by ADMINSTRATORS. HE is holding
a letter):
At last my request has been granted from the King. We shall send an
expedition to Alta California and colonize it for Spain.

ADMINISTRATOR #1: Excellent, Governor Gálvez. But we Spanish have
claimed  all of California for 200 years. In 1542 Cabrillo sailed to San Diego,
and in 1602 Vizcaíno charted Monterey Bay. Why send an expedition now
in 1769?

GÁLVEZ: Why now? Because the Russians and British are poking their
noses around our territory. Why now? Because for 200 years we have
done nothing with Alta California. Why now? Because it will be fun!

ADMINISTRATOR #2: But how do we do it?

GÁLVEZ: How? How we always do it, of course. We’ll follow the famous
Spanish three-step plan to territorial expansion.

ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together): The three-step plan?

GÁLVEZ: Don’t they teach you anything in college these days? Your
résumés explicitly stated that you had taken Imperialism 101: Introduction
to Being a Colonial Power.

ADMINISTRATOR #1: Uh, I think I may have missed a couple of those
classes.

GÁLVEZ: The three-step plan of expansion is quite simple. Repeat after
me:
Missions.

ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together): Missions.

GÁLVEZ: Presidios.

ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together, baffled): Presidios?

GÁLVEZ: Presidios are forts. And the third step is building pueblos.

ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together): Pueblos.

GÁLVEZ: Altogether now.

ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together, chanting, going faster and faster):
Missions, presidios, and pueblos. Missions, presidios and pueblos.
Missions, presidios and pueblos. RAH!

GÁLVEZ: Now you get it.

Song 3

The first step towards our ambition      
Is to build ourselves a mission
And then turn the natives Christian
It’s really for the best

Then we’ll fortify that mission
With presidios positioned
To discourage opposition
To our California quest.

GÁLVEZ and ADMINISTRATORS:
Missions, presidios and pueblos
A three-step plan to stretch our Spanish rule
Missions, presidios and pueblos
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours and that’s so cool.

For step three we’ll build a city
Though this pueblo won’t be pretty
A few families tough and gritty
Will ranch and farm the land

You might call it colonizing
But we’re really globalizing
Though the natives are down-sizing
In the end they’ll like the plan!

GÁLVEZ, ADMINISTRATORS and CHORUS:
Missions, presidios and pueblos
A three-step plan to stretch our Spanish rule
Missions, presidios and pueblos
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours and that’s so cool.

(THEY exit)

JB (from chair): I love it. It’s got pathos. I don’t even know what pathos is,
but I know that scene’s got it. Keep rolling. Cue Junipero!

(JUNIPERO SERRA and CAPTAIN PORTOLÁ enter)

PORTOLÁ: Father Serra, the mission here in San Diego is really beginning
to take shape.

SERRA: It is a miracle, Captain Portolá. I thought our overland trip here
from Mexico was difficult, but it was even harder for the ships. We are
fortunate that more of us did not die.

PORTOLÁ: True. But we have now established a Spanish presence in
San Diego and Monterey.

SERRA: And someday we will have missions and pueblos up and down
California along El Camino Real, the King’s highway.

PORTOLÁ: Perhaps you too will be famous one day. Children will study
Father Junipero Serra and his missions.

SERRA: Ya think? Naaaaah. Wouldn’t that be horribly boring? I am just
a humble Franciscan friar doing my best to serve as I can.

PORTOLÁ: The mission is almost finished. Soon we will hang up the bells.

SERRA: Ah, I love the bells. They have traveled a long distance to become
part of our little mission. Our building is modest now, but someday it will
rise up with tall brick walls. The ringing of the bells means our work here has
just begun:

Song 4

Hear the bells                           
Cheer the bells
These lovely bells gonna ring away
Hear the bells
San Diego to Monterey.

I love the smell of adobe
Drying in the sun
The walls are rising
Let’s start baptizing
Our mission has begun.

SERRA and PORTOLÁ:
Hear the bells
Cheer the bells
These lovely bells gonna ring away
Hear the bells
San Diego to Monterey.

PORTOLÁ:
I love the sight of a cornfield
Furrows deep and straight
The grain is rising
So civilizing
Our mission’s taking shape.

SERRA, PORTOLÁ, and CHORUS:
Hear the bells
Ding dong
Those lovely bells gonna ring away
Ding dong
San Diego to Monterey
Ding dong
These lovely bells gonna ring away
Ding dong
San Diego to Monterey.


(This concludes the first one- third of the script.)

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Vocabulary Terms from California Missions:

mundane
prosaic
adore
grit
luster
bonanza
extravaganza
galore
globalizing
down-sizing
pathos
furrows
biodegrade
parcel
Zeitgeist
machismo

élan
fandango
tango
squatter
pelt
dredge
skirmish
limbo 

Historical Terms
statehood
Chumash
Yokut
Miwok
Pomo

Alta California

Cabrillo
Vizcaíno
imperialism
presidio
pueblo
El Camino Real
Franciscan
adobe
hacienda
tallow
Californios
manifest destiny
Compromise of 1850

Eureka
Minerva

Song List:

Click on the song name to hear samples in mp3 format. Please note that
internet song samples have low fidelity and rest assured that the CDs we
sell sound much better.  Problems hearing the music? Visit our
Audio Help page.

1. “California Missions—and More”
2. “Don’t Call Us Indians”
3. “Missions, Presidios and Pueblos”
4. "Hear the Bells"
5. “Gotta Build a Mission”
6. “Where Do We Go Now?”
7. “We’re Tired of Cattle”
8. “Here We Come”
9. “Gold, Don’t Say Gold”
10. “Eureka/California Missions
       and More (Reprise)”

Buy now

More Teacher Reviews:

"It is unbelievable to me how much the kids have learned from this one play. During a recent field trip to our local mission they had tons of infomration from their play that connected to the mission. The same when whe nwe read Island of the Blue Dolphins, they kept making connections to the play. THeir little neurons ahve been firing and they had fun oding it. I am really enthusiastic about his and can't wait to do my play next year."
---Eliana Johnson, Teacher (4th grade), Old Adobe Elementary, Petaluma, CA

"I just love 'California Missions.' I will be doing it annually. Keep up the
good work. Thank you for your assistance with education. Of course,
now I'll be singing 'Sugar Cubes' until we begin our next musical!"
---Lance Poldberg, Teacher (4th grade), Butterfield Elementary, Lake Elsinore, CA

"State standards covered...good songs and lyrics. Parents loved it.
Humorous!"
---Vince Rosato, Teacher (4th grade), Searles Elementary, San Learnardo, CA

"I emailed you many months ago after my fourth graders completed 'California Missions . . . and More.' I just had to email one more time when, on the LAST day of school, the kids got out the CD to the play and put it on to sing along. Each one cam up and did their song from the play and everyone sang along. This was completely spontaneous and joyful. What a great end to our year!"
---Eliana Johnson, Teacher (4th grade), Old Adobe Elementary, Petaluma, CA

"It is unbelievable to me how much the kids have learned from this one play. During a recent field trip to our local mission they had tons of infomration from their play that connected to the mission. The same when whe nwe read Island of the Blue Dolphins, they kept making connections to the play. THeir little neurons ahve been firing and they had fun oding it. I am really enthusiastic about his and can't wait to do my play next year."
---Eliana Johnson, Teacher (4th grade), Old Adobe Elementary, Petaluma, CA

 

Buy The Show

Enter Quantity and click the Add to Cart Button

All you need for one class to do a play:
  California Missions Book/CD
(Wait! Two of you are planning on doing the play together? You've gotta click here!)

  California Missions Sheet Music $9.95

If 3 or more teachers are doing a play:
  California Missions Site License $70.00
(What's the Bad Wolf Super Site License and why would I want one?)

Order by phone, fax or purchase order.
Check our 100% risk-free guarantee!

Are Two of You Planning to Put the Play on Together?

If you ask us, we always suggest having just one class put on a play. We think each kid is
more involved, and we think it's easier for you to deal with a smaller number of students.

But lots of teachers disagree with us. They've been happily doing the
plays together for years.

In fact, Amy Anderson, the teacher who does four musicals a year
(and she talks about this on our home page) thinks two classes together is the way to go.

Then what do I need to purchase? Think of a musical play like a library book.
Only one teacher may "check out" (i.e. put on) the play at a time. If another teacher wants
to produce the music play that you purchased in a separate production and at a later date,
you may loan out your original plan and student copies.

Your "library" needs two copies of the play for two teachers to put on the play at the
same time. If a teacher wants her class to put on the play with your class, she needs
to buy her own copy of the play. For three or more teachers to produce a play together,
purchase three copies for your "library" and Bad Wolf extends a Site License  for all the
teachers and classes at your school.

But why can't I just make extra copies of the play? If copies are made for
a class other than the purchasing teacher's, it's an infringement of U.S. copyright law.
Yikes! Bad Wolf likes to toe the line where Uncle Sam is concerned, so we offer a
discount on the purchase of multiple copies of the play.

If you are 2 teachers putting on the play together................................$60
     * Includes 2 copies of the book and CD (save almost $20 off of buying
        them separately) so each of you has a CD and book to work with.

     *  Free bonus: We'll throw in our famed "Earthworms on Parade" CD. Y'know,
        that's the one with the six goofiest songs about earthworms ever written
         ($9.95 value.)

     *  Includes the right to reproduce the script for the students in both of
         your individual classes.

Questions?

Call or email Ron Fink at (888) 827-8661 or ron@badwolfpress.com


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