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plays and activities for middle school
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Musical plays make teaching
core curriculum subjects more effective . . .And Bad Wolf makes it easy, memorable and
fun.
We offer musical
plays as a way to bring music, theater and art into all classrooms. Dont worry... no
musical or theatrical experience is required.
These easy musical activities can be done as
complete plays, skits, read-aloud,or you can just sing the songs. No matter how you
teach it, it's guaranteed to enhance your curriculum!
Learn more about Bad Wolf Press. |
LANGUAGE
ARTS
America's
Tallest Tales
Grades 3-7 30 minutes
Paul Bunyan, with the help of Bess Call, the
strong-armed, cattle-friendly heroine of the
Andirondacks, is crisscrossing America in search of his missing companion. In the
course
of their adventures Paul and Bess run into John Henry, Alfred Bulltop Stormalong, and a
host of other stars of America's Tallest Tales.
More
information here
The
Case of the Missing Paragraph
Bad Wolf's Guide to Composition
Grades 3-7 35 minutes
It was a sweltering afternoon when she
knocked on the door. She was looking for a
detective. Someone to find her paragraph. It was missing. She'd come to
the right place:
The Expository Detective Agency. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.In
our
new guide to writing techniques, students will have a great time working through the
mystery as they review the basic elements of narrative and expository composition.
More information here
Little
Red Riding Hood
(A Fractured Version for Older Students)
Grades 2-6 25 minutes
Does your class find traditional folk tales a
bit too, well, traditional? Then our "fractured"
version of Little Red Riding Hood may be just what you're looking for! The Wolf
needs
some ketchup, Granny is a math whiz, and Little Red learns how to do the Acorn Dance with
an odd band of Squirrels.
More information here
Macbeth,
The Musical Comedy
Grades 6-9 35 minutes
You've read the famous story of greed, guilt,
and gore in Scotland - but do you know the
catchy tunes? Our Macbeth, a tad confused, keeps spouting lines from Hamlet (much to
the
annoynance of the other characters), Lady Macbeth is obsessed with dry-cleaning the castle
drapes, and King Duncan boasts that he invented plaid.
More information here
Pirates
from Grammar Island
Grades 3-6 25 minutes
Pirates is a great way to energize
your Language Arts curriculum. Your students will love
instead of hate antonyms. No more confusing or confounding synonyms. How can
they
ever fail again to identify interrogative sentences? Pirates from Grammar Island
will even
help them learn to capitalize things like, well, the titles of musical plays!
More
information here
Shakespeare Unshackled
(or everything you wanted to know about
Shakespeare but were afraid would
show up on the quiz)
Grades 5-9+ 35 minutes
Want a fun and funny musical introduction to
the background of Shakespeare's plays? This
show touches on many cool aspects of Elizabethan theater, and contains fractured scenes
from
Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Topics
include:
Shakespeare's life, the nature of theatrical productions (actors, staging, audience,
especially
as regards to the Old Globe Theater), acting companies and patronage, Elizabethan and
Jacobean London, the language of the plays.
More
information here
Theseus
and the Minotaur
Grades 4-8 30 - 40 minutes
The Cretan Minotaur - half man, half bull -
has been devouring so many Athenians that it's
getting impossible to organize a softball game. Can the young prince Theseus, son of
Poseidon, save the day? Theseus and the Minotaur has been developed to work
closely
with your ancient history curriculum.
More information here
CHARACTER
EDUCATION
Bullies
Anonymous
Grades 3-7 30 minutes
It's the weekly meeting of Bullies Anonymous,
and bullies (and ex-bullies) from all over are
sharing their stories. Well, when they're not trying to bully their way out of it!
Between the
silly jokes, students will learn serious lessons about different kinds of bullying, what
makes a
bully (and what happens to them), and how to deal with bullying at school.
More information here
Dude,
Where's My Lungs?
Grades 4-9 20 minutes
We're proud to present an
anti-smoking musical play that takes a Bad Wolfian approach
(you know---fun songs, silly dialogue, bad jokes) to a serious topic. The show is designed
to
raise questions for discussion that can help lead students to make wise choices.Dude,
Where's My Lungs? uses information from a variety of research and advocacy groups,
including the American Cancer Society and the University of California, Irvine,
Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center.
More information here
HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
Hatshepsut, Queen of Denial
Grades 4-8 30 minutes
It's early in the New Kingdom and
something strange is happening in the land of
the Nile. Egypt has a female pharaoh!
Our new show follows Hatshepsut
through her two decades as pharoah, culminating
in the building of her magnificent mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri )and the mysterious
efforts after her death to remove her from Egyptian records).
No mummy's curse here, just a great
opportunity for students to unwrap the nature
of Egyptian art and architecure, trade, family life, the role of women, and the nature of
kingship.
Writte specifically to align with
6th grade social studies standards, Hatshepsut promises
to bring the dead to life in your classroom.
More information
here
13 Colonies
A musical Play for Kids about Early American History, (sort of)
Grades 3-8 30 minutes
Hosted by George and Martha
Washington, our musical review of early American History
covers the period from before the arrival of the Europeans through the signing of the Bill
of
Rights. This is the show that will have your kids eating American History for
breakfast.
More
information here
The
American Revolution: 1763 - 1789
Grades 3-8 40-50 minutes
Betsy Ross a bit prone to exaggeration tells her grandkids how
the colonies became a
nation. From the French and Indian War to the election of George Washington as the
first
president. The American Revolution gives students the chance to sing their way
through the
most exciting period in our nation's formation.
More
information here
California
Missions And More!
Grades 2-6 25 minutes
We're in Hollywood, watching the filming of
the next great epic movie, California Missions.
The director will spare no expense she wants a life-size mission built
out of sugar cubes.
In this "show within a show," students take the audience on a tour of early
California up
to statehood.
More information here
Gold
Dust or Bust
Grades 2-6 30 minutes
Our musical review presents the highlights of
the great stampede of forty-niners to the
California goldfields. From Sutter's Mill to Mad Mule Gulch, Sacramento to
Fiddletown,
the land's gone nuts with Gold Fever. So whether you set your wagon on the Overland
Trail, sail around Cape Horn, or wade across the swamps of Panama, Gold Dust or Bust
is designed to fit directly into your U.S. and California history curriculum.
More information here
Great
Americans of the Twentieth Century
Grades 3-8 30 minutes
It's the greatest awards show ever seen on
TV, for the greatest Americans of the 20th century!
Statesmen, artists, athletes, musicians, scientists, and many more are honored in a
prime-time
presentation (complete with commercials). Students are introduced to many of the
major
figures in modern American history in a fun and tuneful show.
More information here
The
Incredible Westward Movement
Grades 2-7 25 minutes
Delivery boys and girls race across the
country trying to deliver packages to Americans who
keep "movin' West." We meet familiar friends (e.g. Daniel Boone, Lewis and
Clark and
Sacagawea) and make new ones (e.g. 49ers, Prairie Children). Your unit on the
Westward movement will come to life as never before.
More information here
The
Texans: Birth of the Lone Star State
Grades 2-6 25 minutes
Our review of early Texas history covers from
the arrival of the European explorers through
annexation in 1845. Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Susannah Dickerson, and Jose
Antonio
Navarro are just some of the colorful characters in this amazing story. From Moses
Austin's
Promised Land to the rise of cotton and cattle, The Texans is a tuneful
exploration of the
birth of the 28th state.
More information here
The
U.S. Constitution: Revivor Philadelphia
Grades 4-8 35 minutes
Watch the exciting hit reality show, Revivor
as it takes on its most challenging venue yet:
Philadelphia. The contestants are the actual writers and framers of the
Constitution, duking
it out to be the last Founding Father standing. After doing this play, your students
will have
learned just about everything there is to know about the Constitution!
More information
here
"U.S. Geography"
An Extraterrestrial Safari through States, Capitals, and Natural Features
Grades 2-6 35 minutes
Aliens have decided to settle
down in the United States
but where's the best place to make
their home? They take a grand tour through the land, learning about the major
geographical
features that influenced exploration. U.S. Geography is a great complement to the
study of
U.S. history, geography, the Westward movement, immigration, and aliens.
More
information here
U.S.
Presidents: Washington to Lincoln
Grades 3-8 35 minutes
A fifth-grade class is visiting a museum of
American history, and boy are they in for a surprise:
the actual presidents are there to greet them! U.S. Presidents introduces
students to the first
sixteen presidents of the country, from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln.
More information here
SCIENCE
The Environmental Show
(Stuff You Can Do to Help the Environment)
Grades
3-6 35 minutes
It's the night before the rock band's
last-chance gig---and their old tour bus has broken
down. As they set up a sloppy camp, strange creatures emerge from the woods. Did we
say strange? Enchanted is more like it: plastic bottles, banana skins, light bulbs, and
even
a rusted SUV come to life, and they can sing! They've got some great advice for the
rockers on how to change their behavior, save the band, and help the environment.
The Environmental Show teaches students
simple things they can do to cut down on
pollution, save water, use less energy, and avoid the landfill.
More information here
Geology
ROCKS!
Grades 2-6 25 minutes
Professor Rock as vanished, and it's up to
his geology students to find him. With a little help
from Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, hey set out to find their beloved teacher.
Students
sing about the layers of earth, erosion, plate tectonics, the rock cycle, and energy
sources.
Geology ROCKS! is designed specifically to supplement the study of the
composition and
changing nature of the earth.
More information here
It's
Electrifying!
Grades 2-6 30 minutes
This is Bad Wolf's shocking story about the
nature and uses of electricity. From the
production of sparks by rubbing amber, through Leiden jars and voltaic piles, to
electromagnets and television, our show takes students through important moments of
discovery and application of electricity.
More information
here
Name That Internal Organ!
The Bad Wolf Guide to the Human Body
Grades 4-7 35 minutes
Respiration. Blood circulation.
Digestion. The topics virtually cry out for a musical comedy.
And that's why there's Bad wolf. You're just in time to witness the annual induction
ceremony
at the internal Organ Hall of Fame. Who will be elected this year? The liver?
Lungs? (The
Spleen is a crowd favorite). Name That Internal Organ! is a terrific
complement to your
life science curriculum.
More information here
The
Oceanography Show
Tide Pool Condos
Grades 3-7 25 minutes
Study one of the earth's natural habitats.
Tide Pool Condos tells the story of Elizabeth, who
wants to destroy some tide pools so she can erect luxury condominiums. Poseidon,
Greek
god of the sea, has other ideas. To settle the dispute, the two of them set out to
visit the
wonders of the ocean. This show works beautifully with your ocean-study curriculum.
More information here
MATH
Mastering
Math
A Sherlock Holmes Problem Solving Mystery
Grades 2-6 30 minutes
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson return to
help us learn techniques of mathematical
problem solving. This is his first case - ever - and he gets a lot of help in
learning how to
problem solve. By the time he solves the crime, he's learned how to use six basic
techniques
for solving the math problems he's been faced with: guess and check, draw a picture,
draw
a chart, look for a pattern, work backwards, and act it out. This is a great show for
reviewing
ways to set up and answer word problems.
More information here
HOLIDAYS
The
Turkeys Go On Strike
Grades 2-6 20 minutes
At last
a classroom holiday show with dancing cranberries! Thanksgiving is in danger
of being cancelled because of some extremely dissatisfied poultry. While negotiations go
on around the clock an event covered by
TV reporters and influenced by ambitious
members of the Squash family students learn about he historical origins and the
real
meaning of the holiday.
More
information here
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