Traveling down the Yellow Brick Road with Mrs. Ross’ 2nd graders


By Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES


Don’t be deceived into thinking that a field trip is solely for fun and is a break from education. It’s quite the contrary for Mrs. Ross and her 2nd graders at Prospect Elementary School in Salamanca; it’s just the beginning. Before going to the TheatreWorks performance, The Yellow Brick Road, Mrs. Ross piqued her students’ curiosity by using the TheatreWork’s Study Guide. They discussed the story line and reinforced what they already knew about The Wizard of Oz.


After the performance, Mrs. Ross said, “my students LOVED The Yellow Brick Road. The costumes, choreography and the entire production was the best I’ve seen TheatreWorks perform. My students talked about the show the rest of the week and even quoted some of the really funny lines!”


The second graders gave the cast rave reviews. “The play was great.” “It was incredible.” “I loved all the singing and dancing.” “I liked the funny lines and all the characters.” “I liked the colorful costumes.”


Mrs. Ross recognized the potential in the students’ enthusiasm and created a great learning experience for her class. The Yellow Brick Road inspired her to read the originalWizard of Oz book to them, as well as watch the movie.


Mrs. Ross recognized the potential in the students’ enthusiasm and created a great learning experience for her class.


The students participated in follow-up lessons using Venn Diagrams to illustrate the similarities and differences between The Yellow Brick Road, The Wizard of Oz book and The Wizard of Oz movie. They also drew their favorite part of the TheatreWorks performance. Many of them drew the scene with the Wizard, when she performed like a “music star”.


These students referred to their Venn Diagrams with ease as they switched back and forth from the TheatreWorks performance to the original book to the movie. Their deep understanding was evident, their vocabulary (not only English but Spanish as well) was


impressive and their enthusiasm was contagious! Congratulations, Mrs. Ross’ 2nd grade students, on taking an exciting and educational journey!


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