2010-2011

WELLS FARGO PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

FOR STUDENTS

Bay Area Children’s Theatre’s

Thursday, October 28, 2010 | 9:30am & 11:30am

Saturday, October 30, 2010 | 11:00am & 1:00pm

Recommended for Grades: 1-5

Curriculum Connections: English-Language Arts; VAPA: Theatre, Music
60 minutes

Miss Nelson Plot, Vocabulary, and Class Activities……………….. Page 2-5

Bay Area Children’s Theatre Activities & Writing Prompts….…….. Page 6-7
Theatre Exercise for Your Students…...…………………………….. Page 8-9
Worksheets…………………………………………………………….. Page 10-12

www.montalvoarts.org
 Miss Nelson is Missing!

ABOUT THE PLAY

In this hilarious musical a well meaning but frazzled teacher, Miss Nelson, just can’t get
her students to behave! One day Miss Nelson comes up missing and much to the horror of
her class an evil, witchy substitute arrives named Miss Viola Swamp! The kids will do
anything to get back their teacher, even if it means behaving!

PRE-PERFORMANCE THEMES
Courage Teamwork Integrity Guilt
Kindness Respect Fairness Judgment
Good Sportsmanship Trustworthiness

VOCABULARY WORDS
Hail Affection Respect London
Conduct Tokyo Square root Beijing
Relationship J.R.R Tolkien Individuality Tarantula
Geography Fray Conscience Quest
Maestro Navigate Caper Prank
Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde

THEATRE VOCABULARY LIST

Acting: pretending to be a character.
Beginning, Middle, End: Three parts of a story.
Characters: A person portrayed in a drama, novel or artistic piece.
Conflict: The struggle between the opposing forces, ideas or interests in a play.
Courage: The spirit that enables one to face danger & fear with confidence & resolution; bravery.
Dialogue: A conversation that takes place between two or more characters
Facial Expression: The manner in which an actor uses his or her face to portray an emotion.
Movement: How the actor uses his or her body to create a character.
Plot/Storyline: The action or development of the story; has a beginning, middle and end.
Point of View/Perspective: Feelings, opinions, and experiences that affect the reader’s outlook.
Setting: Time and place where a story occurs.
Teamwork: Working together as a team.
Three tools of an actor: Voice, body and the imagination.
Vocal Expression: The way the actor uses his or her voice to express an emotion
Improvisation: Using a character to express thoughts or feelings; to act out a scenario without
prior rehearsals.

Based on the Educational Guide by Town Hall Theatre

www.townhalltheatre.org
 A lesson using the book Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE
To increase the children's appreciation for literature, foster vocabulary growth, practice
prediction skills, practice speaking to groups, develop creative writing skills, and facilitate
group interaction through discussion.

TARGET VOCABULARY
misbehaving unpleasant ruler missed detective
wicked discouraged ceiling whispered giggled

ANTICIPATORY SET
Ask the children to get into pairs and discuss a time when they lost something. Then,
display the cover of the book and ask for ideas on what might happen in the book.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE
"As we watch the play, I want you to think about what's happening and consider how the
story might end. Imagine how you would feel if you were a student in Miss Nelson's class."

DIRECT INSTRUCTION
Read the book while clearly showing the pictures to the class. Stop the story in the middle.

GUIDED PRACTICE
Ask the class to use a piece of paper to write or draw (depending on level) about how they
imagine the story will conclude. Another possible guided practice activity for this book is
Reader's Theater.

CLOSURE
Group discussion where individual students volunteer to share their conclusions with the
rest of the class. Then, the teacher proceeds to finish reading the book so that the
students can see how the author finished the book.

Based on the Educational Guide by Town Hall Theatre

www.townhalltheatre.org
 Post Performance Activities

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Can kids behave all the time? Why or why not?

2. What do you think would be an appropriate punishment for the kids of room 207 for
misbehaving so badly with Miss Nelson? Was Miss Viola Swamp’s reign enough? Will she
have to come back again?

3. Have the kids really learned their lesson? Do you think that they will go back to being
naughty? Why or why not?

4. In the play Miss Nelson has to pretend that she is someone very different from herself in
order to make her students pay attention. Have you ever had to pretend that you were
someone different from your usual self in order to have someone pay attention to you?
How did that make you feel? Did it make you feel like you weren’t being your “real” self?

5. Miss Nelson gets very creative when faced with a class that doesn’t behave. What are
some big problems that you or someone you know are facing? What would Miss Nelson do
in that situation?

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

Character Comparison
Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the story's two main characters, Miss
Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp. Students can draw a character in each side of the diagram
and fill the rest of the space with words that describe each woman.

Clue Hunt
Students will probably figure out who Miss Viola Swamp really is. Brainstorm with them the
clues that led them to that conclusion. Use the book as a guide for clue-seeking.

Emotions Chart
Read Miss Nelson is Missing and have students locate the places where they would have
been angry, annoyed, upset, or happy if they had been in Miss Nelson's class. Create a
chart on the board to fill out with the students.

Letter Writing
Have students write a letter to Miss Nelson to persuade her to return to the classroom. In
the letter, students can make a list of rules they would follow in the future.

Papier-Mache Puppets and Masks

Create Papier-Mache Puppets and Masks of the two main characters in Miss Nelson is
Missing, Miss Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp. Then have students act out the story. Their
classmates can play the roles of Miss Nelson's students.

Based on the Educational Guide by Town Hall Theatre

www.townhalltheatre.org
 Based on the book by
Harry Allard
Illustrated by
James Marshall
Adapted by Joan Cushing
Music and Lyrics by Joan
October 2-November 14 Cushing
Berkeley, Saratoga, San Ramon Directed by Nina Meehan

Miss Nelson wants to make the Room 207 the best classroom at
the Horace B. Smedley Elementary School. Can you help her
circle the items that belong in a classroom?

Viola Swamp tests the kids in Room 207 on

their math skills. Can you pass her quiz?
1+3= 4+2= 1x4= 4x6=

3+1= 4+3= 2x4= 4x7=

2+2= 3+4= 3x4= 4x8=

1+4= 4+4= 4x4= 4x9=

2+4= 4+0= 4x5= 4x10=

Writing Prompts:

Why do the students in Miss Nelsonʼs classroom

change their to behavior?

Describe a time when you misbehaved and then

learned a lesson.

What are three differences between Miss Nelson

and Viola Swamp?

What are three similarities between Miss Nelson and

Viola Swamp?

Describe a time you dressed up in a costume or pre-

tended to be someone else.

Viola Swamp tests the kids of Room 207 on

their Geography skills. Can you match up?
The Capital of California is

The Capital of The United States of America is

The Capital of Sweden is

The Capital of China is

The Capital of Japan is

The Capital of England is

Write to us!

Let us know what you liked about the play.

Bay Area Childrenʼs Theatre

6114 La Salle Avenue, #431
Oakland, CA 94611

www.bactheatre.org
 Miss Nelson is Missing!
Comparing Teachers
Both
Miss Nelson Miss Swamp

Name____________________
 Miss Nelson is Missing!
Comparing Classes
Miss Nelson’s class Both Miss Swamp’s class

Name____________________
WANTED
Miss Nelson