A Sample Lesson Plan for The Nutcracker

The lesson plan below is excerpted from a larger Nutcracker curriculum designed as a creative and reflective inspiration for 3rd- and 4th-graders.

This lesson has been adapted for the viewing of video or for the attendance of your local Nutcracker production. We suggest that you conduct this pre-performance lesson as close as possible to the date of the video viewing or performance.

PRE-PERFORMANCE LESSON A

Materials needed:

• The Nutcracker Story (see below)
• Original Soundtrack — George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker^TM CD (or another recording of Tschaikovsky’s music for the ballet)
• Chalk board or chart paper to record student responses

Introduction:
As a prelude to the video viewing or the live Nutcracker performance, this lesson attempts to provide students with a background to view the dance and to begin seeing themselves as artists. Feel free to adapt the lesson to suit the needs of your students. Part I of the lesson invites students to discuss the themes listed below.

Optional: You may also want to assign one of the discussion items below as a writing activity.

Part II of this lesson includes a discussion of appropriate audience behavior. We recommend that you have this discussion with your students the day before or just prior to watching the video or going to the theater.

DISCUSSION PART I:

Procedure:

1. During this exercise, you may want to play the CD as background music. Begin the lesson by informing the students that they will be seeing a performance of a ballet that is based on a story that is almost 200 years old. The Nutcracker takes place in Nuremberg, Germany, and begins with a party on Christmas Eve. The main character of the story is Marie (called Clara in some productions), a young girl whose parents host a big party for friends and relatives.

Choreography by George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust 

You may begin discussion of the related theme with the suggested leading questions. Feel free to modify classroom discussion to meet your specific needs and interests as well as those of your students. Record and save student responses on the chalkboard or chart paper for use in post-performance/post-video lessons B and C.

Theme #1: A celebration or party

What kinds of parties have you had?
What are the reasons and occasions that you celebrate with a party?
Who comes to these celebrations and parties?
Why do we invite these guests to our parties?
What do you do at these parties? Do people dance? Listen to music?

2. There are many friends and relatives at Marie and her family’s Christmas party, but not everyone is fun to be with. Marie’s brother, Fritz, is an annoyance. He and his friends constantly taunt and tease Marie and her friends.

Choreography by George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust  

Theme #2: Family and Conflict

Do you have disagreements with your brothers and sisters?
Other members of your family?
What do you argue about?
How do you resolve these conflicts?
How can you prevent them from happening in the future?

3. Luckily, Marie has her friends and other family members to keep her in the holiday spirit. Her godfather, Herr Drosselmeier, arrives with gifts for all the children. He also magically brings special toys to life. His gift to Marie is a nutcracker.

Theme #3: A Special Gift

What special gifts have you received?
What makes a gift special?
Have you given a special gift to someone?
What was it? To whom did you give a special gift?
What is the most special gift one can give or receive?

4. The party ends and all the guests depart. Marie falls asleep in the living room by the Christmas tree and has a magical dream. In her dream there is a terrific battle between larger-than-life mice and toy soldiers. The mice are defeated, and the Nutcracker Prince, who kills the Mouse King, rescues Marie.

Choreography by George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust 

Theme #4: Dreams and Fantasies 

What kind of dreams do you have?
Where did you go in your dream?
What did you do in your dream?
Why do some dreams feel real to you?
What do you think dreams mean?

5. After the victory over the mice, the Nutcracker Prince brings Marie to the magical Land of Sweets.

Theme #5: Journey to a New and Different Place

Have any of you been on a journey or a trip?
Where did you go? How far did you travel? How did you get there?
How would you describe this place? Was this place similar or different from where you live now?
Did people look the same? Did they speak a different language? Did they have different customs or traditions?

Choreography by George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust 

DISCUSSION PART II:

Procedure:

1. Because this activity deals with the practice of appropriate audience behavior at a dance performance, we encourage you to have this discussion just prior to your trip to the theater. (If you are watching a video, this lesson may still provide good practice for use in the future.) It is important for the students to know that we want everyone in the theater (and classroom) to enjoy the performance without distraction.

2. Explain to students that they will be making a very special journey. They will be going to a theater for a performance of a famous ballet. You may explain that the theater is a special place for people to experience amazing and beautiful things. However, in order to fully appreciate the performance, a certain kind of behavior is necessary. The following discussion might be helpful in preparing students for the concert.

Appropriate Audience Behavior

How many of you have been to a theater?
How many of you have been to a ballet performance?
What was the performance, and where was it?
How did people behave during the performance?
Is going to the theater like going to a football game? Is it like going to a symphony performance? Why or why not?
How do people express themselves at a ballet? (Do people talk loudly, eat, move around, or jump up and down during a dance concert? Do people pay close attention? Are they quiet? When do they applaud?)
Why do we behave differently at a ballet performance than at a baseball game?
How do you intend to behave when you go to the ballet performance?