Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org The production and accompanying activities address North Carolina Essential Standards in Theatre Arts, Goal A.1: Analyze literary texts and performances. Look for this symbol throughout the resource guide for other curriculum connections. Featuring general information about our production along with some creative activities which will help you make connections to your classroom curriculum, before and after the show. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Originally Adapted and Produced for the Stage by Theatre BAM From the Series Created by George Newall and Tom Yohe Based on an Idea by David McCall Book by Scott Ferguson, George Keating and Kyle Hall Music and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, Kathy Mandry, George Newall and Tom Yohe Teacher Resource Guide and Lesson Plan Activities About Children’s Theatre of Charlotte Founded in 1948, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte has been opening young minds to the wonders of live theatre for over half a century. Today it continues to be one of the most technically imaginative and resourceful theatres in the country. Annually it reaches nearly 300,000 young people and their families with multiple program areas: Mainstage productions, a professional Touring Company and a full scope of Education classes for both schools and the community. Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is housed in ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center. The facility is shared with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library: www.cmlibrary.org. About the Production Schoolhouse Rock Live! is a musical concert experience based on the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons which appeared on Saturday morning TV in the 1970’s and 80’s. Clever songs with catchy tunes complemented the cartoons, and soon children across the US were singing about parts of speech, multiplication, science and history. As a lively, high-energy musical concert, Schoolhouse Rock Live! brings a modern interpretation to the classic songs and provides inspiration for a whole new generation of Schoolhouse Rock followers. Michael J. Bobbitt is the Producing Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre MTC and has directed, choreographed and performed at many theatres in the DC region, including Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Metro Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, The Music Center at Strathmore, The Kennedy Center, The Helen Hayes Awards, Washington Performing Arts and the Washington National Opera. His national and international credits include the NY Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and the 1996 Olympics. He studied creative writing and music at Susque- hanna University and theater and dance at The Washington Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and NY University’s Tisch School of the Arts (Cap 21). He received executive training at the Harvard Business School, Vanderbilt University, National Arts Strategies, National Training Laboratories, and American Alliance for Theatre and Education. He has taught theater and dance at George Washington University, Catholic University, Montgomery College, Howard University, and the Washington Ballet. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. His new musical, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds appeared at the New Victory Theatre in New York City. About the Director
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
The production and accompanying activities address North Carolina Essential Standards in Theatre Arts, Goal A.1: Analyze literary texts and performances. Look for this symbol throughout the resource guide for other curriculum connections.
Featuring general information about our production along with some creative activities which will help you make connections to your classroom curriculum, before and after the show.
Schoolhouse Rock Live! Originally Adapted and Produced for the Stage by Theatre BAM From the Series Created by George Newall and Tom Yohe Based on an Idea by David McCall Book by Scott Ferguson, George Keating and Kyle Hall Music and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, Kathy Mandry, George Newall and Tom Yohe
Teacher Resource Guide and Lesson Plan Activities
About Children’s Theatre of Charlotte Founded in 1948, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte has been opening young minds to the wonders of live theatre for over half a century. Today it continues to be one of the most technically imaginative and resourceful theatres in the country. Annually it reaches nearly 300,000 young people and their families with multiple program areas: Mainstage productions, a professional Touring Company and a full scope of Education classes for both schools and the community. Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is housed in ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center. The facility is shared with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library: www.cmlibrary.org.
About the Production
Schoolhouse Rock Live! is a musical concert experience based on the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons which appeared on Saturday morning TV in the 1970’s and 80’s. Clever songs with catchy tunes complemented the cartoons, and soon children across the US were singing about parts of speech, multiplication, science and history. As a lively, high-energy musical concert, Schoolhouse Rock Live! brings a modern interpretation to the classic songs and provides inspiration for a whole new generation of Schoolhouse Rock followers.
Michael J. Bobbitt is the Producing Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre MTC and has directed, choreographed and performed at many theatres in the DC region, including Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Metro Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, The Music
Center at Strathmore, The Kennedy Center, The Helen Hayes Awards, Washington Performing Arts and the Washington National Opera. His national and international credits include the NY Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and the 1996 Olympics. He studied creative writing and music at Susque-hanna University and theater and dance at The Washington Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and NY University’s Tisch School of the Arts (Cap 21). He received executive training at the Harvard Business School, Vanderbilt University, National Arts Strategies, National Training Laboratories, and American Alliance for Theatre and Education. He has taught theater and dance at George Washington University, Catholic University, Montgomery College, Howard University, and the Washington Ballet. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. His new musical, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds appeared at the New Victory Theatre in New York City.
About the Director
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy: SL.K-5.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-
meaning words and phrases.
ROCK THE SCHOOLHOUSE!
Schoolhouse Rock Live! is a musical concert experience based on the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons which appeared on Saturday morning TV in the 1970’s and 80’s. Clever songs with catchy tunes complemented the cartoons, and soon children across the US were singing about parts of speech, multiplication, science and history. As a lively, high-energy musical concert, Schoolhouse Rock Live! brings a modern interpretation to the classic songs and provides inspiration for a whole new generation of Schoolhouse Rock followers.
From Grammar Rock Verb: That’s What’s Happening (lesson in verbs)
A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing (lesson in nouns)
Unpack Your Adjectives (lesson in adjectives)
Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla (lesson in pronouns)
Conjunction Junction (how to use connecting words)
Interjections (lesson in interjections)
The Tale of Mr. Morton (lesson in using subject and predicate)
From Science Rock Do the Circulation (circulatory system)
Interplanet Janet (solar system)
From Multiplication Rock Three is a Magic Number
(counting and multiplying by 3)
Ready or Not Here I Come (counting and multiplying by 5)
From History Rock/America Rock Sufferin’ Till Sufferage
(women’s right to vote)
I’m Just a Bill (how a bill is created and becomes law)
The Preamble (Preamble to the US Constitution)
Elbow Room (western expansion)
Schoolhouse Rock Live! recreates 15 of the 41 songs from the Saturday morning television series. Lyrics to all of the songs in the production are listed on pages 6-10 of this guide. For an in-depth introduction to 3 of the
songs, below are video links of the show’s musical director teaching songs to the cast. Feel free to share with students and sing along during the concert! Elbow Room https://youtu.be/6rYQvBIdqvI Circulation https://youtu.be/XToljHKcnzk Ready or Not, Here I Come https://youtu.be/FLXfrsqMmkI
Words and Phrases used in the Performance
nervous satisfaction demanding Statue of Liberty Drugstore record machine Chubby Checker The Beatles tripod suffrage restrictive The 19th Amendment cast a ballot hasty
retreat gregarious grammar debate Capitol Hill Congress Senate House of Representatives veto Constitution founding fathers principles union justice
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
A noun’s a special kind of word It’s any name you’ve every heard; I find it quite interesting A noun’s a person place or thing
I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty My best friend was waiting there for me We went for a walk on the island you know In the middle of summer it started to snow When I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. (See page 7 for complete song lyrics.)
When I use my imagination (Verb!) I think, I plot, I plan, I dream Turning in towards creation (Verb!) I make, I write, I dance, I sing When I’m feeling really active (Verb!) I run, I ride, I swim, I fly! Other times when life is easy (Oh!) I rest, I sleep, I sit, I lie. Verb! That’s what’s happening! (See page 7 for complete song lyrics.)
Verb! That’s What’s Happening!
Encourage students to cut pictures from magazines that show action verbs. Have the students attach their picture to a piece of construction paper. In small groups, instruct students to circulate the pic-tures as they add written words on the paper to describe the action. Each student should add a word without repeating. For example, a picture of a baseball player might inspire the words “throw”, “pass”, “toss”, “pitch”, “hit”, “swing”.
A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing Using the clues from the song, determine which words are nouns within the passage. Every person you can know (like a friend or a captain on a ship) Every place that you can go (like an island or the sea) Any thing that you can show (like a statue a ferry or snow)
Those pilgrim women who braved the boat Could cook the turkey, but they could not vote
Even Betsy Ross, who sewed the flag, Was left behind that first election day. (What a shame, Sisters!)
Then Susan B. Anthony (yeah!) and Julia Howe (Lucretia!) Lucretia Mott, (and others!) they showed us how They carried signs and marched in lines until at long last the law was passed
Oh, we were suffering until suffrage Not a woman here could vote, no matter what age Then the 19th Amendment struck down that restrictive rule (Oh yeah!) (See page 8 for complete song lyrics.)
Explore the history of the women’s suffrage movement. In groups, research the biographies of the women mentioned in the song: Betsy Ross, Susan B. Anthony, Julia Howe and Lucretia Mott. Read the 19th Amendment and compare social issues of the Women’s Right to Vote movement to those of the 21st century.
Suffering ‘Till Suffrage
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy: L1:a. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs and their functions in particular sentences.
North Carolina Essential Standards in Social Studies, 5.H.2.3: Compare the changing roles of women and minorities on American society.
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
The Journey of a Bill When a bill becomes a law, it goes through a long process. On the board, review the 10 steps it takes for a bill to become a law. 1. Someone gets an idea for a bill 2. The person contacts a local congressman 3. Congressman writes out the idea 4. Congressman introduces the idea to Congress 5. If this is approved, it becomes a bill 6. Congressmen discuss and debate whether the bill should be a law 7. The House of Representatives vote on the bill 8. The Senate votes on the bill 9. The bill waits at the White House to be signed by the president 10. If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. If he vetoes the
bill, it is thrown out.
Lu
ng
s
RA
LV
RV
LA
B
L
O
O
D
TO THE BODY
Act out the Path of Circulation Through the Heart Draw the circulation diagram on the board and explain the pathway of blood through the heart. When blood travels from the body to the heart, it enters the heart through the Right Atrium (RA). Next it moves into the Right Ventricle (RV). Then it moves to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Next, the oxygen-rich blood enters the Left Atrium (LA). Then it flows through the Left Ventricle (LV) and then travels back through the body. After describing the path, divide students into 6 equal groups: Right Atrium (RA), Right Ventricle (RV), Left Atrium (LA), Left Ventricle (LV), Lungs, and Blood. Clear a space in the classroom and have students stand in circles according to the diagram. Students in the blood group form a straight line and “travel” through each area in the correct order.
I’m just a bill. Yes I’m only a bill. And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill. Well it’s a long, long journey to the capital city. It’s a long, long wait while I’m sitting in committee. But I know I’ll be a law someday - At least I hope and pray that I will - But today I am still just a bill. (See page 8 for complete song lyrics.)
I’m Just a Bill
After reviewing the Journey of a Bill, instruct students to create a bill that they think should become a Classroom Law. Divide students into three groups: Classroom Committee, Classroom House of Representatives and Classroom Senate. As each student presents an idea, the groups vote on whether the bill should be passed or not. The teacher acts as president and can veto the bill or pass it into a Law of the Classroom.
Do the Circulation
You got four heart parts to pump the blood Yeah, that’s circulation Left and right ventricle, Left and right atrium, Yeah, they do it, they circulate They pump blood through your lungs for oxygen, And then your arteries take it through to your body And your veins bring the old blood back to be renewed. (See page 9 for complete song lyrics)
North Carolina Essential Standards in Science: 3.L.1: Understand human body systems and how they are essential for life: protection,
movement and support
North Carolina Essential Standards in Social Studies: CE.C&G.3 Analyze the legal system within the United States in terms
of the development, execution and protection of citizenship rights at all levels of government.
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
Interjections (Aww!) show excitement (Darn!) or emotion, (Hurray!) They're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point, Or by a comma when the feeling’s not as strong. (See page 11 for complete song lyrics.)
Interjections Encourage students to add an interjection to the following statements: “ ____________ , that show was amazing!” “ ____________ , I can’t get out of my seat!” “ ____________ , we missed the bus back to school!” Create a call and response of the Interjection song in class, with the teacher calling out the emotion and the students replying with the appropriate interjection. (No tune necessary!) Teacher: Students: “So when you’re happy… Hooray!” “Or sad... Awww” “Or frightened… Eeek!” “Or mad... Rats!” “Or excited… Wow!” “Or glad… Hey!” “An interjection… Starts the sentence right!”
The Preamble to the Constitution
Explore the Preamble to the Constitution by dividing the passage into small sections. Encourage students to re-write each statement to more clearly define the meaning behind the written words.
Actual words in the Preamble: In your own words:
We the people of the United States
in order to form a more perfect union
establish justice
ensure domestic tranquility
provide for the common defense
promote the general welfare
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our prosperity
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Constitutional Spell Check?
The Constitution was written by hand in 1787. A clerk for the Pennsylvania state assembly named Jacob Shallus is reported to have penned the document. Some words in the Constitution use the British version of words at the time, such as defence instead of defense, controul instead of control and labour instead of labor. It is also noted that the state of Pennsylvania is listed in the document with only one N, (Pensylvania) which apparently was common usage in the 18th century. The Constitution also includes some blatant misspellings, such as “chuse” and “chusing” instead of “choose” and “choosing”.
North Carolina Essential Standards in Social Studies 5.C&G.1.3: Analyze historical
documents that shaped the foundation of the United States government.
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is supported, in part, with funding from the Arts & Science Council and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is sincerely grateful to our generous sponsors and supporters:
Mnemonic Devices Mnemonics are memory devices used to improve the ability to remember something. Songs, rhymes, acronyms and images are all examples of mnemonic devices. The tunes and rhymes featured in Schoolhouse Rock Live! are good examples of mnemonic devices because they help the learner remember math facts, historical information and grammatical rules. Below are some other examples:
To remember colors in the rainbow: ROY G BIV. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
To remember the history of Christopher Columbus: In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
To remember the spelling of principal and principle: A principal at a school is your pal; a principle you believe or follow is a rule.
To remember the five great lakes: HOMES — Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Eerie, Superior
To remember the order of taxonomy: Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach. (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species)
To remember the order of the planets: My Very Excited Mother Just Served Us Noodles. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus , Neptune). Or, if including Pluto: My Very Excited Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies.
To remember the first eight presidents of the US: Will a Jolly Man make a Jolly Visitor? (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren.)
To remember how to spell separate: There’s a rat in separate.
To remember the spelling of desert and dessert: with dessert, you always want seconds which is why there is a second s in dessert.
To remember which months have 31 days: Fist your hands in front of you. Starting with your pinkie knuckle, speak the months of the year while touching the humps of your knuckles and spaces between. The peaks are months with 31 days, the valleys are months with 30 days (or 28/29 for February.)
As a class, select items from your curriculum that are hard to remember. In groups, create mnemonic devices for each problem and teach the device to rest of the class.
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
VERB: THAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING I get my thing in action (Verb!)
To be, to sing, to feel, to live (Verb!)
That's what's happening
I put my heart in action (Verb!)
To run, to go, to get, to give (Verb!)
(You're what's happening)
That's where I find satisfaction, yeah! (Yeah!)
To search, to find, to have, to hold
(Verb! To be bold)
When I use my imagination (Verb!)
I think, I plot, I plan, I dream
Turning in towards creation (Verb!)
I make, I write, I dance, I sing
When I'm feeling really active (Verb!)
I run, I ride, I swim, I fly!
Other times when life is easy
(Oh!) I rest, I sleep, I sit, I lie
(Verb! That's what's happening)
I can take a noun and bend it
Give me a noun (Bat, ball, rake, and plow)
Make it a verb and really send it! (Show me how)
Oh, I don't know my own power (Verb!)
I get my thing in action (Verb!)
In being (Verb!) In doing (Verb!) In saying
A verb expresses action, being, or state of being
A verb makes a statement
Yeah, a verb tells it like it is!
(Verb! That's what's happening)
I can tell you when it's happening
(Past, present, future tense)
Oh! Tell you more about what's happening
(Say it so it makes some sense)
I can tell you who is happening!
(Verb, you're so intense)
Every sentence has a subject
(Noun, person, place, or thing)
Find that subject: where's the action?
(Verb can make a subject sing)
Take the subject: what is it? (What!)
What's done to it? (What!)
What does it say?
(Verb, you're what's happening)
I can question like: what is it?
(Verb, you're so demanding.)
I can order like: go get it!
(Verb, you're so commanding)
When I hit, I need an object
(Verb, hit! Hit the ball!)
When I see, I see the object
(Do you see that furthest wall?)
If you can see it there, put the ball over the fence,
man! Go ahead, yeah, all right
What?! He hit it - it's going, it's going, it's gone!
I get my thing in action
(Verb, that's what's happening)
To work (Verb!) To play (Verb!)
To live (Verb!) To love (Verb!)
A NOUN IS A PERSON, PLACE OR THING Well, every person you can know
And every place that you can go
And any thing that you can show
You know they're nouns
A noun's a special kind of word
It's any name you ever heard
I find it quite interesting
A noun's a person, place or thing
Oh, I took a train, took a train
To another state
The flora and the fauna that I saw were really
great
But when I saw some bandits chasing the train
I was wishing I was back home again
I took a train, took a train
To another state
Well, every person you can know
And every place that you can go
And any thing that you can show
You know they're nouns
You know they're nouns, oh!
Mrs. Jones is a lady on Hudson Street
She sent her dog to bark at my brother and me
We gave her dog a big fat bone
And now he barks at Mrs. Jones
She's a lady who lives on Hudson Street
Well, every person you can know
And every place that you can go
And anything that you can show
Well, you know they're nouns
You know they're nouns, oh!
I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty
My best friend was waiting there for me
(He took an early ferry)
We went for a walk on the island, you know
And in the middle of summer it started to snow
When I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty
Well, every person you can know
And every place that you can go
And anything that you can show
Well, you know they're nouns
You know they're nouns, oh!
I put a dime in the drugstore record machine
Oldie-goldies started playing - you know what I
mean
I heard Chubby Checker, he was doing the twist
And the Beatles and the Monkees
It goes like this
I put a dime in the drugstore record machine
Well, every person you can know
And every place that you can go
And anything that you can show
Well, you know they're nouns
A noun's a special kind of word
It's any name you ever heard
I find it quite interesting
A noun's a person, place or thing
A noun is a person, place or thing
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER Three is a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Somewhere in that ancient mystic trinity
You'll get three
As a magic number
The past, the present, the future,
Faith, and hope, and charity,
The heart, the brain, the body,
Will give you three,
It's a magic number
It takes three legs to make a tripod or to make a
table stand,
And it takes three wheels to make a vehicle called
a tricycle
And every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less,
You don't have to guess
That it's three
Can't you see?
It's a magic number
A man and a woman had a little baby
Yeah they did
And there were three in the family
And that's a magic number
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18,
21, 24, 27,
30
Now multiply backwards from 3x10
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1 is 3 of course
(now dig the pattern once more!)
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18
Oh yeah
21, 24, 27,
30
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1
What is it?
3
A man and a woman had a little baby
There were three in the family
And that's a magic number.
Song Lyrics
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Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
SUFFERING ’TIL SUFFRAGE Now you have heard of Women's Rights
And how we've tried to reach new heights
If we're "all created equal"
That's us too! (Yeah!)
But you will probably not recall
That it's not been too, too long at all
Since we even had the right to
Cast a vote (Well!)
Well, sure, some men bowed down and called us
"Mrs." (Yeah!)
Let us hang the wash out and wash the dishes
(Huh!)
But when the time rolled around to elect a presi-
dent
What did they say, Sister (What did they say?)
They said, uh, "See you later, alligator
And don't forget my, my mashed potatoes
Because I'm going downtown to cast my vote for
president"
Oh, we were suffering until suffrage
Not a woman here could vote, no matter what age
Then the 19th Amendment struck down that re-
strictive rule (Oh yeah!)
And now we pull down on the lever
Cast our ballots and we endeavor
To improve our country, state, county, town, and
school (Tell them about it!)
Those pilgrim women who braved the boat
Could cook the turkey, but they could not vote
Even Betsy Ross, who sewed the flag, was left
behind that first election day
(What a shame, Sisters!)
Then Susan B. Anthony (yeah!) and Julia Howe
(Lucretia!) Lucretia Mott, (and others!) they
showed us how
They carried signs and marched in lines
Until at long last the law was passed
Oh, we were suffering until suffrage
Not a woman here could vote, no matter what age
Then the 19th Amendment struck down that
restrictive rule (Oh yeah!)
And now we pull down on the lever
Cast our ballots and we endeavor
To improve our country, state, county, town, and
school (Right on! Right on!)
Yes, the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule (Right on!)
Yes, the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule
(Yeah, yeah! Yeah, yeah! Right on!
We got it now!)
Since 1920, Sisters, unite!
Vote on!
UNPACK YOUR ADJECTIVES Got home from camping last spring
Saw people, places and things
We barely had arrived
Friends asked us to describe
The people, places and every last thing
So we unpacked our adjectives
I unpacked "frustrating" first
Reached in and found the word "worst"
Then I picked "soggy" and
Next I picked "foggy" and
Then I was ready to tell them my tale
Because I'd unpacked my adjectives
Adjectives are words you use to really describe
things
Handy words to carry around
Days are sunny or they're rainy
Boys are dumb or else they're brainy
Adjectives can show you which way
Adjectives are often used to help us compare
things
To say how thin, how fat, how short, how tall
Girls who are tall can get taller
Boys who are small can get smaller
Until one is the tallest
And the other's the smallest of all
We hiked along without care
Then we ran into a bear
He was a hairy bear
He was a scary bear
We beat a hasty retreat from his lair
And described him with adjectives
Next time you go on a trip
Remember this little tip:
The minute you get back
They'll ask you this and that
You can describe people, places and things
Simply unpack your adjectives
You can do it with adjectives
Tell them about it with adjectives
You can shout it with adjectives
I’M JUST A BILL
Woof! You sure gotta climb a lot of steps to get to
this Capitol Building here in Washington. But I
wonder who that sad little scrap of paper is?
I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the capital city.
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill.
Gee, Bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and
courage.
Well I got this far. When I started, I wasn't even a
bill, I was just an idea. Some folks back home
decided they wanted a law passed, so they called
their local Congressman and he said,
"You're right, there oughta be a law." Then he sat
down and wrote me out and introduced me to
Congress. And I became a bill, and I'll remain a
bill until they decide to make me a law.
I'm just a bill
Yes I'm only a bill,
And I got as far as Capitol Hill.
Well, now I'm stuck in committee
And I'll sit here and wait
While a few key Congressmen discuss and debate
Whether they should let me be a law.
How I hope and pray that they will,
But today I am still just a bill.
Listen to those congressmen arguing! Is all that
discussion and debate about you?
Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones. Most bills never
even get this far. I hope they decide to report on
me favorably, otherwise I may die.
Die?
Yeah, die in committee. Oooh, but it looks like
I'm gonna live! Now I go to the House of
Representatives, and they vote on me.
If they vote yes, what happens?
Then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts
all over again.
Oh no!
Oh yes!
I'm just a bill
Yes, I'm only a bill
And if they vote for me on Capitol Hill
Well, then I'm off to the White House
Where I'll wait in a line
With a lot of other bills
For the president to sign
And if he signs me, then I'll be a law.
How I hope and pray that he will,
But today I am still just a bill.
You mean even if the whole Congress says you
should be a law, the president can still say no?
Yes, that's called a veto. If the President vetoes
me, I have to go back to Congress and they vote
on me again, and by that time you're so old...
By that time it's very unlikely that you'll become a
law. It's not easy to become a law, is it?
No!
But how I hope and I pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill.
He signed you, Bill! Now you're a law!
Oh yes!!!
Song Lyrics
9
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte • Teacher Resource Guide • www.ctcharlotte.org
THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION Hey, do you know about the U.S.A.?
Do you know about the government?
Can you tell me about the Constitution?
Hey, learn about the U.S.A.
In 1787 I'm told Our founding fathers did agree
To write a list of principles
For keepin' people free.
The U.S.A. was just startin' out.
a whole brand-new country.
And so our people spelled it out:
The things that we should be.
And they put those principles down on paper and
called it the Constitution, and it's been helping us
run our country ever since then. The first part of
the Constitution is called the preamble and tells
what those founding fathers set out to do.
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
In 1787 I'm told Our founding fathers all sat down
And wrote a list of principles
That's known the world around.
The U.S.A. was just starting out
A whole brand-new country.
And so our people spelled it out
They wanted a land of liberty.
And the Preamble goes like this:
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
For the United States of America...
READY OR NOT, HERE I COME (5’s) Now everybody try to find a good hiding place.