Study Guide for The Magic School Bus Live!

The Climate Challenge

Presented by Maximum Entertainment in Association with Bay Area Childrens Theatre and Oregon Childrens Theatre

Table of Contents Go Green with Your Class About The Play Pre-Show Discussion Questions and Activities Post-Show Discussion Questions and Activities Magic School Bus Through the Curriculum

Go Green with Your Class T To help reverse the effects of climate change on our planet, we all have to work together because tiny stuff matters. 1. RECYCLE-Start a schoolwide recycling program for paper, glass and aluminum. If your school already recycles, start a campaign reminding your school community that it is important to re-use as well as recycle. Use both sides of paper, create art projects out of used items like egg crates, plastic water bottles and grocery bags. 2. LETTER WRITING-Write letters or send emails to your congress representative, city council member, mayor, governor and the President of the United States asking him or her to support measures that help the earth. 3. WALK or RIDE- Start a walk-or-ride to school day once per W week when everyone in school walks, rides a bike, takes the bus or carpools. 4. EDUCATE-Write and perform a play about the environment. 5. LOCAL PRODUCE-Take a eld trip to a farm or farmers market to learn about how crops go from the eld to the stores in your area. 6. TURN OFF LIGHTS-Appoint a designated energy-saver whose job is to turn off the classroom lights when the class leaves for recess or enrichment.

Pe inc ngu Au ludin ins li Fun str ali g So ve on Fac Who makes the show happen? a, t bu uth A man : cie The Director is Tracy. Tracy is s li t the mer y co ves ma ica nti in charge of telling the actors where jo , A ne in to go on stage and how to make their An rity frica nts, tar of characters interesting. She is the person who ctic the and makes sure everyone is doing a good job telling a. spe the story of the play.
About This Production
The Actors are all of the people you see on the stage. They work together as a team to rehearse the play, memorize their lines and learn their songs. All of the actors went to school to learn how to perform. The Playwright and Composer is Scott. Scott writes all of the music for the show and all of thw words tat the actors speak. He also writes the lyrics, or the words that the actors sing. He also writes stage directions which help the director know what the actors should be doing while they say their lines. Scott read the Magic School Bus book very closely to nd all of the most important facts and stories. The Choreographer is Nicole. Nicole creates all of the dances in the show and then teaches them to the actors. She works very closely with the Director and the Music Director to help tell the story of the play through movement. The Music Director is Sean. Sean teaches all of the music to the actors and helps them nd the best way to sing the songs and the harmonies. A harmony is when two people are singing different notes at the same time and when you hear them together they sound beautiful. Sean works with the Composer to make sure he is doing the best job possible with the music! The Set Designer is Emily. Emily creates the world where the actors tell the story. She imagEmily ines and draws all of the pieces that you see on the stage. For this production Emily has an extra challenge to use as many natural or recycled materials as possible. The Costume Designer is Ulises. Ulises imagines the clothes that the actors are wearing to help become the characters. He draws and then sews the clothing.

The Projection Designer is Lloyd. Lloyd chose all of the pictures and movies that were played during the show. Lloyd works with Scott, the playwright and Tracy, the director to decide which kind of picture goes where in the script.

Pre-Show Classroom Activities and Discussions Discussion Questions: What is theatre? What is the difference between live theatre and a movie or television? Imagine you are an actor on stage. What kind of part would you like to play? How would you like the audience to respond to your performance? Why do we applaud at the end of a performance?

Class Activity: Going to See a Show Select four volunteers to act as performers. Select two volunteers to act as stagehands. The rest of the class will act as the audience. Step 1: Stagehands ash the lights in the classroom to indicate the performance is starting. And say the line Everyone please take your seats. Step 2: Performers enter by standing in front of the class. All of the performers sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or any other song or poem that everyone in the class knows. Step 3: The Audience applauds at the conclusion of the performance. Step 4: The Performers bow. Step 5: The Stagehands icker the lights to indicate the end of the show. Step 6: Rotate participants.

Post-Show Classroom Activities and Discussions

Discussion Questions: What was the play about? Were there differences between the story in the book and the story in the play? What parts of the play were the most exciting? Which character did you enjoy the most? Why? Why do you think the director chose to use projections (giant pictures) alongwith live actors? Writing and Drawing Activity: Each student writes a letter to Ms. Frizzle.

Dear Ms. Frizzle, My favorite part of the play was____________________ While watching your play I felt_____________________ because______________________________________ I have drawn a picture of the scene when ______________ dr If I could be in your play, I would like to play the part of __ _______because_______________________________. After seeing your play, I plan to _____________________ to do my part to GO GREEN! Sincerely, ________________
After writing the letter, students can illustrate a scene from the play. We love hearing from our audiences! If you would like, please send these letters to Bay Area Childrens Theatre, 6114 La Salle Avenue, #431, Oakland, CA 94611. Include your return address and your class will receive a note back from the actors!

Vocabulary: Word Picture Match Draw a line between the picture and the word. EARTH

RAIN

SUN

MAGIC SCHOOL BUS

WIND

TREE

Math: Word Problems

1. If Ms. Frizzles class has collected 99 plastic bottles to recycle and Arnold adds one more, how many bottles will the class have collected? 2. Wanda walks to school every day. So far, there have been 149 days of school. Today Wanda walked to school one more time. How many times has Wanda walked to school? 3. Arnold decides to plant a garden. It takes him one minute to plant one seedling. If he does not take a break, how many seedlings will he plant in ten minutes? 4. Liz wants to learn some new dance moves. Liz studies very hard and learns 49 new dance moves. Keesha wants Liz to know 60 dance moves for the big show. How many more dance moves does Liz have to learn? 5. Carlos writes one email to the Mayor asking for a windmill for their town, he writes one email to his Senator asking her to vote yes on a bill to help the environment and he writes one email to the President of the United States about the importance of conservation. Keesha thinks it is a good idea for her to write the same number of emails. How many emails do Keesha and Carlos send all together? BONUS QUESTIONS Ms. Frizzle learns that the Magic School Bus uses one gallon of bio-diesel fuel every time she drives 10 miles. If the arctic is 1,000 miles away, how many gallons of bio-diesel fuel will she need to make the trip?

Language: Word Find D X A B Z J C P Q V N K I A K G T A N A U F W R X N B Y R Y M T D C O N S E R V E U N E O Q J D O W E C P W W G H T S N Q F P H R Y V U U C E A P C W A J K N C N S I L W E H V I Q Y L Z L Y A T I G R E E N H O U S E Q N T M L V R W D E B E L S D Z R A A N E A M F R E D U C E B T C T B V I A Z G G E G P R E I W D J L K F N Y G K O S N E S D Y L G O F K N A I K G R A L O S T K W C I M V J H

ENERGY SOLAR RECYCLE CLIMATE GLACIER ATMOSPHERE GREENHOUSE WINDMILL CONSERVE REDUCE

Vocabulary Fill in the sentences below with the following vocabulary words (each word is used only once): Glaciers Climate Recycle Fossil Fuel Global Warming Solar Panels 1. When we put gasoline in our car we are using a ________to make the engine run. 2. Over the last 100 years, the temperature on earth has gone up an average of one degree because of ___________. 3. The _________ of an area is its usual weather. For instance, the usual weather is Arizona is hot, but the usual weather in Oregon is cooler. 4. If you visit the Arctic, you will see _________ which are giant areas of frozen water. 5. One way to help the earth is to use ___________ which use the suns rays to create energy. 6. A great project for schools and kids is to collect cans, bottles, and paper to _________ so that they can be re-used.

Read the following section from The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
Have you heard about our teacher, Ms. Frizzle? Almost every day, something weird halppens in her class. For example, take the day we started to study global warming. We were going to put on a play about Earth and all the changes that are happening. The Friz had brought a book from home, and we were using the pictures to help us paint the scenery. scener Ms. Frizzles book is kind of old, said Tim. It came out before things really started heating up. Ill go online to get new pictures, said Wanda. W She headed for the computer but Ms. Frizzle was already out the door. Come on class, she he f called. Bring my book, please. Before you could say North Pole, the Friz herded us onto the bus. She pushed a few buttons and pulled a few levers. Then we were on our way to the Arctic Sea--a place with a completely different climate.

Reading for Detail

1. Every day in Ms. Frizzles class something happens that is: a) normal c) weird b) boring d) ugly 2. The class was studying a) math b) global warming c) giant spiders d) Paul Revere

3. What is Tims complaint about Ms. Frizzles book? a) It is too old c) It is too long b) It does not have pictures d) It is confusing 4. What tool is Wanda going to use nd new pictures? a) newspaper c) text book b) coloring book d) computer 5. Where did the class go with Ms. Frizzle? a) Arctic Sea c) Cleveland, Ohio b) Tropical Rain Forest d) Wandas House

Art: Illustration

Step 1: Select a story that the class is all reading together. Step 2: Teacher reads aloud one scene from the story. Step 3: Using markers, crayons, or colored pencils, all of the students use their imagination to illustrate the same scene. Step 4: Each student describes what is in their drawing to a partner.

The Magic School Bus Series tells Ms. Frizzles stories through both words and illustration. Illustration are the pictures that are next to the words.

Drama: Acting out a Story In the play Magic School Bus Live! The Climate Challenge, the actors took a story which was originally a book and acted it out.
Step 1: Teacher reads a story aloud to the class. Step 2: As a class, brainstorm the characters in the story and the settings-locations in the story. Step 3: As a class, determine the plot--events in order with a clear beginning, middle and end. Step 4: Teacher breaks up the story into small segments and assigns each segment to a group of students. Step 5: Students must create a tableaux (frozen picture that tells a story) of the moment in the story. Step 6: All groups show their tableaux in front of the class in the order of the story. Vocabulary: Illustration, Plot, Tableaux, Character, Setting

Geography: Climate
Using the tools of the classroom and library, students in groups must answer the following questions: Group 1-Glaciers 1. What is a Glacier? 2. What are three animals that might live near a Glacier? 3. What is the climate of a Glacier? What kind of clothing would you wear if you visited? 4. What is the name of one country that has Glaciers? Group 2-Rain Forest 1. What is a Rain Forest? 2. What are three animals that might live in a Rain Forest? 3. What is the climate of a Rain Forest? What kind of clothing would you wear if you visited one? 4. Find two different countries that have Rain Forests. What are the names of those countries? Find them on a map. Group 3-Desert 1. What is a Desert? 2. What are three animals that might live in a Desert? 3. What is the climate of a Desert? What kind of clothing would you wear if you visited a Desert? 4. Find two different countries that have Deserts? What are the names of those countries? Find them on a map.

Here are more ideas for Magic School Bus related activities for all grade levels. Lower Elementary: -Recycled Craft Day -Decorate cloth shopping bags -Learn about glaciers by making ice and then melting it.
Sci 20 entis ,00 ts b Fu 0 a eli n F nd eve act 25 the : ing ,00 re a on 0 Po re ea lar betw rth . Bear een s li v-

Middle Elementary: -Act out the story of one of Ms. Frizzles Journeys using tableaux -Write a class book with energy saving ideas -Paint a Go Green mural at your school site -Keep an energy journal. Write down energy wasted and energy saved in every day activities Upper Elementary: -Write and illustrate your own story about a magical trip to a far away land -Organize a class potluck using only local food -Research projects on clean enery like windmills and solar panels

Answer Key for Teachers Word Problems 1. 100 plastic bottles 2. 150 walks to school 3. 10 seedlings 4. 11 dance moves 5. 6 emails 6. 100 gallons of bio-diesel fuel Vocabulary 1. Fossil Fuel 2. Global Warming 3. Climate 4. Glaciers 5. Solar Panels 6. Recycle Reading for Detail 1. c) weird 2. b) global warming 3. a) It is too old 4. d) computer 5. a) Arctic Sea