Wizard of Oz Lesson Plan Suggestions

These ideas were given to me by Jane Albright of the International Wizard of Oz Club; Susan Bradshaw, a kindergarten teacher in St. Louis, Missouri; Deb Polun, a graduate student at the University of Connecticut; Merewyn DiLiberto; and the L. Frank Baum Oz Festival's Education Task Force in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I've also added a few ideas of my own, and the contributors of other individual ideas are also acknowledged. Don't let the somewhat arbitrary labels throw you, there is a lot of interdisciplinary learning here, and I give some suggestions of what other areas similar lessons can be applied.

Science and Health

• What a difference bones make! The class builds a life-sized Scarecrow to learn the difference skeletal systems make to the way their bodies work.
• Illustrator W. W. Denslow always drew a tiny sea horse with his signature. Sea horses have an exoskeleton system; like the Tin Woodman, the structure that supports them — their bones — are on the outside.
• What are things made of? Teach the categories of matter using the Oz characters (animal/Cowardly Lion, vegetable/Scarecrow and mineral/Tin Woodman). What makes each essential?
• Water melts the Wicked Witch of the West and what else? In Baum's book, Dorothy says the Witch melts like brown sugar. Build small brown sugar witches and melt them. Have students discover what else is water soluble by attempting to dissolve different solids in water.
• Are prairies really all gray? What other colors are found on the prairie? Have students count the colors in their classroom, clothing or that they can see out their window. Identify the grasslands/prairies around the earth and compare the natural resources found there to those where the students live. (Also ties in with geography.)
• Get carried way with a study of tornadoes (or understanding storms in general). Could work with the group who developed a program for kids in areas hit by disasters. NOAA's tornado page and The Tornado Project Online are also good starting points.
• Why aren't our streets paved in gold? And our shoes made of sterling silver? From non-renewal natural resources to items made with skill, some things have more monetary value than others in our society. Students identify and report on what is valued and why. Examples can be historic and contemporary. (Also ties in with geography, sociology, and economics.)
• Gemstones are common in Oz, from rubies to emeralds. What are gems, how are they made, and why are they so valuable? And could you really make a city of emeralds, or wear a pair of ruby shoes?
• The animals of Oz. Study the habitats, diet and characteristics of dogs, lions, field mice and monkeys. Why does courage matter to a lion? Why is he called the king of beasts?
• Poppies. Identify different colors and varieties of poppies. Figure how many it would take to fill a field the size of a football stadium/playground/nearby park. Make paper poppies as an arts and crafts project, or grow real poppies in class. (Also ties in with mathematics and art.)
• Weight. The field mice pull the Cowardly Lion from the poppy field. The Tin Woodman and Scarecrow carry a sleeping Dorothy to safety. Later, the flying monkeys carry Dorothy and the Lion. How can you carry a friend safely? Learn appropriate lifting habits and study weight. (Also ties in with mathematics.)
• Why do we sleep? Night after night in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman stand quietly and watch Dorothy sleeping, wondering why she does it. What does sleep do to restore us? How much sleep do people need?
• In the famous 1939 Judy Garland movie, the whole adventure is a dream caused by stress and a bump on the head. Why do we dream? Why do we dream only during the R. E. M. stage of sleep? Also, dreams are often spawned by events that have already happened to us. For example, Dorothy placed Hunk in her dream as the brainless Scarecrow because, before she was knocked unconscious, Hunk told Dorothy to use her brains about Miss Gulch, and that her straw weren't made out of straw. This phenomenon can be explored as used in this movie, Return to Oz (1985), or in general.
• The Munchkins grew to be no bigger than Dorothy. What factors effect how much you will grow? Discuss genetics, diet, exercise and other factors that influence size.
• For an Ozzy way to explain some ideas of more advanced science, you may want to acquire the book The Wizard of Quarks: A Fantasy of Particle Physics by Robert Gilmore. You can find out more or buy it through the links below.
  

Geography

• Students can create their own maps of Oz, based on the endpapers of Tik-Tok of Oz (also available online at Hungry Tiger Press) or the set of maps printed and sold by the International Wizard of Oz Club. Or use the maps to develop map-reading skills. (Also ties in with art.)
• Using a list of all the languages into which The Wizard of Oz has been translated (about sixty at last count), students find countries where those languages are spoken. Kids also could report on what life was like in those countries in the year 1900 (when the novel was first published) and how it has changed. (Also ties in with history.)
• Where are you from? Students find out and report to the class where their recent ancestors called "home". How far back in their family must they look to find ancestors who were not American? Use a map of the world to create a class profile. This could support a curriculum unit on diversity. Provide opportunities for Native American children in your group to share their heritage. (Also ties in with history.)
• If there was a Yellow Brick Road between your house and the White House (or anywhere else, like Seattle, "The Emerald City"), how long would it take you to get there if you walked all the way?
• Dorothy often rode the Cowardly Lion (note to teachers, remember that Baum's character is a four-legged beast, not a man in a lion suit...). What types of transportation could you ride? How long would each method of transportation take and what would it cost?
• If you traveled by ground, what places would you see along the way? How would your journey have been different 100 years ago? (Also ties in with history.)

History

• Write an essay comparing turn-of-the-century schooling to schools today. Or Dorothy's home to their own home. Or her family to theirs. (Also ties in with language arts.)
• Live for a day like it was in 1900 schools, with only books — no TV, recorded music, computers or videos. Have the teacher and students use only chalk and the chalkboards, share their books and otherwise mimic the 1900 schoolroom. If available locally, take a field trip to restored/preserved turn-of-the-century site(s).
• The State of Kansas is known around the globe because of Dorothy. What else has Kansas contributed to history, literature, etc., and what are the state's contributions today? (Also ties in with geography.)
• The States - each child takes a state and identifies/reports on the best-known thing about it. How is that particular thing communicated to different generations? (Also ties in with geography and language arts.)
• What ways (legends, letters, books, songs, plays, films, exhibits, etc.) are there to communicate history? (Also ties in with language arts.)
• Create a yellow brick timeline of Baum's life and the creation of the Oz books.
• Who was L. Frank Baum? Students can research him and present their findings. Compare the written biographies of Baum with the television movie The Dreamer of Oz.
• Baum's mother-in-law was Matilda Gage, one of the leaders of the turn-of-the-century Women's Suffrage movement. Students can research Gage and the Suffrage movement, and how they influenced Baum's career. (Baum satirizes the Suffrage movement in The Marvelous Land of Oz.)
• Many people believe that The Wizard of Oz is a political story, a thinly-veiled satire of the American Populist movement of the turn of the century. While most Baum and Oz scholars don't believe this to be the case (click here for details and links), it does demonstrate that Baum's writings reflected the times he lived in. Other examples of world events influencing Baum's works may include the Women's Suffrage movement in The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904), the San Francisco Earthquake in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908), and the Russian Revolution in The Magic of Oz (1919). How many other real-life examples can be found in the Oz books, or any other source? (Note that there are no strict right-and-wrong answers to this, it's all a matter of interpretation. Also ties in with Language Arts.)
• For historical perspective on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, you may want to buy the book The Historian's Wizard of Oz : Reading L. Frank Baum's Classic As a Political and Monetary Allegory, edited by Ranjit S. Dighe, by clicking on one of the buttons below.
  Hardcover:
  Paperback:

Mathematics

• Make a Yellow Brick Road of paper for your classroom floor (or go outside and use yellow street chalk). How many bricks would it take to make your yellow brick road cross the hall? run across the playground? down the street? What about if the individual bricks were smaller or larger?
• If field mice really could each pull X ounces, how many would it take to pull the Cowardly Lion to safety? Note the added weight of the wooden "truck" built by the Tin Woodman and the weights of different lengths of string.
• Dorothy lived in Kansas, where there are lots of sunflowers. How many seeds are in a sunflower? (Also ties in with science.)
• Analyze the Scarecrow's speech from the movie when he gets his diploma, comparing it to the Pythagorean Theorem. Just how good was that diploma, anyway?
• In The Marvelous Land of Oz, an important magic spell involves counting to seventeen by two's. How can this be done? Could Tip's problems with the spell have been the result of faulty mathematics?
• For more about mathematics and Oz, you might want to take a look at the book The Mathematics of Oz by Clifford A. Pickover. You can order it by clicking on one of the buttons below. (Note: This is not a book of simple arithmetic problems, there are some advanced mathematical ideas in here.)
  

Language Arts

• The Oz books can be used to discuss cause-and-effect, foreshadowing, or just about any other literary convention or device.
• Kids read translations of a popular book/fairy tale originally written in one of the languages into which Oz has been translated. The stories can also be compared to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. (Also ties in with geography.)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been called the first American fairy tale. Have students talk about it in relation with other fairy tales they are familiar with (Grimm, Perrault, etc.).
• Read the first part of one of the Little Wizard Stories of Oz or a chapter from a book, and leave off at an exciting place. Challenge the students to write the ending.
• What would your students like the Wizard to give them, if they could meet him? What might characters from other stories, movies, television, etc. ask from him?
• How do illustrations effect a story? Find the (three) illustrations of the Wicked Witch of the West that Mr. Denslow drew in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Look at Denslow's Winged Monkeys. Are these characters frightening or funny? Oz has illustrations on nearly every page. Why would illustrations make a book particularly appealing to turn-of-the-century kids? (Note: Baum intentionally developed characters that would not be frightening to children, a concept that was reversed in the classic 1939 film based on his book. His Wicked Witch also had such a minor role in the book that she was completely omitted in the earliest theatrical productions of the story. Do not assume an MGM-like witch when approaching the Baum material.) Since many others have illustrated Oz over the last century, other artists can be used as well, and compared. (Also ties in with art.)
• Word games — making other words from the letters in "The Wizard of Oz" (there are at least 64 in The American Heritage Dictionary), write vertical poems around Oz character names, etc.
• In student pairs, role play Dorothy and a reporter. Write an interview with Dorothy for the school/community paper after she returns that reports her adventures in journalist style.
• Kids could write from Dorothy's perspective thanking her friends in Oz for their help while she was lost or telling Aunt Em why she misses home. They could be the Wizard and apologizing for leaving without Dorothy or for being a humbug. They could write to author L. Frank Baum and tell him what they think of his book and what they'd like to see happen to Dorothy next. There are lots of variations on this note-writing themes.
• Where do other storybook characters live? Identify real and make believe places. Make a pretend continent where all the make-believe places are found. (Also ties in with geography.)
• What makes fairy tales different from other books? From royalty to dragons, mermaids and hobbits discuss the use of what is "real" and what is make-believe in creating stories. As a group or as individuals (depending on age) have the kids make up original fairy tales. The class could develop plays based on their stories.
• What are the differences between the book and the movie? Why were these changes made? How is telling a story by writing it down different from showing it on a stage or screen?
• Encourage students to write their own, original Oz adventures. The students can even make themselves the main characters! How did they get there? Who did they meet? What problems did they encounter? How do they get home?
• Use The Marvelous Land of Oz or any of the later Oz books to bring up the idea of a sequel. Discuss what a sequel is and why an author would write one. Students can also write their own sequel to The Wizard of Oz or any other story.
• Students can write and/or perform original Oz plays or skits.
• The newspaper of Oz is called The Ozmapolitan. Students can write and illustrate their own issue of The Ozmapolitan with news of what's going on in Oz. Use the events of an Oz book, or create your own news.
• Use Oz words for spelling, or study some of the more obscure vocabulary from the books or movie. (What does caliginous mean, anyway?)
• Society has changed greatly since 1900, when the book was originally written. In the movie version of The Wiz, we see the Wizard of Oz all urbanized. Most of Oz looks like back alleys, forests are replaced with amusement parks and subway stations. Students can make the Wizard of Oz more modern. Imagine Dorothy as a N*Sync obsessed valley girl with a pair of silver platforms. Maybe the Lion could be a tough, cigar smoking, geezer with no real tough stuff. Who knows what you can come up with, but have students rewrite The Wizard of Oz as if it were to take place in the current year and illustrate. (Contributed by John Roche.)
• For those who want to use The Wizard of Oz to teach vocabular words, perhaps the book The Wizard of Oz Vocabulary Builder by Mark Phillips would help. You can order it by clicking on one of the Amazon links below.
  

Art and Music

• Students can draw their favorite Oz characters or places, or make Oz sculptures, collages, batiks, masks, oversize cutouts, silkscreens...
• Set up an Oz museum. Let students bring in Oz memorabilia or other objects relating to the story. Let them create labels and explanations for the items. This could also be used to exhibit the items from the first idea here... (Contributed by Jane Ander.)
• What different kinds of instruments might be used to characterize each of the Oz characters, especially the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion? What kinds of tunes or rhythms might characterize each one (a la "Peter and the Wolf")? How might each character dance or move to their instrument or rhythm? (Also ties in with Physical Education.)
• In the movie, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion sang songs about themselves and what they wanted, all to the same tune. What might other characters from the movie have sung to the tune of "If I Only Had a Brain/a Heart/the Nerve"? What about characters from other stories, or the students themselves?
• The two-CD movie soundtrack set from the movie, issued by Rhino Records, includes several tracks not used in the movie. Some were tests, some were alternate takes, and some were just cut for time reasons. Share these tracks with students, and discuss how a movie soundtrack develops, or how music is used in the movies and on television.
• Compare the songs and soundtracks of The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz (both available on CD). How are they the same? How are they different? What musical styles and traditions are in each?

Technology

• Research Oz sites on the World Wide Web. You can start your search here.
• Use digitized pictures from Oz books or movies (many are available online), and combine them with the student's faces in PhotoShop or other art programs.

Social and Life Skills

• Good things come in small packages. Munchkins are important people in Oz, described as being "no taller than Dorothy, who was just a little girl herself." Discuss the wonderful things only small people can do. Make this an opportunity to influence kids to appreciate those who are noticeably small.
• From the little people who could repair World War II airplane wings (from the inside!), to entertainment industry stand-ins/stunt men and jockeys, reinforce the value and contributions of mature little people over the years. (Solicit content help from the Little People of America organization.) Recommend documentaries on this topic (one even includes interviews with actors/actresses who played Munchkins in the 1939 MGM Oz classic).
• Discuss appropriate vocabulary when referring to those who are small. Explain the right and wrong difference between labelling someone for where they are from (American/Munchkin) versus their physical characteristics (giants/mermaids) using fantasy people to illustrate. Apply the lesson to real people today. Could incorporate professional titles and other vocabulary. Do a "what are you" exercise that has kids think of names they are proud to be called.
• Lost can be lonesome. What should you do and who should you to turn to if you are lost? How can you help someone who is lost? How would it feel to be lost? Could tie in a program that documents info on kids for security purposes.
• Dogs can be more than friends. Toto, Dorothy's pet dog, travels with her to Oz and protects her from many dangers. Study different breeds of dogs and how working dogs (guide dogs, guard dogs, sled dogs, World War I messenger dogs, "actor" dogs) are raised and used. Invite a person who uses a working dog to visit the class. Or, in areas near a guide-dog training foundation (or other dog school) have a trainer or member of a guide-dog puppy's foster family speak to the class. Have kids who own dogs talk about their pets.
• Use the Creative Problem Solving process in discussing Oz stories as they are read to the class, and what's coming next.

Home Economics

• Find a copy of an Oz-themed cook book (see links below). Study how the recipes are categorized by what region of Oz is highlighted, and how ordinary recipes are "Ozzified". Let students create their own Ozzy recipes.
  • Cooking in Oz: Kitchen Wizardry from America's Favorite Fairy Tale by Elaine Willingham and Stephen Cox. Recipes from many Oz celebrities and fans. Forward by Movie Munchkin Margaret Pellegrini. Paperback edition.
    
  • The Wizard of Oz Cookbook. Recipes inspired by Kansas, Munchkinland, the Emerald City, and every point in between. Hardcover edition.
    
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Cookbook by Monica Bayley. Oz-themed recipes for young chefs to try out. Hardcover edition.
    

Psychology

• In the study of personality types, split the class into four groups. Each group is assigned a personality approach to use to create a personality profile of Dorothy Gale (or any other Oz character). Then share and discuss. (Note: This was suggested by a grad student teaching introductory college psychology, so this probably will not work out well at the elementary school level...)
• When studying different states of consciousness, one can look at the famous film version of The Wizard of Oz and how Dorothy's real life affected her dream. (Developed by Kelly Grimm, and contributed by Jennifer Tweedly.)

The Oz Project

A letter to 9th Grade Students

This project is a collaborative effort between our 9th grade Art Students and the Henry Neill 3rd grade Physical Education students. You will begin by working in groups of 3-5 students depending on the number of students in class.

Your job will be to read/research four of the Ozian character groups (some, you may not have heard of before). The group names are: The Winkies, The Gillikins, The Munchkins, and The Quadlings.

You will need to answer various questions about the character groups like, What are their personalities like, How do they act and talk, What do they look like, etc. to decide what each of the groups are like. From this information you will need to write a description of these characters for the 3rd grade students. You will need to write the information clearly and in an "easy to read" format.

You will be listening to some music from an "Oz" album — you will need to choose the song which you feel would be best for your "character group" (we will need to come to consensus with all of the 9th grade students regarding the song).

You will then draw a picture of the characters from your description. The 3rd grade students are going to read your descriptions and also draw a picture of the character. The following week we will exchange the drawings so each of you will have an individual student to write to. At that time, you will compare/contrast ideas from the drawings and we will email a note/letter back to your 3rd grade "partner." Who in turn will e-mail a note back to you. You may be able to communicate like this a few times. We'll see how it works.

Once all of the information has been shared the 3rd grade students will be creating a dance/gymnastics routine to the music you have chosen (using the dance/art information you provide on shape, line/pathways, texture, color, pattern, and space). At that time, you will be creating masks for these third graders to wear during their routine.

The final process will be a costumed dance/gymnastics routine performed by the 3rd graders. Video and still photos will be taken by selected 9th grade students. We will then do some simple editing by adding the video, the still photos, and text.

Our finished product will be our video. Hopefully, it will be aired on TV. Maybe shown at the "OZ Festival" or if you have more ideas, let me know.

The 3rd grade students are really going to "Look up to you"! Basically, you are going to be the "Producers" while they will be the "Workers". Please be polite, kind, helpful and understanding, be a good role model for these students!!!

Resources for Teachers (and others who might be interested)

• The International Wizard of Oz Club. The Oz Club has members throughout the United States and other parts of the world, and may be able to get you in touch with an Oz expert or collector in your area to talk to your class. The Club's website also has useful information on Baum's life, the history of Oz, and other areas of interest.
• The Seamonkey Oz Home Page. This is a website made up of students' writings and drawings of Oz. Lots of ideas here!
• Read the original novel here.
• Wizard of Oz bookshop. This is my own online bookshop. You can buy books here, or just browse and see what's currently available.
• There are several ideas and resources for Oz activities for younger students and decorations on my party page.
• My links page has a section just for teachers. You can get there by clicking here.
• A thematic unit for The Marvelous Land of Oz, with activites for each chapter of the book.
• An edition of The Wizard of Oz published by Aladdin includes some suggested discussion topics for reading groups, and ideas for activities and projects. To order a copy of this inexpensive paperback edition, click on one of the buttons below.
  
• An adaptation of The Wizard of Oz published in Great Britian is specially designed to teach sight words (or "head words," to use the British term). To order a copy of this edition, click on one of the buttons below.
  
• Another current British adaptation of The Wizard of Oz has activities and support for teachers using the story in their classes. To order a copy of this edition, click on one of the buttons below.
  
• The Wizard of Oz Vocabulary Builder by Mark Phillips claims to help increase word power by reading this version of the story. To order a copy of this edition, click on one of the buttons below.
  
• There is a version of The Wizard of Oz available for the QuantumPad educational device.
  (Book) (QuantumPad)
• For something a little different, there's an Oz-themed book for teachers about action research. Action Research for Teachers: Traveling The Yellow Brick Road by Joanne M. Arhar, Mary Louise Holly, Wendy C. Kasten uses Oz metaphors and themes to explain and demonstrate action research for educators. You can order it from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.co.uk by clicking on one of the buttons below.
  • Revised second edition
    
  • Original first edition