Interdisciplinary Activities for Student Engagement
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most cherished films of all time. August 2019 marked the 80th anniversary of the 1939 film’s release. The US Library of Congress ranked The Wizard of Oz as the most-watched film in motion picture history. It is often ranked among the top 10 films of all time in various polls.
John Fricke, author of several books about The Wizard of Oz, observed that Oz was one of the first film musicals to make the songs part of the narrative and essential to understanding the characters and their motivation.
This article takes a close look at this classic film, focusing on interdisciplinary activities related to the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum. The film is based on the first Oz book by Baum The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. Teachers may wish to plan activities in one or more curricular frameworks.
The Wizard of Oz Music
The brilliant and catchy music in The Wizard of Oz is owed to three artists: composer Harold Arlen, lyricist, Yip Harburg, and orchestrator Herbert Stothart, all of whom were recognised with Oscars for their work. The music from Oz is so ingrained in popular culture that the songs are varied and so familiar to many globally, appreciated by both children and adults alike.
“Over the Rainbow,” in particular, is a classic part of popular standards, sometimes including an opening verse not heard in the film that gives the main part of the song a context. What helps make the film so enthralling is the amount of music throughout. Scenes with only dialog are few; most scenes have some music in the background and many have songs with lyrics.
More About Lyman Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was born May 15, 1856, in Chittenango, New York. Baum was an author, newspaper editor, actor, screenwriter and film producer. He authored 14 books featuring the Land of Oz. His first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, served as the source for the 1939 musical and was a best seller for two years. Baum wrote 55 novels in total, four “lost” novels, 83 short stories and more than 200 poems and scripts and other writings. Baum teamed up with illustrator W.W. Denslow, composer Paul Tietjers and director Julian Mitchell to produce a musical stage version of The Wizard of Oz that opened in Chicago in 1902 and then ran on Broadway in 1903. The play returned in 1904 and went on tour in the US until 1911.
Baum suffered a stroke and died on May 6, 1919. His final Oz book, Glinda of Oz, was published a year after his death. It is interesting to think what Baum would have thought of the 1939 musical film The Wizard of Oz had he been alive.
Interesting Facts about The Wizard of Oz
- In 2004, “Over the Rainbow,” was rated the #1 song in theAmerican Film Institute’s, “100 Years . . . 100 Songs List.”
- Notable technical and creative aspects of The Wizard of Oz include the use of sepia in the beginning and end of the film, the use of vibrant Technicolor, the constantly moving camera, the extra bright lighting for the color sequences and the use of dual characters (five characters for Frank Morgan) while the three farmhands play Dorothy’s Oz friends: the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin man (Jack Haley), and the Lion (Burt Lahr) and Margaret Hamilton played both Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Cinema audiences at the time applauded when the film went to Technicolor.
- Oz was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two for Best Song, “Over the Rainbow,” and for Best Musical Adaptation. Judy Garland received a special juvenile Oscar for The Wizard of Oz
- Lyricist Yip Harburg was driving in Hollywood when he saw a rainbow above. This inspired him to write, “Over the Rainbow,” for The Wizard of Oz.Interdisciplinary Approaches to The Wizard of Oz
Several curricular frameworks are ideal for integrating The Wizard of Oz into lessons. These include cooperative learning, differentiation, habits of mind, learning styles, multiple intelligences, social-emotional learning and thematic and interdisciplinary learning. The following outlines each framework with examples of Oz concepts:Cooperative Learning Students working in pairs, triads or groups is inherently useful for an Oz integration because it incorporates collaboration and social negotiation among students. Specific tasks include completing discussion questions, projects, activities or problem-solving tasks.
Differentiation Students can have input on which Oz characters and songs to analyse and even present their findings in different ways, allowing for differentiation. This can be accomplished through independent work or group work.
Habits of Mind The 16 habits or dispositions can be successfully implemented for analysing characters, concepts and songs in Oz. These 16 habits or dispositions help students and people in other contexts handle life’s challenges. Consider the following examples of habits via Oz:
Habit 1: Persisting Characters in musicals who must persist include Dorothy and her three friends, who persevere on the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard.
Habit 3: Listening with Understanding and Empathy focuses on paying attention to another person’s thoughts. How does communication improve when characters listen carefully to other characters? How does communication (or lack thereof) improve or impede the plot’s advancement?
Habit 10: Gathering Data Through all the Senses focuses on paying attention to another person’s thoughts. The song lyrics, characters’ dialog, musical orchestrations, scenery, costumes, make up, hairstyles and social situations can be analysed by students when viewing Oz.
Learning Styles
The four main characters can be aligned to the temperaments: Dorothy (phlegmatic), the Scarecrow (choleric), the Tin Man (melancholic) and the Cowardly Lion (sanguine). Tailored to student strengths through modes of learning, learning style models generally have three or four modes. For example, VARK promotes four modes: Visual, Aural, Reading/ Writing and Kinesthetic.
Others models promote three modes: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. Examples of learning styles aligned to Oz are as follows:
Visual Work with scenery, sets and costumes;
Auditory/Aural Listen to Oz dialog, song lyrics and music; Reading/Writing Read the Oz script, read articles or book selections on Oz, write about characters or songs; and Kinesthetic Act out selected scenes, perform dances, sing or play an Oz tune instrumentally.
Multiple Intelligences Students can show their intelligence in numerous ways. Howard Gardner originated these intelligences when he observed that verbal-linguistic and logical- mathematical are greatly emphasised, especially in standardised testing, but that there exist other ways to show intelligence. Gardner’s framework can ensure that all students are successful.
The following outlines ways to explore Oz for the different intelligences.
Verbal-Linguistic Students read a selection or the entire Oz book and then write song lyrics for a new song that would fit the original film, or create a song inspired by a scene from another Oz book.
Logical-Mathematical Students explore set design, technological aspects of film making and projects with a logical progression. Visual-Spatial Reading music and musical notation, read the Oz script, create visual art, analyse scenic design and costumes.
Musical Analyse the Oz songs and score, learn about the music of Harold Arlen, Hip Yarburg and Herbert Stothart.
Bodily-Kinesthetic Analyse dances, blocking of musical scenes, act out scenes or role play.
Interpersonal Brainstorm projects with others, complete group assignments, work within learning stations and act out scenes with others.
Intrapersonal React to physical, emotional and spiritual themes and express your own opinions about the Oz film, music and characters.
Naturalist How does a locale affect characters? Consider Dorothy at the farm versus in the Land of Oz. Also consider the flora and fauna of Kansas, USA and forests compared to your own local area. Learn about climate and natural surroundings including poppies, farm animals, rainbows and apple orchards. Social-Emotional Learning: The Wizard of Oz can teach students emotional intelligence and social intelligence as well. This can be accomplished by analysing dialog, song lyrics and main messages. Consider five areas reflected in The Collaborative
for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) standards: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision Making. Concepts from character education and habits of mind can also be utilised.Thematic/Interdisciplinary Learning Using Oz themes can help students learn in a variety of subjects, not just in music and drama classes, encouraging thematic and interdisciplinary learning. For example, history, geography and setting as well as character traits could be utilised in lessons to gain context.
Concept-based curriculum and Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) both emphasise concepts or big
ideas that are worthy of study. Big ideas would include major themes such as farm life versus the Land of Oz/Emerald City, the importance of home, reality versus fantasy and fulfilling your dreams.Oz Learning Scenarios
A number of Oz activities can enhance the curriculum. Combining two or more subjects invites interdisciplinary learning. Oz can be approached by using film clips, the entire film, songs, research, performance, projects and the Oz book series. The following chart outlines subject-specific activities tied to The Wizard of Oz.
Language Arts/Reading The 14 Oz books promote literacy, creativity, reading comprehension and imagination. Students can create a scene from one of the Oz books. Projects such as storybooks or a show program can build writing skills. The Wizard of Oz has been called a fairy tale. How does it compare to other popular fairy tales? What are some main messages that we learn from The Wizard of Oz?
Scientific Exploration Students can learn about bricks (the yellow brick road), poppies, gemology (Emerald City and ruby slippers), farms, cyclones and rainbows.
Building Plans: Students design sets for Oz drawn by hand or by using CAD and maths skills.
Visual Arts Paper dolls, murals, bulletin boards, display
cases, drawings or paintings can be created using Oz themes, characters and songs for inspiration. Coloring or creating paper poppies works for younger students. Students can role play Oz characters by dressing up, inviting art and clothing design. Character Analysis Students analyse Oz characters using concepts from social-emotional learning. For example, what emotions do the characters exhibit? What do dialogue and song lyrics reveal about the characters? What habits of mind are clearly indicated in the film?A Kansas State of Mind Students can explore the history and geography of the state of Kansas, USA, or a pride project about your own local area. The 1930’s time period can also be a topic of exploration.
Food or Fabric Home economics students learn about making Aunt Em’s crullers, or a fabric project such as an Oz costume, a quilt or a student-designed fabric project inspired by Oz themes or music. They can learn about Midwestern cuisine and compare it to their own local cuisine.
Encouraging STEAM Students research details about the making of the Oz film accounting for the five parts of the STEAM acronym. This can include sets, costumes, the filming process, sepia versus Technicolor and artistic components.
Maths and Music Students learn about music through maths by studying the time signatures or tempos of Oz songs.
Architectural Design Students learn about the structure and design of farmhouses, barns and silos, as well as cities and castles. Let’s Dance Physical education allows students to learn dances from the Oz film and replicate them, inviting movement and physical exercise.
Foreign Languages in Focus Students read an excerpt or entire Oz book or an article in the target language about Oz. Students can read a foreign language edition of an Oz book. Students can watch the film with target language dialogue. Practice four language skills by reading about Oz film in the target language, writing activities and projects, listening to the dialogue in a dubbed version of the film and talking about specific themes or songs in the language. Cultural comparisons may be made such as typical meals, daily customs, similar architecture in farm areas and clothing.
Over the Rainbow and Beyond “Over the Rainbow,” the song that Dorothy sings, which foreshadows the entire Land of Oz dream, was almost cut from the film! Why is the song so important to Dorothy’s character and the entire story? Analyse the lyrics to support your views.
From Demo to Final: Students learn about the process of creating a demo and comparing it to a final version. Students listen to the rehearsal demo of the Munchkinland sequence as performed by Arlen and Harburg on the deluxe soundtrack. They can compare this demo with the final version in the film.
Character Music: Students watch the film or listen to the soundtrack and determine music or motives that can be attributed to specific characters. For example, Dorothy has “Over the Rainbow.” Glinda has her fanfare comprised of six notes as she appears and disappears. Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch of the West have specific music when they are on screen. Toto has his escape music. Even the hourglass has specific music! The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, the three friends that Dorothy meets on the way to Emerald City, all sing the same melody but with different lyrics in, “If I Only Had a Brain,” “If I Only Had a Heart,” and, “If I Only Had the Nerve.” The same music unifies the three, whereby the lyrics highlight each as individuals.
The Jitterbug: Students listen to the unused song, “The Jitterbug,” on the deluxe soundtrack from 1995. Students learn about the Jitterbug dance, popularised during the early twentieth century and perform it with classmates.Summary
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most famous and most cherished musicals in cinematic history. The music and concepts of The Wizard of Oz can undoubtedly enhance various subjects, inviting interdisciplinary activities for student engagement.