Going Nuts Second-Graders Use ‘The Nutcracker’ To Learn Math, Language And Art

Thu., Dec. 14, 2000

Kristin Kromer Staff writer

The girls of Riverside Elementary School’s second grade are in agreement on the best character in “The Nutcracker.” For them, it’s the Sugar Plum Fairy.

“She’s pretty!” said Elizabeth Kessler, 7.

“And, she’s sugar,” added Destiney Shaffer, 8.

The school’s second-graders are intimate enough with the story to make the call. For the past two weeks, their classroom activities have been infused with the Christmas story of a girl who stumbles into enchanted lands ruled by a Mouse King and filled with dancing sweets.

For about 15 years, Riverside Elementary teachers have been using the E.T.A. Hoffmann story to teach reading, music, writing, math and art in a unique way.

“It’s a fascinating story and the kids love doing this,” teacher Therese Hunt said. “You can do something fun and still be teaching them the essential learnings.”

The “Nutcracker” project starts at the beginning of December with an introduction to the story. Students compare and contrast different written versions of the story, then watch the movie to see how the ballet uses the body instead of words to tell the tale.

They listen to the score and study Peter Tchaikovsky’s life. They create a book of characters, giving a description and explaining the role of each. They make nutcracker windsocks out of paper; use nuts in math to practice estimating, counting, sorting and graphing; and work in small groups to create life-sized pictures of each character.

After working for two days on the characters, taking time to carefully sketch and then paint them, the students filled out an evaluation of the group project. They wrote about the cooperative process they used, how they shared and what made the project successful.

The evaluation was particularly satisfying for Kessler.

“It was exciting for me to actually let everyone know what two or three people have done in two days,” she said.

Others are excited about what’s yet to come: The project will end with a Nutcracker puppet show Dec. 21.

“I really enjoy doing puppet shows,” Shaffer said. “Sometimes I pretend to do them at home.”

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