TEACHER STUDY GUIDE2018/2019 SEASON

Alaska Junior Theater n 430 W 7th Ave, Suite 30 n Anchorage, AK 99501P 907-272-7546 n F 907-272-3035 n www.akjt.org

n Curriculum Connections

n Learning Resources

n Performance Background

n Activities for the Classroom

n Theatre Etiquette

Additional support provided by Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Atwood Foundation,the Municipality of Anchorage, National Endowment for the Arts and WESTAF.

School Shows: March 19 - 22, 201910:00 AM & 11:45 AM

Public Show: Friday, March 22, 20197:30 PM Atwood Concert Hall

Teachers enjoy a special rate for AJT’s Annual Benefit Dinner

on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019.

Reserve your tickets today!272-7546

Alaska Junior Theater is a private, nonprofit organization that has been bringing the best in professional theatre from around the world to Alaska’s young audiences

since 1981. Each year, more than 40,000 students attend a variety of live performances at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. For many students, our school show presentations are their only exposure to live performing arts.

Each show we present has a strong educational component and are linked to Alaska Content Standards. Alaska Junior Theater also offers teacher and student workshops, study guides and classroom transportation to our performances.

We are committed to keeping ticket prices low, allowing children of all financial levels to experience live professional theatre. Our low educational ticket price of $8 covers only half our costs of presenting shows. To subsidize the remaining $8 of each ticket, we actively fundraise and rely on the support of corporations, foundations and individuals. In addition, we fundraise to offer full scholarships to students with financial need.

Discovery Theatre, ACPA

Special thanks to Deanna James, Brian Singleton and Michael Jereu for their help in this effort.

Alaska Junior Theater asked area teachers to review our performances for direct connections to Alaska Content Standards. The direct connections for the Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey are listed below. They will assist in lesson planning and will assure teachers that Alaska Junior Theater programs help classes meet curriculum connections.

To get a complete copy of the Alaska Content Standards, visit: https://www.asdk12.org/commoncore/.

Carr Gottstein Lobby

Common Core State Standards

National Standards for Music Education

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Curriculum Standards

CCR Anchor Standard 5CCR Anchor Standard 6Reading Standards for Literature 2Reading Standards for Literature 5Writing Standards 3

MUSIC ED: Re7.2.PKa - MUSIC ED: Re7.2.8aMUSIC ED: Re8.1.2a - MUSIC ED: Re8.1.7aMUSIC ED: Re9.1.1a - MUSIC ED: Re9.1.8a

Mouse StoriesMoon Zoom by Sims, LesleyMouse and the Moon by Christina ButlerMousetronaut Goes to Mars by Mark KellyThe Mouse and the Moon by Gabriel Alborozo.The First Mouse on the Moon by Geronimo Stilton

Moon/Space StoriesMoon by Steve TomecekThe Moon by Elaine LandauSpace.Space by Moira ButterfieldSpace travel by Jenny E Tesar

PuppetsPuppet Power with Michael Moodoo, Dinosaur puppets!Puppets by Lyndie WrightPuppets by Meryl DoneyMaking Puppets by Sally Henry

E-BEG SIMSE BUTLER

E KELLYE ALBOROZ

J STILTON

E 523.3 TOMECEKE E 523.3 LANDAU

J 520 SPACEJ 520 BUTTERFE 629.45 TESAR

DVD J 745.5922 PUPPETJ 745.59224 WRIGHT

J 745.59224 DONEYJ 745.5922 HENRY

LIBRARY

RESOURCES

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Resources Related to Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey

The Library offer regular STEM programming for children and youth, check out their website for more information.

www.anchoragelibrary.org

Check out ebooks and audio books by these authors and many more at the ListenAlaska and hoopla and download music at Freegal on the Anchorage Public Library Website:

www.anchoragelibrary.org

Lightwire Theater was featured as semi-finalists on NBC’s America’s Got Talent and winners of Tru TV’s Fake Off. One of Anchorage’s perinel favorites returns after performing Dino-Lights, The Ugly Duckling and A Very Electric Christmas to present Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey. The group combines theatre and technology to bring stories to life in complete darkness and are internationally recognized for their signature brand of electroluminescent artistry.

Lightwire co-creators Ian Carney and Corbin Popp met in New York City while dancing in Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out on Broadway. An immediate connection was made between the kindred spirits as they discovered their mutual love of art, theater and technology. After coming across a product called, “el wire,” the lights turned on and the possibilities seemed endless. Together, with their wives Eleanor and Whitney, they began to experiment with shapes and designs to develop puppetry-based neon creatures that quickly came to life.

Based in New Orleans, Lightwire Theater continues to create and deliver innovative theatrical experiences to audiences worldwide.

In Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey, Marvin the Mouse wants to be popular. Constantly bullied by the “cool” rats, Marvin retreats into his science books and a world of fantasy. Embarking on a space adventure to the moon on his homemade rocket, he meets misfit creatures, learns of infinite peril and views awesome beauty. His journey of self acceptance is portrayed with both humor and honesty as he teaches us the important message that being different can be “cool.”

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Step 1Copper in the middle of the wires allows electricity to travel from

one place to another.

Step 2A material called phosphor surrounds the copper wire. The phosphor glows when

electricity runs through the wire.

Step 3A colored plastic tube surrounds the phosphor and copper, completing the wire.

Step 4When wire is attached to a power source it glows! A battery pack that powers the wires is

hidden on each creature in the shows.

How ‘El Wire’ is made.

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ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

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Complete The Maze

Start

Finish

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ACTIVITIES

How To Make A Circuit FlowerSupplies:Coffee filters Washable markers Plates Water Water dropper/syringeLEDs CR2032 coin battery Clothespin Scissors Mini solo cup/mini pot Pipe cleaners Electrical tape (green) CR2032 coin battery Wire

Chromatography Science To Create ArtThe first step is to make your beautifully colored papers using a technique called chromatography. This process works the best if you use secondary and tertiary colors (combinations of primary and secondary colors), as they will separate as they spread, creating gorgeous patterns on your paper.

Start by flattening a coffee filter on a plate or other easy to clean surface. Using a washable marker draw a thick lined circle about half way between the middle and edge. You can use one colour, alternate colours, or even create a few circles (leave a wide space in between).

Now add about a teaspoon of water to the middle of the coffee filter. As the water moves through the paper it will spread the colours out, and depending on your colours, may cause them to separate. You should end up with a beautiful water coloured papers.

Circuit TimeCut your wires and strip the ends. You need two wires, approximately 8 inches in length. Strip about half an inch from each end to expose the wire. These are your contact points with your battery and LED.

Take your coffee filter paper and grab it in the middle, roll and bunch it to gather it up and form your flower. You should have a small “stalk”.

Push the legs of the LED bulb through the paper just off to the side of the stalk in your paper. Now wrap one wire tightly around the first leg. Repeat with the other wire around the second leg.

Slide the legs of the LED onto the end of your clothespin, so one leg is on each side. Tape into place. Now tape your stalk to the other clothespin end. This is to help secure everything.

Wrap the wires around your clothespin, then separate the wires, and wrap them individually around each side as you get down to the clamping end of your clothespin. You want to end your wrap with the stripped part of your wire on the inside of the clothespin. Now slide your battery into the clothespin so it makes contact with the wires. If it doesn’t work, turn your battery around.

Your flower has come to life!

Create A Poetic Image

I’m a space travelerMy friends all gather at the ship.We sound like

We to prepare for the journey.

Up we fly. We take turns piloting.We look like

The engine hums.I hear all around me.

After many days, we have reached our destintaion. Soon we’ll gather again and return home.by

ACTIVITIES

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Poets draw pictures with words. This is called imagery. Pretend you are a in a spaceship. You are traveling through space. Use imagery in your poem.

Example: The pond is dotted with us ducks, flapping our emerald and brown wings.

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ACTIVITIES

Search for the Words!

BullyCheese

Cool

LightwireMarvinMoon

MouseRocketSpace

FriendsHero

Liftoff

The StoryClass Discussion

* Can you retell Marvin’s story from the point of view of another character, for example, his new friends.

* Tell the story of what Marvin does after the play is over.

* Tell the story if Marvin had flown to another planet instead of the Moon.

The process of building Lightwire Theater’s eletroluminescent characters starts with the creators and the cast. They build everything from the ground up, utilizing recyclable materials including aluminum rods, election signs, skateboard wheels, plumbing supplies, PVC pipes, fishing poles, duct tape, zip ties and back packs to help define peaks and angles.

Each character is built from a framework of struts and joints covered with black cloth and then lined with electroluminescent wire (EL wire). The wire is attached to a battery pack that the actors wear and operate and the wire glows when current is run through it. The building process requires knowledge of both art and technology. The designers had to solve problems such as how to make a hinge joint that does not stress the light wire, or a battery pack that is powerful but not too heavy for the actors to wear while moving. Some of the characters consist of costumes that the actors wear; others are puppets that are manipulated by the actors.

Building and Understanding the Characters

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My Family’s

Adventures

Write about a trip your family took

ACTIVITIES

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Space Fun Facts!

Let’s Bingo!Review the fun facts with your students, then

use this word list to create bingo sheets at http://bingobaker.com

MoonMouseSpaceRocketStarSunOdysseyGalaxy

BillionMartianMarsVenusMercuryMilky WayUranusSaturn

EarthAndromedaNeutronElliticalVolcanoSolar SystemMinutesAtmosphere

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ACTIVITIES

* A light year is the distance covered by light in a single year; this is equivalent to 5.88 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

* The width of the Milky Way is around 100,000 light years.

* Scientists believe there are 67 moons that orbit Jupiter, however only 53 of these have names.

* Our moon is 4.5 billion years old.

* There are more volcanoes on Venus than any other planet within our solar system.

* Uranus’ blue glow is due to the methane in its atmosphere, which filters out all red light.

* Because of its unique tilt, a single night on Uranus lasts for 21 years.

* Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system.

* Light takes 8.3 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth.

* Stars seem to twinkle in the night sky due to the light being disrupted as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

* There are approximately 200,000,000,000 stars in the Milky Way.

* Space is completely silent.

* Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system is at 450 C.

* Neutron stars can spin 600 times per second.

* The footprints on the moon will be there forever as there is no wind to blow them away.

* In 3.75 billion years, the Milky Way and andromeda galaxies will collide to form a giant ellitical galaxy.

* The Sun’s mass takes up 99.68% of the solar system.

* There is a volcano on Mars three times the size of Mount Everest.

* Since gravity is not pushing you down you can be up to 5cm taller in space.

* Mercury and Venus are the only two planets in our solar system that do not have any moons.

* The solar system is around 4.6 billion years old. Scientist estimate that it will probably last another 5,000 million years.

* The Martian day is 24 hours 39 minutes and 35 seconds long.

The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite. A natural satellite is a space body that orbits a planet, a planet like object or an asteroid.

Earth’s Moon is the fifth largest moon in the Solar System.

The Moon orbits the Earth every 27.3 days.

Mons Huygens is the tallest mountain on the Moon, it is 4,700 metres tall, just over half the height of Mt Everest (8,848m).

The Moon rotates on its axis in around the same length of time it takes to orbit the Earth. This means that from Earth we only ever see around 60% of its surface (50% at any one time).

Moon Facts

The side that we can see from Earth is called the near side while the other side is called the far side (it is sometimes called the dark side despite the fact that it illuminated by the Sun just as much as the near side).

The effect of gravity is only about one fifth (17%) as strong on the surface of the Moon compared to the strength of gravity on the surface of the Earth.

The Soviet Union’s Luna program featured the first successful landing of an unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the Moon in 1966.

The USA’s NASA Apollo 11 mission in 1969 was the first manned Moon landing.

ACTIVITIES

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ACTIVITIES

Printable Paper Rockets

Shrinking Plastic Cup ExperimentMaterials Needed: - Clear plastic cups (#6 plastic) - Permanent markers - Xacto knife - Baking sheet - String (optional)

Directions: - Color the cups with permanent markers.

- Cut 1” - 2” slips on the top rim to help the cup separate.

- Place on a baking sheet and bake for one minute at 350.

- Watch carefully so they don’t burn and wait 10 minutes before touching the plastic after they come out of the oven.

- To display or use as an ornament tie string to part of the cup.

- To make this activity more of an experiment, test out different types of plastic cups to see how each melts.

What Happens When You Heat the Cups?The heat is changing the alignment of the polymer chains within the plastic. In the cup manufacturing process, as polymer resin is heated, extruded, rolled into flat sheets and then molded. This process aligns the polymers into an ordinary pattern, but the heat of the oven returns them to their naturally disordered, clumped state.

For more S.T.E.M. activities go to http://www.teacherspayteacher.com/Product/Holidays-Around-the-World-STEM-Challenges-2899954

ACTIVITIES

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Cryptogram Puzzle

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ACTIVITIES

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Make Your Own Mouse!

1) Color the mouse’s parts and the cookie.

2) Cut everything out.

3) Stick to a toilet paper roll and VOILA you have your very own mouse!

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ACTIVITIES

Rocket Coloring Sheet

ACTIVITIES

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Across2. The natural satellite of the earth, visible by reflected light from the sun.3. Someone who saves the day.4. 5.4.3.2.1. “_________!”6. The theater company putting on Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey7. A delicious diary product.

Down1. What kind of a rat does the lead character wish to be?2. The lead character in Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey.5. People who mean a lot to each other.

Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey Crossword Puzzle

Theater Etiquette And Experiences We have a wonderful opportunity at this performance to help youth learn about attending live performances. Please discuss the following with your students: 1. Sometimes young people do not realize how a live performance differs from watching a movie or television show. A live presentation has not been pre-recorded with the mistakes edited out. This makes it riskier for the performer and more exciting for the audience. It also means the audience has a real contribution to make to the overall event. Each audience member affects those around him/her as well as the performer. Concentrate to help the performers. The audience gives energy to the performer who uses that energy to give life to the performance. 2. An usher will show you where to sit. Walk slowly and talk quietly as you enter the theater. 3. For safety’s sake, do not lean over or sit on the balcony railings or box ledges. Please be careful on the stairs. Avoid horseplay and running throughout the building. Do not drop items on audience below. 4. If necessary, use the restroom before the performance begins, but after you have found your seat. Adults need to accompany young students. 5. You may talk quietly to the people next to you until the performance begins. 6. When the lights in the theater begin to dim, it is the signal that the performance is about to begin. Stop talking and turn your attention to the stage. 7. Stay in your seat throughout the entire performance. 8. During the performance, listen quietly and watch closely. Talking during the performance will distract other audience members and performers. Try not to wiggle too much and do not kick the seat in front of you. These disruptions make it hard for others around you to concentrate on the show. 9. Sometimes during a performance you may respond by laughing, crying, or sighing. By all means, do so! LAUGHING IS APPROPRIATE. (Teachers, please do not hush the students while they are laughing.) If something is funny, it is good to laugh. If you like something a lot, applaud. This will let the performers know that you are enjoying the show. 10. At the end of the show, applaud to say thank you to the performers. The performers will bow to acknowledge your appreciation and thank you for coming. 11. When the lights get brighter in the theater, the show is over. Stay in your seats until the On Stage Coordinator dismisses your school. 12. Please remember: •Takingphotographsorusing recordingdevicesisstrictlyprohibited. •Beveragesandfood,includinggumandcandy,arenotallowedinthetheater. •Youareonlyonepersonamongseveralhundredintheaudience. •Pleaserespect theperformersandyourfellowaudiencemembers.Please inform your chaperones that ushers will be available throughout the performance if there are difficulties.

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Alaska Junior Theater and the cast of Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey

would like to thank you for your time and support.

ANSWER

KEY

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Cryptogram Answer (Page 15): A COSMIC

ADVENTURE ABOUT CELEBRATING DIFFERENCES

Word Search Answer (Page 8):

Crossword Answer (Page 18)