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BROWSE lawrenceartscenter.org

Mark BrosaHarley CatlinRyan Catlin

Loren GottschalkLiz Kundin

Jeff PetersonTodd Walker

Music by Proko�ev | Directed and Narrated by Ric AverillConducted by David Neely with the KU Symphony Orchestra

Choreography by Eleanor Goudie AverillFeaturing Patrick Suzeau and Hanan Misko, with Juliet Remmers

Information adapted from Peter & the Wolf Study Guide, Westchester Phillharmonic; Peter and the Wolf (and a Squirrel) Study Guide, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Sounds and Stories: Peter and the Wolf.

Study Guide Resources: Peter & the Wolf Study Guide, Westchester Philharmonic Peter and the Wolf (and a Squirrel) Study Guide, Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Sounds and Stories: Peter and the Wolf. Recommended Videos and Recordings: Peter and the Wolf Videos Peter & the Wolf (2008). Animated. Directed by Suzie Templeton Prokofiev’s Peter & the Wolf (1997). Featuring the Royal Ballet School of London. Peter & the Wolf (1996). Featuring Kirstie Alley & Lloyd Bridges. Directed by George Daugherty & Jean Flynn. Peter & the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy (1994). Featuring Sting Recommended websites: www.dsokids.com, Dallas Symphony Orchestra educational website www.nyphilkids.org, The New York Philharmonic's educational website for children www.sfskids.org, The San Francisco Symphony's educational website for children www.artsalive.ca, National Arts Centre in Canada's educational website for children listeningadventures.carnegiehall.org, Carnegie Hall's Online Resource Center - Games and Listening Guides

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Peter & the Wolf Study Guide

About Peter and the Wolf Peter and the Wolf is a story told through music and spoken word performance. The Lawrence Arts Center version adds dance to the story, using choreography to illustrate characters in addition to instruments in the orchestra. Created in 1936 for his own son, the composer Sergei Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf to cleverly teach children instruments in an orchestra and to recognize musical themes. About the Composer: Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was born in the village of Sontsovka in the Ukraine. His musical talent was clear early on, composing for piano at age five and writing an opera at nine. His first teacher was his mother, who was a talented pianist. He attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1904 to 1914, winning a prize for best student pianist. He traveled widely, spending many years in London and Paris, and toured the United States five times. In 1936, Prokofiev returned to settle permanently in the Soviet Union. One of his first compositions after his return was Peter and the Wolf, written in just two weeks in April of 1936 for a children’s theater in Moscow. Prokofiev invented the story and wrote the narration himself, drawing on memories of his own childhood. He intended Peter and the Wolf to be a child’s introduction to the orchestra, with each character in the story represented by a different instrument or group of instruments. Peter and the Wolf was an immediate success and has been loved by children all over the world. Its theme — you can’t be a hero if you don’t take risks — is as timeless as the music. The Story Peter is a young boy who lives with his grandfather in the Russian countryside. He is rambunctious and doesn’t take to his grandfather’s advice to lock the gate and stay safe & sound inside. One day, while playing in the meadow, Peter opens the gate and lets a duck loose for a swim in the pond. While Peter chats and argues with a little bird, his cat also sneaks out. Luckily, Peter sees the cat escape and gives warning to the bird and the duck so they stay safe from the cat. However, Grandfather is not happy about Peter’s adventures outside the gate. What if a wolf were to find them? Grandfather tells Peter to go inside and to lock the gate behind him. As if on cue, a wolf appears! Peter’s agile cat escapes into a tree, but the duck isn’t so lucky. The wolf swallows him whole! Peter decides to protect his animal friends from the wolf. He makes a plan to string the wolf in a tree with the help of the daring bird. Together, Peter and the bird capture the wolf and hang him up by his tail. Hunters nearby who have also had their eyes on the wolf, come by and begin to prepare an attack on the wolf. Loving all the animals, Peter won’t hear of them hurting the wolf and announces that they shall take him to the zoo, much to the hunters’ and his grandfather’s chagrin. As they leave for the zoo, a quack, quack, quacking is heard coming from the belly of the big, bad wolf!

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About Instruments in the Orchestra An orchestra is a group of musicians who play together on different instruments. The instruments in the orchestra are grouped into four different families. The instruments in each family sometimes look alike and are often played in similar ways. The four instrument families in an orchestra are described below. Woodwinds: Woodwinds are a group of instruments that get different pitches by opening and closing holes on a long tube (sometimes with the use of extensive hardware). This changes the length of the vibrating air column inside the tube. There are three main types of woodwinds in an orchestra.

Members of the Woodwind Family: • Flutes • Single-Reeds • Double-Reeds

Exercise: To hear how a woodwind instrument might sound, blow across a bottle. Does the sound change when you use different sized bottles? How?

Brass: Brass is a group of instruments that uses lip ‘buzzing’ to produce their sound. The sound created from the lips ‘buzzing’ onto the mouthpiece, which is inserted inside the brass instrument, is then transformed to the familiar sounds we all know from a French horn, trumpet, trombone or tuba. The pitch is changed by making the instrument longer or shorter by either using a slide (Trombone) or by pressing buttons called valves (French horn, Trumpet, Tuba). As the valves are pushed or released, they open or close varying lengths of tubing which changes the length of the instrument and therefore changing the pitch. The brass family also has another similarity: they are all made of brass or another type of metal.

Members of the Brass Family: • French Horn • Trumpet • Trombone • Tuba

Exercise: To hear how a brass instrument might sound, press your lips loosely together and blow. This makes a buzzing sound. Does the sound change when you puff your cheeks or stretch your lips? How?

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Strings: The string family are instruments that create sounds in two major ways: Rubbing the strings with an object called a bow, made of wood and stretched horsehair; and plucking the strings with one’s finger (called pizzicato). The big difference between the string instruments is their size: The violin is small and therefore creates high pitches, while the bass is an instrument that is taller than a person, and therefore creates much lower pitches. String players get different sounds on their instruments by pressing their fingers on the strings to change the length of the vibrating part of the strings.

Members of the String Family: • Violin • Viola • Cello • Double Bass

Exercise: To hear how a string instrument might sound, take a rubber band and pull it tight. (Don’t let it break!) Pluck the rubber band with your finger. Does the sound change when you pull the rubber band tighter? How?

Percussion Percussion instruments make sound when you shake, rattle, or hit them with your hand or a stick.

Some members of the percussion family: • Timpani (kettledrum) • Maracas • Triangle • Xylophone • Chimes • Snare drum • Bass Drum

Exercise: To hear how a percussion instrument might sound, take a pencil and lightly tap it on your desk, a pile of books, and then the floor. Does the sound change when you tap different things? How?

The Piano Another instrument that you’ll sometimes see in the orchestra is the piano. When you press the keys on a piano, it makes small hammers hit the strings inside the instrument. Some people say that the piano is a percussion instrument because it makes its sound by striking. Others say it’s a string instrument because it has strings. Which family do you think the piano belongs to? The Conductor Though not an instrument, the conductor is one of the most important elements in an orchestra. The conductor is a person whose job is to start and stop the orchestra, to keep the beat, and to guide the musicians as they play together. Holding a short stick called a baton and using his hands, body movements, and facial expressions, the conductor communicates silently with the musicians to get them to play loudly or softly, fast or slowly, and to express the different moods or qualities of the music.

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Instruments Featured in Peter and the Wolf The violin, cello viola, bass are members of the strings family. In Peter and the Wolf, the strings family represents Peter. All these instruments create sounds by drawing a bow across strings or by plucking the strings with one’s finger (called pizzicato).

The flute is a metal instrument that is member of the woodwinds family because it originally was made from wood. In Peter and the Wolf, the flute represents the bird. The flute works by blowing over a hollow tube to make the air vibrate inside.

The clarinet is a member of the woodwinds family. In Peter and the Wolf, the clarinet represents the cat. The clarinet has something called a reed, which is a thin flexible piece of wood that is attached to the mouthpiece of the clarinet. As the player blows through the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates to create a pitch. The oboe is also a member of the woodwinds family. In Peter and the Wolf, the oboe represents the duck. It works similarly as the clarinet, but has two reeds attached together instead of one. As the reeds vibrate against each other they create a somewhat raspy sound that is similar to pinching one’s nose while talking. The bassoon is member of the woodwinds family, and is also a double-reed instrument like the oboe. The bassoon is longer than the oboe, so it has a lower range of pitches. In Peter and the Wolf, the bassoon represents Grandfather.

The French horn is a member of the brass family. In Peter and the Wolf, it represents the wolf. The French horn is made of about 12 feet of circularly wrapped metal that ends in a big funnel called a ‘bell’. Lip ‘buzzing’ on a mouthpiece produces sound.

Timpani and bass drum are members of the percussion family. In Peter ant he Wolf, they represent the Hunters. The Timpani and bass drum make sound when you shake, rattle, or hit them with your hand or a stick.

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Language Arts Classroom Activity: Adjectives

1. Share a basic definition of adjectives for your students. Adjective are words that describe a person, place or thing. Using adjectives, ask students to describe the classroom, the weather or their current mood. Use items in the class to create example sentences, for instance, “The desk is white” or “The book is interesting.”

2. Introduce the term “character traits” to students by explaining that they are adjectives that describe the characters in a story. Explain that when we talk about a character in a story, we can describe them with character traits, or descriptive adjectives, like “happy” or “sad” that tell us specific qualities about the character.

3. Ask students come up with adjectives that describe each of the characters in Peter and the Wolf. For example: a. Peter = Carefree, playful b. Wolf =Sneaky, slow c. Bird = Fast, high d. Grandfather = Strict, heavy e. Cat = Smooth, steady, slinky f. Duck = Waddling, slow g. Hunters = Brave, alert, determined

4. Afterwards, explain to students that just as we created this list of descriptive adjectives for each

character, there is a man by the name Sergei Prokofiev who did the same thing—but instead of using adjectives to describe individual character traits, he used sounds from instruments in the orchestra.

Instruments Character Matching Activity

1. Using the Peter and the Wolf Match Game handout on page 5, review the featured instruments and have them listen to their sounds on www.westchesterphil.org

2. After listening to the Peter and the Wolf excerpts, ask students to match the story character to the

instrument.

Ask: Why did the composer chose to represent each character with each particular instrument? How does the sound of each instrument make you feel? What does each instrument’s sound tell us about the character it is associated with? Are the sounds placed with each character similar to the descriptive adjectives we placed with each character?

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oboe

Timpani

or bass

drum

strings

clarinet

bassoon

french

horn

flute

Match the instrument picture with its name, then match the name to the character it portrays in

Peter and the Wolf.

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Science Connection: Wild Wolves People love the friendliness and loyalty of their dogs. Every single dog in the world is descended from wolves that were tamed in the Middle East about 12,000 years ago. In those ancient times, wolves probably became dependent on the scraps left by wandering bands of human hunters. People soon realized that wolves could lead them to prey and warn them whenever danger was near. By raising some wolf pups by hand, humans taught the wolves to accept them as leaders. All the traits people admire in dogs are found in wolves. Hunting When a wolf pack hunts, its members work together as a team. Together they can bring down large animals that a single wolf could not bring down alone. Even with the power of numbers, however, wolves have to be very careful about attacking a 1,000 pound moose. They could be easily killed by a kicking hoof. To protect themselves, they prefer to attack prey that has been weakened by sickness, or is bogged down in heavy snow. Eating Where wolves are concerned, the larger the prey, the better. A wolf’s first choice in a meal would be a moose, elk, deer, or mountain goat. When larger prey is scarce, they will attack beavers, rabbits, and squirrels. When prey is really hard to find, wolves may be reduced to eating mice. Multiplying Wolf parents are among the most attentive animal parents in the world. Baby wolves get a lot of loving care from the moment they are born: they are well fed, cleaned, and constantly protected. A litter can number five to 14 pups, but the average is six. After drinking only mother’s milk the first few weeks, pups begin to eat more and more of the meat brought to them by both parents. When they are about six months old, they start learning how to hunt. Habitat Wolves are very adaptable animals. They are found in grasslands, forests, swamps, and the frozen areas of the far north. A few even live in the desert. Their range includes North America, Europe, and Asia. Survival Status During the last 300 years, hunters and farmers and others have killed millions of wolves. Until recently, except in Alaska, there were very few wolves left in the United States. Today wolves are being reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, which is part of their former range. Since their arrival, rangers have observed that the wolves are not only thriving, but that their prey species are healthier and more alert, too. As attitudes change about wolves, their future becomes brighter. Wolf Conservation To learn more about wolves and conservation efforts, please visit the International Fund for Animal Welfare at www.ifaw.org.

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Classroom Activity: Wolf “Words” = Non-verbal Communication Materials Paper squares or notecards Pencils Noun and Adjective reference list (optional) Preparation Review Science connection information on page 11 with the class. Introduction

1. Stand in front of the class and without speaking, demonstrate various feelings. Ask: a. Can you guess how I am feeling? b. How were you able to tell?

2. Explain that animals such as wolves communicate with their pack members through body language,

gesture, expression as well as sound, just like you demonstrated here.

3. Inform students that wolves live in a family group called a pack. The size of this group can be just two wolves to sometimes as many at 20-30 wolves. Hold a class discussion about wolf packs.

Imagine: a. Can you imagine living with 20-30 family members? b. What would it be like? c. What are some good things about living in a large group? d. What could be some bad things about living in a large group? e. Who would be in charge? f. How would important decisions be made?

4. Wolves also have their own way of asking other wolves to play. The wolf that wants to play will bow

down in front of the wolf it wants to play with and wag its tail. Anyone who has a dog or has played with a dog has seen this happen. Sometimes the wolf will smile or grin and plan to show another wolf that it wants to play.

Ask: a. How do you suppose wolves know when another wolf likes them? b. What are some things a wolf might do to let another wolf know they are feeling playful? c. What are some ways people let others know they are happy? Playful? Sad? Angry? Frustrated?

(etc?)

5. Wolves work together in their packs: wolf packs have a special way of working together as a group. The alpha male and his partner, the alpha female are in charge of the pack. They are like parents. They raise the young pups, choose where to live, capture food and guard their territory. Last year’s pups and other wolves help, but the alpha pair makes the decisions. The alpha pair walk and act proud. Their tails are high in the air, their ears are up and their fur is fluffed out. The other wolves keep their tails

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lower and never really look at the leaders. Whenever a wolf moves towards a more important wolf it will keep its body very low to the ground, its eyes down, its ears tucked back. Stop for a moment to think about how you know who the leader is in different situations.

Ask: a. How do you suppose wolves know who the leaders are? b. How do you know who the leaders are in different situations? c. What do wolves and orchestra conductors have in common?

Activity: Word Charades

1. This activity can be done as a full class, or children can be divided into groups of four to six. To explore

using nonverbal communication by people and wolves, begin by reviewing the definition of a noun, and the definition of an adjective with them. Using blank notecards or slips of paper, 2-3 per student, have them write nouns, one on each of their cards. Next, have them write adjectives, one on each card. If needed, use the lists provided on page 14 to get started.

2. Collect all the nouns into a deck, and all the adjectives into a deck. Shuffle and place each deck in a stack in the center of the group. There should be one stack for nouns, and one stack for adjectives.

3. Taking turns, allow each child to pick a card from each pile so that they have an adjective and a noun. Without using words, they must communicate the adjective and noun to their group - such as “old horse” or “ friendly grandfather” - using instead only body language, gestures, posture, and facial expressions. Have each group member take a turn until all students have taken a turn.

4. As they get more comfortable with the game, they can draw more than one adjective when they draw from the piles. Watch out – some combinations can be pretty funny!

5. As a class, discuss non-verbal communication students were able to communicate to their group.

Ask: a. How did you communicate your nouns and adjectives combinations to your group? b. Did using more than one adjective affect the game? c. What did you use most to show nouns: body language, gestures, posture, or facial expression? d. What did you use most to show adjectives: body language, gestures, posture, or facial

expression? e. How might wolves and people be similar in how they use non-verbal communication? How

might they be different?

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Noun List A noun is a word for a person, place or thing. Following is a list of nouns that might be included in your set of cards. This list is only a "starter" list. Feel free to add to it or subtract from it

animal

artist

bear

bird

brother

chicken

child

coach

cow

deer

doctor

dog

duck

father

frog

goose

grandfather

grandmother

horse

kitten

mother

musician

owl

parent

puppy

rabbit

sister

snake

spy

teacher

tiger

toad

troll

uncle

wolf

zebra

Adjective List

Adjective are words that describe nouns. The following is a list of adjectives that might be included in your set of cards. This list is only a "starter" list. Feel free to add to it or subtract from it:

old

small

heavy

slow

quiet

fun

strong

young

cold

beautiful

large

wet

dry

nice

cool

good

happy

smart

hot

clean

dirty

kind

helpful

tall

happy

proud

old

friendly

thoughtful

lucky

kind

brave

calm

mean

sloppy

lazy

angry

short

fat

skinny

sleepy

hyper

hungry

sad

smart loving

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Language Arts Classroom Activity: Story Sequencing Materials Peter and the Wolf Story Sequencing Strips handout Scissors Drawing materials: markers, crayons, pencils Preparation Beforehand, make copies of the Peter and the Wolf Story Sequencing Strips handout and the Peter and the Wolf Illustration handout. If possible, make a double sided printing of these two worksheets. If you can’t make a double-sided printing of the two, glue the two pages back-to-back making certain both pages are right side up before gluing together. Introduction:

There are five important elements that make up a story: character, setting, conflict, plot and theme.

Characters: Characters are the “who” of a story: all the people or animals who are in the story. The characters

in Peter & the Wolf are Peter, bird, duck, wolf, cat, grandfather & hunters.

Setting: The settings is the “where” of a story: the time and place where the story happens. Peter & the Wolf

takes place in the meadow surrounding Peter’s house.

Conflict: Conflict is the “what” of a story: the problem or struggle between people or things in a story. In Peter

and the Wolf, the conflict is that a hungry wolf is trying to catch the animals to eat them.

Plot: The plot is the “how” of a story: the series of events and actions that happen in the story that all relate

back to the conflict & characters. The plot is organized into a beginning, middle and end.

Beginning: Peter and his friends, Bird and Duck, go into the meadow. Bird and Duck play at the

pond. Cat tries to grab Bird but fails. Grandfather warns Peter about The Wolf, takes him home, and

locks the gate.

Middle: As soon as Peter and his grandfather leave, The Wolf comes out of the forest. The Wolf

catches Duck and swallows her! The Wolf turns his attention to Cat and Bird, who are up in a

tree. Peter watches all of this and makes a plan to capture The Wolf.

End: Peter and Bird work together and catch The Wolf with a rope. When the hunters arrive, Peter

asks them to help take The Wolf to the zoo. In celebration, everyone parades The Wolf towards his

new home. As they parade, Duck is still alive and can be heard quacking inside The Wolf.

The theme: Musical instruments are the main characters of an orchestra, the way people and animals

are the main characters in a story.

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Activity

1. Read the story of Peter and the Wolf to your class, or review the story summary after watching Peter & the Wolf

2. Ask students to identify the characters, setting and conflict in Peter and the Wolf.

3. Next, ask students to describe the events that composed the beginning, middle and ending of the story.

4. Pass the Story Sequencing handout to students.

5. Explain to students that the composer, Prokofiev chose to leave the story open-ended. This gives us an

opportunity to imagine what will happen next. Imagine:

Does the duck ever escape from inside the wolf’s stomach? If so, how?

What happens on the way to the zoo?

Do all of the characters reach the zoo?

What happens once they arrive at the zoo?

What happens when Peter returns home?”

6. Ask students to make up their own ending by making up a story about what happens to the characters

after they leave for the zoo after the play is over.

7. Using the handout, draw a picture in the blank space of your handout to illustrate what happens next.

8. Ask students to write the ending of their story in the blank box at the bottom of the other side of the handout.

9. Ask students to turn over their page and make individual strips by cutting on the dotted lines.

10. Have students mix up the strips and place them print side up on the desk in front of them.

11. Based on the reading level of the class, have students read the strips and place them in the order in

which they occurred in the story, or read the strips together as a class and come up with the correct sequential order of the story.

12. After the students finish placing the strips in order, ask them to turn the strips over. If students have

placed the strips in the correct order, the picture will be complete. If the picture is jumbled, have students to try again.

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Peter, Bird and Duck go to the meadow.

Grandfather warns Peter about the Wolf and takes him home.

The Wolf comes out of the forest.

The Wolf catches duck and swallows her!

Peter makes a plan to capture the Wolf.

Peter, Bird and Duck work together and catch the Wolf

Hunters arrive and take the Wolf to the zoo.

Everyone parades off to the zoo!

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Draw a picture of what happens after Peter and the animals leave for the zoo. Then, on

the back of this page, write a sentence for your new ending in the blank box.