Education Closet
West Side Shifts
Combine math, language arts, music, and dance with an activity focused on "America" from West Side Story. After listening to the song, learners compare the film to Romeo and Juliet, analyze the song's meter, design choreography, plan...
Thalian Association Community Theatre
West Side Story: Teacher Resource Guide
West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word jumble....
Orlando Shakes
West Side Story: Study Guide
Hey, enough frabbajabba about that stool pigeon, Daddy-O! Using the West Side Story study guide, scholars explore the language of the play and read about its historical associations and themes. Pupils also engage in a Spectrum of...
Tune Into English
America – West Side Story
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson plan on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's...
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
West Side Story Suite and In The Night Fancy Free
West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo &...
Curated OER
"Mambo" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...
Curated OER
Experiencing "Romeo and Juliet"
Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.
Curated OER
"West Side Story"
In this music history worksheet, students discover the musical "West Side Story" by first reading a summary of the plot. Students answer 5 questions about the story line. Students then read and analyze the lyrics to "America" and discuss...
Curated OER
West Side Story
In this music worksheet, middle schoolers examine the musical of West Side Story. They write parts of the musical while examining the musical score.
Curated OER
Expressions of Anti-Racism through Painting: The Puerto Rican Community from West Side Story to Connecticut
Students create a graffiti wall using their own name or personal symbol. They examine their own understanding of the film as a source of inspiration and listen to the music from the soundtrack as an effective motivation. They make...
Little Kids Rock
The Influence of Latin Music in Postwar New York City
Music has often been called the international language that transcends cultures and regions. Scholars analyze the impact of Latin American music on New York City culture in the years following World War II. They research music, video,...
Curated OER
From Page to Stage
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
Curated OER
Musical Imagery
Learners experience musical imagery. They link this musical concept to literary imagery to gain an understanding of the use of imagery in both genres. After listening to a varriety of sounds, students will compose and perform a melody.
Curated OER
Give My Regards to Broadway
Learners investigate aspects of Broadway shows. They apply word attack skills to decide what the titles of actual Broadway shows mean. They discuss the history of Broadway shows and why they become successful before completing the...
American Museum of Natural History
Silk Road Fables
Talk about rabbit holes! With just this one resource, learners can travel the Silk Road listening to fables, meet a scientist who studies poisons (and whose favorite book is Alice in Wonderland), and listen to a video interview of an...
EngageNY
Using Permutations and Combinations to Compute Probabilities
Now that we know about permutations and combinations, we can finally solve probability problems. The fourth installment of a 21-part module has future mathematicians analyzing word problems to determine whether permutations or...
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet Promptbook - The Balcony Scene
In this Romeo and Juliet worksheet, students view three versions of the balcony scene. Students discuss why the director chose the elements for the film versions. Students then complete a prompt-book activity analyze the setting,...
Curated OER
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about Pygmalion. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
Make it Snow
Sixth graders investigate snow using pieces of literature, experimentation, and studying images by Wilson Bentley. They view snow from its artistic, geometric and literary expressions.
TES Global
Tes: West Side Story (1961) Film Guide
[Free Registration/Login Required] This is a film guide for the film West Side Story (1961), the musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which is set in 1950s New York and incorporates themes around street crime,...
Library of Congress
Loc: West Side Story: Birth of a Classic
View the online exhibit featuring photographs, documents--opening night telegraphs, letters, notes by Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein, set designs--and other items such as posters, DVD covers, and a pair of slippers worn in the...
Seymour Brody
Jewish Heroes in America: Leonard Bernstein
Presents a biographical summary of the life of conductor, composer, and pianist Leonard Bernstein. He composed music not only for symphonies, but also for Broadway (West Side Story) and operas.
Nederlander Organization
Broadway Direct: 20 Benchmark Musicals in Broadway History
The history of Broadway musical theater is demonstrated through brief examinations of twenty groundbreaking musicals, from The Black Crook in 1866 to Hamilton in 2015. Nine videos accompany the descriptions of some of the musicals.
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Inst.: Am. Musical Theater: Making It Work in Classroom
A great lesson plan for introducing the musical to students. Great bibliography.