Sound of Music Lesson Plans

The Sound of Music at Amazon.com
It's movie madness with the Sound of Music! Game Boy (that's my son) watched The Sound of Music for the first time ever this week. I'm not sure why we waited until he's almost a teen to let him see this - perhaps because it's one of my favorites and I wanted it to be his choice to watch. Anyway, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

I asked Game Boy and Artist Girl to come up with a list of lesson plan ideas related the The Sound of Music. I hope you find something to enjoy! In no particular order:

• A live or online field trip to a cathedral or monastery. Check the Illustrated Guide to Cathedrals - there's lots of photos and also lists of shrines, temples etc. Wikipedia has a list of cathedrals by country - many don't have individual entries in the index but with the names in hand you may find more information on Google. Oddee.com has photos of monasteries in amazingly dramatic locations (be warned, this site does have some odd links on their sidebar - check it out before you pop it up in front of kids).
• Crisp Apple Strudel. Mmmm... the mention of this delectable dish was quite possibly Game Boy's favorite part! Pepperidge Farm have a simple Apple Strudel recipe. With the Food Network you can watch a demo for a simple recipe, or choose Paula's more upmarket version. Here's Apfelstrudel from the Global Gourmet and a phyllo dough version from allrecipes. You can even order Organic Apple Strudel online.
• I'm sure that Shnitzel with Noodles is just as yummy, but I don't eat veal so here's pork shnitzel with noodles. Wikipedia has plenty to say about wiener schnitzel, but no real suggestions for a vegan version. Do let me know if you have a suggestion.
• There are plenty of internet links to information about Julie Andrews, however I'd say most are at a teen level. The BBC has several Julie Andrews interviews. About.com has a filmography, achievements list, and brief bio of her childhood.
• Artist Girl suggested an activity - write a skit that uses one or more of the Sound of Music songs with a different storyline. Look up the lyrics to make your job easier.
• Put on a puppet show on the Sound of Music theme, or anything else that catches your fancy. Watch Julie Andrews with the muppets - hilarious! Here's a puppet theatre plan from HGTV. Personally I've found that cardboard in front of and across a doorway works just as well. You can find plenty of plans for making puppets: Danielle's Place has cute ideas; Teacher Help has a big list; and Enchanted Learning has some unusual ideas, like a mini theater.
  

This is less than half the ideas we came up with, but the others are going to have to wait for another time! I do love The Sound of Music and I'll want to come back to it again :-)