Core Skills Analysis
Language Arts
- The student practiced attentive listening and comprehension while watching a live theatrical performance.
- The experience provided material for retelling the show’s events, describing characters, and sharing a personal response.
- Learning about the theater’s history encouraged the student to connect information from an informational presentation or tour with the real-world building.
History
- The student explored the history of the Hershey Theatre, connecting a present-day visit with the building’s past.
- The activity introduced the idea that historical places can preserve stories about a community and its cultural life.
- Comparing the theater’s historical purpose with its current use could strengthen understanding of continuity and change over time.
Visual Arts and Architecture
- Observing the Hershey Theatre’s architecture exposed the student to how design, materials, decoration, and layout contribute to a building’s identity.
- The student experienced how architectural spaces are designed to support performance, audience viewing, and sound.
- Seeing the building in person connected visual observation with cultural and artistic expression.
Civics and Culture
- Attending a public performance showed how theaters serve as shared community spaces for entertainment and cultural participation.
- The experience connected live performance with audience behavior, such as watching, listening, and responding appropriately.
- Learning about a local theater encouraged awareness of community landmarks and their role in public life.
Tips
Tips: Invite the student to create a two-part reflection: one section about the Bluey live show and another about the Hershey Theatre’s history and architecture. Add a simple sketch of the building or stage, labeling visible architectural features and explaining how the space supports a performance. Make a timeline using only the historical facts learned during the visit, then compare the theater’s earlier role with its present use. For a creative extension, have the student design a miniature theater or write a short script that could be performed there.
Book Recommendations
- Bluey: Hooray It's a Hammerbarn! by Penguin Young Readers: A familiar Bluey story that can support discussion of characters, plot, setting, and connections between books and live performance.
- The Art of Theater by William Shakespeare: A classic theater-related text that can introduce performance, staging, and the relationship between actors and audiences.
- Architecture: A Visual Guide by Jonathan Glancey: An illustrated introduction to architectural features and building design that can extend observations of the Hershey Theatre.
Learning Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1-12.1: Participating in a live performance and discussing observations supports collaborative conversation skills, with grade-level expectations varying by age.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1-12.2: The student can recount and interpret information learned about the show, theater history, and architecture.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1-12.2: Writing an informative description of the theater or its history supports explanatory writing.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1-12.3: Writing a personal response or review supports narrative and experience-based writing.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1-12.4: Presenting observations about the performance or building supports clear description and organization of ideas.
Try This Next
- Create a theater-observation worksheet with prompts for building details, stage design, audience space, and one question about the theater’s history.
- Write a five-sentence review of the Bluey live show, including the performance setting, favorite moment, and one detail noticed in the theater.
- Draw a labeled floor plan showing the stage, audience area, and important architectural features observed.
- Make a timeline from the historical facts learned about the Hershey Theatre.