ACTIVITY 1: 

Embodying ‘There’s No Place Like Home’

Begin by writing on the board Dorothy’s magic words: “There’s no place like home.”

Pose the following discussion questions:

• What is the importance of this phrase to Dorothy and to the story of The Wizard of Oz?
• What does this phrase mean to you?
• Do you agree or disagree with this phrase?
• How do you define the word ‘home’?
• Is there a difference between a ‘house’ and a ‘home’? If so, how would you describe that
difference?
• Imagine that you are Dorothy describing to the Scarecrow her desire to go home. What kind
of words do you imagine she would use to describe Kansas, the farm, Aunt Em and Uncle
Henry? How would she convince the Scarecrow of the importance of getting back home?

ACTIVITY 2 TABLEAUX

Introduce students to the technique of creating tableaux, or frozen pictures constructed by

each person striking and holding a pose with their body. Students should consider…

• SHAPES: what shape are they making with their body and what does this shape convey to
others about their role in the tableau?
• LEVELS: when creating a tableaux with multiple people, a variety of levels such as high,
medium, and low help create a dynamic and interesting picture
• EXPRESSIONS: what does their facial expression reveal about their role in the tableaux
and the desired impact on an audience?
• RELATIONSHIPS: how does each person’s position in space in relationship to other
people convey the theme or story?
Ask students to create a tableaux entitled “home.” How can they use their bodies to convey not only
the literal idea of a home, but the concept of and the emotions surrounding home?

To extend the exercise…

• In addition to or instead of exploring the theme through tableaux, offer students the option to
respond to the theme of ‘there’s no place like home’ through…
▪ VISUAL ART: drawing, painting, collage, 3D sculpture
▪ WRITING: creative writing, poetry, persuasive writing 
ACTIVITY 3: Defining Empathy

Before diving deeply into exploration of empathy, it will be important for your students to have a
definition and a deep understanding of what empathy means. Use any of the following methods or
discussion questions to define empathy with your students:

• Chalk Talk: A chalk talk is a silent, visible ‘discussion’ that takes place on a chalkboard or
white board. Begin with a term or a question in the middle of the board, and circle it – in this
case, “Empathy” or “What is empathy?” One by one or a few at a time, students walk up to
the board and add their responses branching off of the center question. Then, students who
have responded pass their markers to students who have not yet responded. As more
students add, students can respond not only to the original prompt, but to each other’s
responses by branching off of their peers’ responses, writing questions about their peers’
responses, connecting responses with lines or arrows, or affirming peers’ responses with a
star or an underline. Once all students have participated once, students can return to the
board for a second time to add more to the discussion.
• Group Definition: Ask each student to write out their own 2-3 sentence definition of
empathy. Once students have completed their own definitions, students pair up, share their
definitions, and write a new definition using the strongest parts of each of their original
definitions. Then, two pairs join into groups of four students, repeating the process of
sharing and collaborating to create a new definition from the strongest parts of each. Repeat
the process until the whole class is two groups collaborating together to create the strongest
definition possible of empathy.
• Empathy Gallery: Provide students with paper, writing and drawing implements of various
kinds, and other materials such as collage supplies or fabrics. Ask each student to use any of
these materials to create a visual representation of what they understand empathy to mean.
Students can write, draw, or create using the materials. After ample time to create, students
place their representations of empathy around the room and participate in a silent ‘gallery
walk’ to view their peers’ work. After the gallery walk, reflect on what representations of
empathy stood out to the students, what similarities or common themes or images they saw
among the various representations, and how they would define empathy after participating in
the empathy gallery.
• Empathy in Oz: In what specific moments in the story did you see characters showing
empathy for one another? What did those characters say or do in those moments? Are there
characters you would describe as empathetic? What character(s) do you have empathy for
and why?
ACTIVITY 4 THE HERO´S
JOURNEY

Introduce the Hero’s Journey to your

class, working together to define each
section.

• The Hero’s Journey is often represented as a circle. Why do you think that is?
• Discuss whether The Wizard of Oz fits within the structure of the Hero’s Journey. In what
ways do we see Dorothy as a hero? What does Dorothy return to Kansas with that she did
not have before – that is, how is she ‘resurrected’ and what is ‘the elixir’ in her story?
• Either individually, in pairs/small groups, or as a whole group, apply the Hero’s Journey to
the story of Dorothy in Oz. Which events from the musical correspond to the different
sections of the Hero’s Journey? 
• Could you apply the Hero’s Journey to characters from The Wizard of Oz other than
Dorothy?

• Ask students to think of a time when they have undertaken a Hero’s Journey. Students can
either list the elements of their story on a Hero’s Journey structure like the ones above, write
their story out in full, or act them out with peers.
ACTIVITY 5: Analyzing Journeys & Discoveries

Use any or all of the following questions to initiate discussion on the journeys and discoveries of
the characters in Oz. Two thinking routines are provided below the questions to help structure your
discussion, should you choose to use them:

• Where would you tell Dorothy’s friends to look for what they want?
• Does the Wizard really have what they want?
• Is it possible to have what you want/need and just not realize it? Explain your answer.
• Do you ever want to be somebody else, or feel mad at yourself, because you can’t do
something someone else can? Explain your answer. 
• Do you feel more like the Cowardly Lion, the Tinman, the Scarecrow, or Dorothy?  
• Did the Tinman act like he had a heart before the Wizard “gave” him one?  Did the
Cowardly Lion behave courageously before the Wizard gave him the medal?  Did the
Scarecrow ever have any good ideas before the Wizard gave him his diploma?  
• What do you think these three characters share that affects how they see themselves?  
• How can self-confidence be like a magic wand?  
• How could you “be a wizard” and help a friend who felt bad about themself or was having a
hard time?  
• If you feel bad about yourself in some way or face a challenge, how can you be your own
“wizard”?

ACTIVITY 6: Personalizing the Oz Journey

Provide each student with a piece of paper and ask them to fold it into three sections. Pose each of
the following questions one at a time, giving students time to think and write in between:

1. On the first third of your paper: If you were in Oz, what would you choose to ask the Wizard
for? Why are you asking for this? Why would it be important to you to have this?
2. On the second third of your paper: Think about ways in which you might already display
this quality. How do you already embody that quality which you think you lack?
3. On the third third of your paper: Think about ways in which you might work to develop this
quality further. What could you do to focus on your growth in this area?
Extend this exercise by…

• Challenging students to think about the three sections of their paper as a map to achieving a
goal. Provide colored pencils so that students can add to their page by illustrating the
journey they imagine for themselves: seeking this quality, discovering its presence within
 themselves, and working to develop it further. Students are encouraged to think
symbolically about representing allies and obstacles along their journey using images or
signs that might show up on a road-map or treasure map. They can even make a key or
legend to pair with their personal map!
• Turning what the students have written into short, improvised scenes. The teacher, or a
selected student, goes into role as the Wizard of Oz, sitting on a stool or chair of some
prominence in the classroom. One at a time, students go up to the Wizard and explain what
they have written on the first third of their paper – that is, what they are asking for from the
Wizard and why they want it. The Wizard should improvise with a response or question that
challenges the student to articulate what they have written on the second half of their paper –
that is, ways they might already display the quality that they profess to want. Finally the
Wizard should push the student to describe for themselves the ways in which they could
achieve what they want without the Wizard’s help. In this way, the Wizard facilitates the
student sharing what they have written in a conversational, safe, improvised yet predictably
sequential way. 

ACTIVITY 7: Developing a Concept

Now, it is your students’ turn to develop a concept for a production of The Wizard of Oz!

Students either select or are assigned a role on the production team: director, costume designer, set
designer, lighting designer, props designer, or sound designer.

Students work individually to curate a set of 7-10 research images which capture the emotions,
themes, and ideas they would hope to convey as that member of the team for a production of The
Wizard of Oz. For sound designers, students may use clips of sound or music instead of images. To
find images and sounds, students can search the internet or use books or magazines you provide. 

In addition to their images, students can write a collection of words or, for older students, a short
paragraph describing the ways these images capture the mood and inspire their design ideas.

For a more extended writing exercise, students can write a director’s note, in which a director
describes their feelings about the story, some of the ideas and choices that went into this specific
production of the story, and what they hope the audience will see, learn, or take away from the
production. Each student writes a 2-3 paragraph director’s note that would go with their imagined
production of The Wizard of Oz. Encourage students to get specific about the choices they have
made in their theoretical, imaginary production, as well as to think about setting the tone for the
audience members who would be reading this note before or after seeing the production.
Students share their work either to a small group of peers or to the whole group. Ask students to
imagine that they are at a design meeting presenting their work to their fellow designers. They
should describe why they selected their images and how those images convey what they believe the
story of The Wizard of Oz is about. They should be prepared to take questions and defend their
design choices.

For an added challenge, group students into ‘production teams’ with one of each role – one
director, one costume designer, etc. Students must first present their individual ideas to their team
members, and then work together to combine their ideas into one cohesive design concept that they
will present to the rest of the class.

ACTIVITY 8: Experiment with Objects

In Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz many of the props in Oz are made
from everyday or found objects. The Wicked Witch’s broom is made from bicycle parts, the
Scarecrow’s crows are part lantern & part garden sheers. Audiences will use their imagination to
help tell the story with the performers who will interact with these objects in creative new ways.

One way to start to think like a director is to consider the following: If you could use only one
object onstage to tell this story, what object would you use? Why? How would you use that object,
perhaps in multiple creative ways, to tell the story? You could use multiple of the same object, but
they must be the same object.

Start by asking students to explore the space around them and look for objects that could be used in
multiple ways to tell a story. How could a pencil be useful in multiple ways, and what message
would using a pencil as the sole prop send to the audience? What about a scarf? A book? An
umbrella? A box?

Next, either individually, in pairs, or in small groups, ask students to consider or discuss the themes
or messages they would want to illuminate as a director when directing The Wizard of Oz.

Students brainstorm objects that might be associated with those themes or messages. 
If students are having trouble getting started, consider introducing the following thinking routine:

• CSI: Color, Symbol, Image (Ritchhart, Church & Morrison, 2011, p. 119)
▪ Choose a color that represents the story
▪ Choose a symbol that represents the story
▪ Choose or sketch an image that represents the story
Now, students narrow down to two or three objects that might be top contenders to be their only one
object to use in telling the story. If students can procure one of each object, they could experiment
with and write down different ways that object could be a part of telling the story. 

Finally, students settle on one object, and either write about or present to the class their reasoning
for using that object in the story, the different ways they would use that object in the production,
and the message they hope the audience takes away from the production and their creative uses of
their only one object.

To reflect on this exercise, consider putting each of the objects that students chose around the
classroom. Students walk around with sticky notes to each object. As they stop by each object,
students write one word or sentence about how the choice of that particular object would influence
their interpretation of the story as an audience member, leaving the sticky note next to the object as
both reflection and feedback.
ACTIVITY 9: Drawing on Imagination!

At the beginning of the story The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy wants to go ‘somewhere over the rainbow,’
which she imagines would be very different from her home on the farm in Kansas. How do you
imagine ‘somewhere over the rainbow’?

Provide paper and colorful drawing supplies. Prompt students to imagine their own magical land,
which they might find somewhere over the rainbow, just like Dorothy found Oz. Students draw
what they imagine this magical land to be like.

Use any or all of these questions to help students add details to their magical lands: 

• What is the name of your land?

• Is it on earth, is it on another planet, or is it somewhere else entirely?
• What colors do you see when you go to this land?
• What does being in this land make you feel? 
• What is the weather like in your land?
• What kinds of creatures live in your imaginary land? What grows there?  
• What do the creatures who live there eat? 
• What do the creatures who live there do for fun?
Have students share their lands with their peers!

Extend this exercise by asking students to make up a story that happened in their land.

Extend this exercise by providing various materials (cardboard box, scraps of paper, paper towel
rolls, paint, etc.) for students to build small models of their land.