The Nutcracker Ballet by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Welcome to a marvelous Christmas celebration ~ a holiday party with music, dancing, loved ones, tradition, an unforgettable story, and magical presents that make dreams come true! The annual Nutcracker Ballet is an international event that debuted well over a hundred years ago and is still adored by innumeral fans!
Tremendous history, art, and music are behind this most famous of ballets. Start here to learn about the author, composer, ballet, and music which make it so popular! Begin studying a music unit you won't forget!
Music lesson plans for individual pieces of music and how to tie them into a full scale unit study are included below with optional free lapbook and notebook materials.
Below is the "introduction" to the entire unit, which is about the author, composer, the story, and ballet in general. Additional pages are being created that will be focused more on the musical aspects (rhythms, movements, note reading, time signatures, instrument families, and more) of the best songs from the Nutcracker! You will find complete lesson plans, activities, worksheets, lesson enrichment ideas, games, videos, recordings, sheet music, resources links, and evaluation suggestions throughout the entire unit.
I have taught these lessons to many children and truly hope these pages will encourage others to deepen their knowledge of music, also! Please drop me suggestions and a note below, and have fun using this unit! :D
Contents at a Glance
The Nutcracker Ballet Lapbook & Notebook
A Joyful Songs Music Unit
- Tchaikovsky Notebook Page ~ General page for notetaking on Tchaikovsky.
- Tchaikovsky Creative Writing ~After reading several versions of The Nutcracker, write a summary either about your favorite version and why you chose it, or write a paper comparing and contrasting two or more versions.
- Tchaikovsky Research Form ~ for use with Classic for Kids.
- Tchaikovsky Research Form ~ for use with Dallas Symphony Orchestra & New York Philharmonic
- Tchaikovsky Listening Page ~ for taking notes after listening to radio shows about Tchaikovsky.
- Tchaikovsky Mini Book ~ for taking notes; may be used in a lapbook.
- Ballet Slipper Tri-Fold Mini Book ~ for taking notes on ballet or dance; may be used in a lapbook.
- Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Blank Cards
- Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Cards with Terms
- Nutcracker Ballet Vocabulary Card Pocket
Squidoo Music Awards
This music page was featured on theSquidoo Music Blog
at Crabbysbeach on January 26, 2010
by music lensmaster Ulla Hennig
as part of the "Squidoo Music Awards"!
Thank you very much Ulla! :D">
Thank you for your encouragement and friendship!
Music Lesson Plans for the Nutcracker
All sections of the ballet have additional lapbook and notebook materials for you to use if you wish.
Waltz of the Flowers
... by lensmaster DesignedbyLisa!
Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet
Available as the complete ballet in 24 tracks or as separate MP3's, you will enjoy this beautiful recording of Tchaikovsky's music.
What is ballet?
- Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet
- Update - October 2011 - This link does not seem to be working. I don't know if the page is gone forever or if the owners are working on updating it for the new season. I will keep checking again over the next couple weeks! ~ Joyful Songs Unit pages 7 - 10 are meant to work with this study guide from the Ballet Theatre of Lancaster.
~ Lesson One: Story guide and notes, comprehension questions, story map, vocabulary, creative writing and illustrating prompts
~ Lesson Two: theatre and ballet terms, ballet performances, costuming, etiquette at the ballet
~ Lesson Three: story map of main themes, characters, and setting; writing prompts
~ Ballet Links ~ Pictures for coloring, mini books, bulletin board, etc. - *The Nutcracker Teacher Guide
- Curricula suggestions for most core subjects for grades 1 - 8 from Ontario, Canada. What I really enjoyed about this 22 page pdf packet are the student worksheets which made fabulous notebook pages in our study. It includes:
~ creative writing prompt notebook page about setting and period of the story
~ writing prompt about weather and climate
~ writing prompt about celebrations
~ writing prompt for retelling / summarizing the story
~ compare & contrast venn graph
~ fill in the blanks with word bank
~ notebook page for mathematical concepts
~ notebook page for animals and habitat
~ draw and write about castles and an ice boats / simple machines
~ draw and write about the Nutcracker notebook page - Ballet Lap-n-Note
- Homeschool Share hosts these beautiful printouts by Heidemarie Swanepoel to use for a study on ballet. The downloads include pages for a basic study of ballet concepts, notebook pages for stories and creative writing, and introduction booklets for the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake.
- "Dance Alive" Study Guide
- This 23 page guide from the British Columbia Ballet has a terrific history of dance and ballet, an introduction guide to ballet steps and positions (with pictures of the positions), the creation of a ballet, behind the scenes and rehearsals with choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers.
~ Curriculum Guide: Language Arts - write a libretto, a ballet review, diary, and other creative writing ideas.
~ Visual Arts & Crafts: create puppets, masks, and headdresses.
~ Social Studies & History: research the history of ballet or other type of dance, study about a famous dancer, importance of dance in cultures, company touring and geography.
~ Math: budget of a ballet company - set construction, costumes, tickets, and other expenses. - Sleeping Beauty Unit Study
- Study about another Tchaikovsky ballet in a unit by Rachel Harris on Homeschool Share.
Beautiful Ballerina Paper Dolls & Coloring
Free from Tipi! Thanks, Susie! =D
Of Swans, Sugarplums and Satin Slippers: Ballet Stories for Children (Blue Ribbon Book)
This lovely book written for upper elementary grades and above displays beautiful artwork and retells the stories of several well loved ballets! I have had it on our families book shelf for many years and shared it with numerous music classes.
The Author ~ E.T.A. Hoffman
- *The Nutcracker & The Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman
- 10/2011 - Seems to be missing, I will try to search it out!
Mrs. Albright created this amazing unit with a lapbook and some exciting resources you will be sure to like about the original story and more! The unit contains: a video about different types of nutcrackers, author biographies of E.T.A. Hoffman, composer biographies of P.I. Tchaikovsky, the history of the Nutcracker ballet, other unit studies, coloring, crafts, activities, story versus poetic versions, pictures, lapbook mini books and pieces, words to know, and the entire ballet to watch on video from youtube! Click on the tabs at the top of the page to access the various sections. My children and I started with this unit in our study last year! - The Nutcracker Unit Study
- Homeschool Share hosts this wonderful literature unit study by Candace Crabtree! Complete lessons for:
~ Bible and character
~ social studies: history of ballet, timeline, geography, Russia
~ language arts: reading, story, and comprehension; author study, vocabulary
~ mathematics: telling time, counting
~ music: Tchaikovsky
~ art: illustrations and crafts
~ field trip ideas!
Nutcracker
Beautifully presented with gold and silver foil stamping and a lovely ribbon, this edition of E.T.A. Hoffman's classic story will be loved for years and generations!
Performances of the Nutcracker Ballet
Have you see a Nutcracker performance live? What did you think?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes
manicnymph says:
My mother, myself and my two daughters all went to see the Nutcracker last year, it was amazing and beautiful. I can remember dancing to the Sugar Plum Fairy when I was a little girl. Christmas just isn't the same without the music from the Nutcracker.
Posted December 19, 2011
EagleScoutMom says:
Yes! Several times .... we saw the Pennsylvania Ballet in Phila. and dressed up went to dinner after and all other times we've gone to local dance school productions and college level productions. They have all been wonderful performances and it is a family tradition for to go see some version or rendition of the Nutcracker Ballet! Great lens!
Posted December 04, 2011
TZiggy says:
Saw a couple of times actually. Probably go again. It's good if there are different companies performing.
Posted November 06, 2011
victoriainthesea says:
Yes! I adored the live performance. I saw it with my mother when I was 11, and will probably never forget it. :)
Posted October 21, 2011
No
The Composer ~ Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Nutcracker Unit Worksheets numbers 1 - 6 may be used to notate student's research about Tchaikovsky. Some of the pages directly fit with the information from the following links.
- Classics for Kids
- Use the Composer Time Machine to answer the questions of the notebook pages.
- Biography of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Peter Tchaikovsky)
- Read a biography and listen to a sample of his music.
- Music Radio Shows about Tchaikovsky
- Llisten to these 5 classic show and read information about them to complete the research pages.
~ About Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
~ Ballet
~ The Nutcracker
~ Traditional Christmas Classical Music
~ Carnegie Hall - Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids
- Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer Research
- New York Philharmonic Kids
- Click on "Name" and scroll to Tchaikovsky to find out more about the composer.
Tchaikovsky Discovers America
What a fun way to take a step into music history through the eyes of a young Russian girl who witnesses Mr. Tchaikovsky on a train! Used by many music teachers and parents to introduce the life and music of this musical genius!
Favorite Nutcracker Musical Movements
More Curriculum Ideas!
- The Nutcracker
- Free powerpoint presentations, kid friendly materials, and teacher resources about the Nutcracker are available here.
- A Nutcracker Activity Guide for Adults & Children
- San Francisco Ballet presents "The Nutcracker" story with pictures, Theatre Etiquette, Nutcracker Mad Lib, Story / Sentence Order, Who's Who in the Nutcracker, Nutcracker Word Search, Tchaikovsky Biography & Questions, Nutcracker Numbers, Fun Facts about The Nutcracker, What is Dance?, Ballet Vocabulary, Types of Dance, Ballet History, Ballet Positions, Coloring Pages, Ballet Occupations
- Nutcracker Curriculum Ideas
- Find several additional lesson suggestions for history, language arts, music, art, math, science, and cooking from the New York City Ballet.
The Nutcracker / Baryshnikov, Kirkland, Charmoli
This is the version that I truly fell in love with! The recording by the American Ballet Theater in 1977 featured Russian dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, as the Nutcracker. PBS television used to play this numerous times over the holiday season, but now you can play it anytime you wish!
Nutcracker Lesson Resources
Please add and vote for your favorite blogs and websites that contain great Nutcracker activities!
Nutcracker Teacher's Guide
3 points
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker: The Music Game
"Educational music software for Windows only. Learn about the story of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker while you play colorful, fun music games. High-quality recordings and colorful graphics make this a good value as well as fun to play."
Fun Stuff about "The Nutcracker"!
- Kids Love Nutcrackers!
- This is so cool! Children will love it!
All About Nuts: Read about nuts of all sorts by people who love nutcrackers!
Lesson Index:
~ Lesson 1: Wooden Toy Soldier Nutcrackers
~ Lesson 2: What Materials are Used to Make Nutcrackers?
~ Lesson 3: What Kind of Nutcrackers are there?
~ Lesson 4: Odd Ways to Crack a Nut
~ Lesson 5: Where are the Nutcrackers Made? - Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum
- Nutcracker History: The History of Nutcrackers
All About Nuts:
~ Nuts ... Their History
~ A Trip to Pecan Land
~ Nuts are Good for You! - Ballet Stories
- Children will love these online storybooks with real pictures of the New York City Ballet.
Ballet Stories: Ballet Alphabet ~ The Nutcracker ~ A Midsummer Night's Dream - Find the Nutcracker!
- Just for fun! Use your detective observation skills to locate the nutcracker and other items from the story in this downloadable page searching game similar to "Where is Waldo?". The 9 pages may be printed out on paper or tagboard ~ those of you who like lapbooks and notebooks may want to place these in your book.
- Nutcracker Coloring Page
- This large nutcracker would make a wonderful cover page for a notebook or lapbook of your unit!
Coloring the Nutcracker!
Art & Music Together!
The Nutcracker Suite for Piano
Nutcracker Suite * Masterpiece Edition
Alexander Cole has transcribed eight favorite selections from the Nutcracker Suite for intermediate piano playing for holiday and year long enjoyment!
Have you ever danced in a production of the "Nutcracker Ballet"?
How do you feel about the Nutcracker ballet?
Thank you for visiting this page! Please leave a note so I know you were here. I would really like to hear how you will be using this unit.
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ilovemusic
Jan 3, 2012 @ 2:35 am | delete
- I remember having a long playing record of music from this ballet when I was a child. I played it again and again. I appreciate how you have included music lesson plans and teacher guides for the Nutcracker. FYI, I have added this lens to the featured lenses module of my Tchaikovsky lens.
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mowug1776
Dec 30, 2011 @ 4:44 am | delete
- interesting rooms, I may try to go see it next year.
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mihgasper
Dec 29, 2011 @ 6:58 am | delete
- It is beautiful ballet and i am delighted I found the musical part in public domain on MUSEOPEN. I recommend it, it is pure ear pleasure.
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jadehorseshoe
Dec 24, 2011 @ 4:09 am | delete
- Excellent Lens!!
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Blessedmombygrace
Dec 20, 2011 @ 9:28 pm | delete
- Hey I found this one on Google +, Poutine listed it! Good job my friend.
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