Magic on Stage

Lisa Ethier's fourth-grade class had a chance to experience the theater this holiday season through free tickets from Verizon Wireless.

On Dec. 7 her class went to Proctors Theater to see The Nutcracker performed by the Northeast Ballet Company.

"They were in awe," Ethier said about her students' reactions to the performance. She estimates that only five of her 20-plus students had been to Proctors before, and that the theater alone is mesmerizing. The students saw a shortened version of the ballet from their seats in the third row.

Seeing the performance gave Ethier several opportunities in the classroom to talk about The Nutcracker. Before they attended the show, they talked about the story after reading it and watching it on video so they were well-prepared.

After the show, students created journals entries, like those pictured here, to describe and draw some of what they saw.