For Primary School Classes – Ages 5 – 12
SUBJECTS — Cinema; Drama/Musicals; U.S./1865-1913;
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING — Self-esteem; Friendship; Taking Care of Yourself; Breaking Out;
MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS — Trustworthiness; Respect; Caring.
AGE: 5+; No MPAA Rating;
Musical; 1939; 101 minutes; B & W and Color. Available from Amazon.com.
Click here for a Learning Guide for secondary school classes.
TWM offers the following movie worksheets to keep students’ minds on the film and to focus their attention on the lessons to be learned from the movie.
Film Study Worksheet for ELA Classes;
Film Study Worksheet for an Adaptation of a Novel; and
Worksheet for Cinematic and Theatrical Elements and Their Effects.
Teachers can modify the worksheets to fit the needs of each class.
See also TWM’s Movies as Literature Homework Project.
Additional ideas for lesson plans for this movie can be found at TWM’s guide to Lesson Plans Using Film Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories or Plays.
Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl, is caught in a tornado and knocked unconscious. She awakens far from home in the magical Land of Oz with witches, wizards, little people, flying monkeys, and other fantastic beings. The movie describes her efforts to get back home, the characters she meets, and the life-lessons that she learns. At the end of the film, Dorothy awakens and finds that it was all a dream, but she has changed and grown — and so has the audience. The film is adapted from the popular children’s book by L. Frank Baum.
Selected Awards: 1939 Academy Awards: Best Song (“Over the Rainbow”), Best Original Score; 1939 Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Color-Cinematography, Best Interior Decoration, Best Special Effects. Judy Garland received a special Academy Award for her performance. “The Wizard of Oz” is listed in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress as a “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” film. This film is ranked #6 on the American Film Institute’s List of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time (2006).
Featured Actors: Judy Garland, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Burt Lahr, Frank Morgan, Charley Grapewin, Clara Blandick, Mitchell Lewis, Billy Burke.
Director: Victor Fleming.
“The Wizard of Oz” is a classic musical, beloved by children and their parents for generations. The film is perennially popular because it explores many of the issues and fears that children ages 5 – 12 must confront as they mature. In addition, the film can be used in language arts classes. It is an example of the archetypal journey of the hero and displays several literary devices including the frame story, irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism. Finally, an argument can be made that the story told by the book is an allegory to the history of populism in the U.S. in the late 1800s. Teachers can ask their classes to prove or refute the theory as an alternative to the usual methods of teaching this period of U.S. history.
See also TWM’s Movie Lesson Plan for: The Wizard of Oz and the Hero’s Journey — Teaching the Journey and Its Archetypes Through a Children’s Classic.
Featured songs include: “Over the Rainbow,” “Munchkin Land,” “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” “If I Only Had a Brain/a Heart/the Nerve,” “If I Were King of the Forest,” and “The Merry Ole Land of Oz.”
Some of the scenes with the Wicked Witch may frighten younger children.
Watch the movie with your child. At the end of the movie point out some of the similarities of the characters in the Land of Oz and the farm in Kansas. At another time, ask how Oz convinced the people of the Emerald City that he was, in fact, a powerful wizard? Did he really have magical powers?
“I feel wise, indeed,” said the Scarecrow.
Dorothy gazed thoughtfully at the Scarecrow
The original book cover.
This story is popular because it helps children work through the following fears and concerns of childhood.
The state of Kansas is part of the Great Plains, which is a large plateau in the center of North America. The Great Plains extend for over 1500 miles from the Saskatchewan River in Canada, south to the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico. The East-West measure is about 400 miles beginning at the Rocky Mountains and extending east. The natural vegetation is buffalo grass. The climate is hot in summer and cold in winter. The average annual rainfall is only 20 inches. The landscape is famous for its undisturbed monotony.
Tornados are one of the most violent storms in nature. They can occur anywhere in the world but most often strike in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The speeds of the wind in a tornado range from 200 to 500 miles per hour. Since tornados generally destroy any instruments which record wind velocity, we have no direct data on the speeds of winds inside a tornado. Tornados take the form of a funnel made up of water, dust, and debris sucked up into the storm. Where they touch the ground, tornados can be only a few meters wide or they can be up to a kilometer wide. Damage to property results from the wind and from the extremely reduced pressure in the center. Structures explode if the air can’t get out of them fast enough. People are instructed to open windows and take cover if a tornado approaches.
There are significant differences between the book and the movie and they should be treated as separate works of art. The book is an excellent fairy tale that was very popular when it was published in 1900. The script for the film adds to and actually improves upon the story told in the book. For a description of the differences between the book and the movie see Wikipedia article on “The Wizard of Oz”
The Wizard of Oz can be used as an introduction to the interpretation of dreams. Going to Oz is part of Dorothy’s fulfillment of her wish to go “over the rainbow” but the events there and her strong desire to go home are the results of her fears of what will occur. The Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow are Dorothy’s transmutation of characters from real life into the dream. The same is true of the Wizard. Dorothy knows that Professor Marvel is a charlatan when she meets him, but she is grasping at straws at that point. He is the false path, as the Wizard was the false path to get home. Miss Gulch is, of course, personified in the Wicked Witches. Glinda is probably Auntie Em, or rather the Auntie Em that Dorothy wishes she were. The death of the Wicked Witches is from Dorothy’s wish that Miss Gulch would die.
Click Additional Helpful Background for; Developmental Issues Raised, Movie as a Work of Literature, and Allegory to History of Populism
Children love this film because it touches on important questions, fears, and desires. These are core developmental issues that children must work out for themselves. The popularity of the story is due to the fact that these issues intrigue young people and resonate with the child inside us all.
They include, not in any order of priority, the following:
“The Wizard of Oz” also contains some important moral lessons and opportunities for social-emotional learning. See Suggested Responses to Discussion Questions 4 – 6**** in the Learning Guide.
Through this story, we also see that if we want to go looking for greater purpose in our lives, we may want to avoid traveling “somewhere over the rainbow,” and look instead in our own home community. For some of us, “there’s no place like home,” no matter what wonders and adventures might await us in the big, colorful world. “The Wizard of Oz” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” are the major cinematic proponents of this view. There are many other movies that glorify the effort of young people to break out of the restrictions of their home environments and live in that brightly colored, exciting, and somewhat dangerous world beyond their home. Some of these movies can be found in the Breaking Out section of the Social-Emotional Learning Index.
The movie employs the device of a frame story. Events in Kansas, shown in black and white, come at the beginning and at the end of the film. They bracket and give meaning to the colorful, adventurous journey through Oz. The characters and occurrences in Kansas parallel and foreshadow the characters and occurrences in the main story. Dorothy’s dream transformed the three farmhands into the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man. It made Miss Gulch into the Wicked Witch of the West and Professor Marvel into the Wizard of Oz. When Toto bites Miss Gulch, the advice given by the farmhands foreshadows the personality of their parallel characters in Oz. The conflict with Miss Gulch foreshadows and is converted into the conflict with the Wicked Witches. The powerlessness of Auntie Em and Uncle Henry foreshadows the powerlessness of the Wizard to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West.
Irony plays an important role in the story. It is Dorothy, the innocent child who vanquishes the powerful Wicked Witches who terrorize Oz. It is Toto, the meekest creature of them all who exposes Oz, “the great and powerful.” It is the charlatan Wizard who gives legitimacy to the Scarecrow’s intelligence, the Tin Man’s caring, and the Cowardly Lion’s courage. Oz “the great and powerful” is really a somewhat pathetic old man who doesn’t even know how to work the baloon that he sails off in.
There are many symbols in the movie. Here are a few: the ruby slippers stand for the self-knowledge required to find happiness; the tornado is a symbol for the strong emotions felt by Dorothy when Auntie Em and Uncle Henry could not stop Miss Gulch from taking Toto (the storm abates with the death of one of the Witches).
Educators have used the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as an allegory for the history of the populist movement in U.S. politics in the late 1800s. The validity of the theory is disputed. See the Links to the Internet for sites reflecting the conflicting interpretations and The Annotated Wizard of Oz, Centennial Edition, Introduction, pages lxxxix and xc. Whether the theory is correct or not, it is an excellent way to teach: (1) the literary device of allegory and (2) the history of populism in the U.S. during the late 1800s.
A simplified analysis is that the populists championed a bimetal standard for the U.S. currency, i.e., one based on both gold and silver. With a gold standard, there was too little paper money in circulation. The bankers and industrialists of the day controlled gold and wanted a gold-based currency. This restricted the availability of money and hence, so the theory went, kept inflation and prices low. The populists believed that if a bimetal standard was adopted there would be more paper money and an increase in commerce, salaries, and prices benefitting farmers and workers.
The Quantity Theory of Money can be expressed as: MV = PQ where:
M = the quantity of money in circulation (M1).
V = the velocity with which money circulates in the economy. (This can be assumed to be a constant. It does go up slowly over time as the technology for clearing transactions through the banking system is improved.)
P = the average price level.
Q = real national output (GNP or GDP).
The Quantity of Money Theory of Price is a corollary to the Quantity Theory of Money and asserts that: P = MV/Q. This theory means that when the amount of money in circulation (M) rises, the average price level (P) will also rise.
The U.S. had been on the gold standard (i.e., all dollars issued had to be backed by gold and could be redeemed for gold) until the Civil War. After the Civil War, the issuance of currency was restricted and, in 1879, the gold standard was resumed. The U.S. economy throughout most of the late 1800s was expanding rapidly and there was a need for more currency. The 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act provided for increased purchase and coinage of silver. There were fears that the U.S. would switch from a gold to a silver standard and people began to hoard gold, depleting the Treasury’s supply. The populists believed that more money (M) would result in an increased average price level. This was to be accomplished through “bimetalism,” adding silver as a second metal on which the dollar was based.
The populists never came to power in the U.S. The most influential populist/bimetallist candidate for president was William Jennings Bryan. Nominated for president by the Democratic party on three occasions, Bryan never achieved the presidency, despite the fact that on one occasion he won the popular vote.
An allegory is “the representation of spiritual, moral, or other abstract meanings through the actions of fictional characters that serve as symbols.” Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, 1999. The analogies on which this allegorical interpretation is based (there are some variations among educators) are as follows:
Dorothy = the American people: plucky, good-natured, naive.
Toto = the Prohibition (Temperance) party. Prohibitionists favored the bimetallic standard but like any fringe group often pulled in the wrong direction. So they got to be a dog. (Toto is a play on “teetotalers.”)
Oz = the almighty ounce (oz) of gold.
The yellow brick road = a path paved with gold bricks that leads nowhere.
Dorothy’s silver slippers = originally the property of the Wicked Witch of the East, until Dorothy drops the house on the Witch. Walking on the yellow brick road with the silver slippers represented the bimetallic standard. (MGM changed the silver slippers to the ruby slippers to exploit the technology of Technicolor.)
The Good Witch of the North = New England, a populist stronghold.
The Good Witch of the South = the South, another populist stronghold.
The Wicked Witch of the East = Eastern banking and industrial interests. She is killed by Dorothy’s falling house because the populists expected that the Eastern industrial workers would vote populist, but this never really happened.
The Wicked Witch of the West = the West was where the populists were strongest. The only reason the West gets a Wicked Witch is: a) you need two bad guys to balance the two good guys, and especially, b) William McKinley was from Ohio, then thought of as a Western state. The Wicked Witch is sometimes identified directly with President McKinley.
The Munchkins = slaves of the Eastern banking and industrial interests, i.e., Eastern workers who didn’t vote for Bryan.
The Scarecrow = Western farmers. They were populists.
The Tin Man = Eastern workers. Populist mythology always looked to this group for support, but never found it in reality. Baum realized this (most populists didn’t) and shows the Tin Man as a victim of mechanization. He’s so dehumanized he doesn’t have a heart.
The Cowardly Lion = William Jennings Bryan.
The Emerald City = Washington, D.C. The color is suggestive of paper greenbacks.
The Wizard = President McKinley, but sometimes his advisor, Marcus Alonzo Hanna. McKinley and Hanna deceived the people. The Wizard promises Dorothy that he will be able to bring her back to Kansas with a balloon filled with a lot of “hot air.” Instead, it is the slippers, which Dorothy had all the time, that took her home. The Wizard’s gifts of courage, brains, and a heart are deceptions, although beneficial ones. Much of this section is quoted or derived from The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory by Robert F. Mulligan, Ph.D., Western Carolina University College of Business.
After the film has been watched, engage the class in a discussion about the movie. Select a few of the questions set out below. Questions 1 – 8 track the list of childhood fears and concerns. Some are approached directly; others indirectly.
1. Dorothy was just a child, but she did make it home. What was in Dorothy’s mind that allowed her to get home?
Suggested Response:
There are several answers. She was careful to observe things around her. She found friends to help her. She was lucky. She was strong and in each situation did what she knew was right.
2. Why couldn’t Uncle Henry and Auntie Em stop Miss Gulch from taking Toto? Was this because they didn’t love Dorothy?
Suggested Response:
Miss Gulch had an order from the Country Sheriff, and Uncle Henry and Auntie Em had no choice but to obey that order. The fact that Uncle Henry and Auntie Em could not protect Toto, didn’t mean they loved Dorothy any less.
3. When Uncle Henry and Auntie Em couldn’t get Toto back despite the fact that Dorothy asked them to, what did Dorothy do? What do you think she should she have done?
Suggested Response:
Dorothy tried to run away, but Professor Marvel helped her realize that this was not the right thing to do. Dorothy came home to try to work it out, but then the tornado happened. In a sense, Dorothy’s entire time in Oz was trying to work out what would happen to Toto.
4. How does a child learn what he or she needs to know to get through tough situations?
Suggested Response:
This is part of growing up. Observe carefully. Act carefully. Try to think about what would be the best thing to do.
5. Dorothy killed the wicked witches. How did she do that?
Suggested Response:
Her house fell on one of them, and she threw water on the other.
6. What appearances in this movie are misleading?
Suggested Response:
There are many, including: the power of the Wizard of Oz; the ability of Professor Marvel to see into the future; the idea that Dorothy is a powerless little girl; the Scarecrow’s stupidity; the Tin Man’s lack of heart; and the Lion’s cowardice.
7. In this story, Dorothy, who was just a child, acted like a grown-up in many ways. Give two examples of actions that Dorothy took that were like grown-up actions.
Suggested Response:
There are a host of good responses. Almost any action taken by Dorothy while she was in Oz can be characterized as an action that is an adult-like response to Dorothy’s circumstances.
8. How does a person who is afraid act with courage?
Suggested Response:
Courageous people often feel fear. However, they know what they must do and they do it, despite their fear. If a child is interested in this question, it might be a good idea to read to them or have them read The Red Badge of Courage. See Learning Guide to “The Red Badge of Courage“.
9. The Wizard gave the Tin Man a clock. Why did the Tin Man want to have a clock?
Suggested Response:
There is no one correct response. A good response will include the fact that the clock was to show that the Tin Man had a heart and cared for people. However, the Tin Man had cared for people all the time; it was just that he thought he didn’t and needed someone to reassure him that he did.
10. The Cowardly Lion received a medal for bravery from the Wizard. What did the medal really give to the Lion?
Suggested Response:
There is no one correct response. Good responses might include the fact that the lion was courageous before he received the medal. He just needed to see it himself.
11. The Wizard gave the Scarecrow a diploma from a university stating that he was a wise man. What changed for the Scarecrow once he had received the diploma?
Suggested Response:
There is no one correct response. The Scarecrow thought he was stupid because he had a head full of straw, and having the diploma gave him confidence that he was smart.
12. Ask the following questions in sequence:
Suggested Responses:
The dream transformed Miss Gulch to a Wicked Witch, Professor Marvel into the Wizard of Oz and the three farmhands to the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man.
13. How does Dorothy change from the beginning to the end of this movie?
Suggested Response:
There is no one right answer. A good answer would include that she came to know her own strength and resourcefulness or that she grew in self-confidence.
14. Did Oz really happen or was it just Dorothy’s dream?
Suggested Response:
It was both a dream and an experience from which Dorothy could learn and grow. just like any story did not really didn’t happen, it showed us the different ways that people will behave in real situations. Not all stories do that, but good stories do.
1. How did getting the diploma affect the Scarecrow?
Suggested Response:
He thought he was wiser and his belief in himself allowed him to give expression to his wisdom.
2. How did getting the medal for courage affect the Cowardly Lion?
Suggested Response:
Since he now thought he was courageous, he would act more courageously.
3. The Tin Man received a heart (a ticking clock) from the Wizard. How did that affect him?
Suggested Response:
Since he thought he was compassionate, he would be more likely to act in a kindly manner.
4. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were all very different. What does this story tell you about having friends that are different from yourself?
Suggested Response:
Each of the four brought different skills and strengths. Without the combination of these, they would not have made it to the Land of Oz. We have something to learn from everyone, especially people who are different than we are. Also, it would be really boring if everyone was the same.
5. If Dorothy had not had the ability to face all of the challenges presented to her in the land of Oz, what would have happened to her?
Suggested Response:
She wouldn’t have been able to return home.
6. At the beginning of the movie, Dorothy lived in Kansas. She yearned to leave home and go “somewhere over the rainbow.” What did she learn about lands over the rainbow when she got there? Is this a realistic lesson or should people seek their destiny away from home?
Suggested Response:
There are several good responses to this question. One is that she finds that she is not happy because it is not her home and the people that she loves are not there. Another is that she finds that there are problems in the world over the rainbow that are just as bad or worse than what she faced at home. As to the last part of the questions, sometimes a person’s destiny requires that they leave their home and sometimes it does not.
Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues will facilitate the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. Additional questions are set out below.
(Be honest; Don’t deceive, cheat or steal; Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do; Have the courage to do the right thing; Build a good reputation; Be loyal — stand by your family, friends, and country)
1. The Wizard, as Professor Marvel in Kansas, and in Oz, makes things appear different from what they really are. He lies to Dorothy in both places. In the movie, these lies are either harmless or for Dorothy’s benefit (as when he sends her home after looking into the crystal ball). What is the difference between these “white lies” and lies that are unethical?
Suggested Response:
Unethical lies are to get something the liar wants or to avoid something unpleasant. The lie hurts the liar, even if it goes undetected because it separates the liar from other people (often from people whom he or she loves) and makes the liar feel alone. It also lowers his or her sense of self-esteem. It puts the liar in the emotionally draining position of having to be vigilant about guarding the lie in future speech and action. Not only does a lie separate us from other people, the lie undermines our sense of unity with the Universe. All good moral or ethical codes have a spiritual component. This does not have to be religious in the sense of belief in a Supreme Being, but it must contain a sense of a relationship to others and to the Universal good. Acting in an immoral manner separates us from the Universal good and denies us the strength that comes from being in harmony with our sense of the Universe.
(Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule; Be tolerant of differences; Use good manners, not bad language; Be considerate of the feelings of others; Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone; Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements)
2. Dorothy met many different kinds of beings when she was in The Land of Oz. Other than the Wicked Witches, how did she treat them?
Suggested Response:
Dorothy treated everyone with respect and kindness: the Munchkins, the Witches’ minions, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man. Even after Dorothy knew the Wizard was a fraud, she treated him with respect. Even when Dorothy killed the Wicked Witches, it was by accident. Dorothy’s respectful and kind treatment of every other character helped her make it home.
(Additional questions are set out in the “Friendship” section above.)
(Be kind; Be compassionate and show you care; Express gratitude; Forgive others; Help people in need)
3. Why is home so important to Dorothy? Suggested Response: Home is where the people who love her live.
(Additional questions are set out in the “Friendship” section above.)
1. Have students draw their favorite scene from the movie.
2. Have students draw a chart showing which characters from the farm were which characters in the Land of Oz.
4. Create a timeline showing Dorothy’s adventure from the film’s opening to her return home. Draw pictures, or copy photographs from Internet sources that show each phase of Dorothy’s journey. Identify what happens all along the way and pay special attention to any important lessons learned, either by Dorothy or her companions.
5. For U.S. history classes, ask students to write an essay agreeing or disagreeing with the theory that the book The Wizard of Oz is an allegory for the history of populism and bimetallism in the U.S. in the late 1800s.
Multimedia: Anchor Standard #7 for Reading (for both ELA classes and for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Classes). (The three Anchor Standards read: “Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media, including visually and quantitatively as well as in words.”) CCSS pp. 35 & 60. See also Anchor Standard # 2 for ELA Speaking and Listening, CCSS pg. 48.
Reading: Anchor Standards #s 1, 2, 7 and 8 for Reading and related standards (for both ELA classes and for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Classes). CCSS pp. 35 & 60.
Writing: Anchor Standards #s 1 – 5 and 7- 10 for Writing and related standards (for both ELA classes and for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Classes). CCSS pp. 41 & 63.
Speaking and Listening: Anchor Standards #s 1 – 3 (for ELA classes). CCSS pg. 48.
Not all assignments reach all Anchor Standards. Teachers are encouraged to review the specific standards to make sure that over the term all standards are met.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a great book to read to a younger child or for children 8 – 12 to read on their own. L. Frank Baum wrote a total of 14 books with Oz characters. Their complete texts can all be found on the web at various places, including The Wonderful Website of Oz! Purchase these books at Amazon.com.
Websites and articles claiming that the story is an allegory about the history of populism:
Websites and articles disputing the idea that Baum intended the story as a parable of the history of populism:
Other links:
In addition to websites which may be linked in the Guide and selected film reviews listed on the Movie Review Query Engine, the following resources were consulted in the preparation of this Learning Guide:
This Learning Guide was last revised and updated on August 24, 2013.