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Learning Resources Show Synopsis As the show opens we find that the Alden family has been in an accident. The parents have drowned but the children have managed to survive. What fate awaits the orphaned children? The authorities are talking about splitting the children up and maybe even sending the youngest to a special school. Overhearing the plans of the adults the children decide that they must take their fate in their own hands and set off on an adventure to build a home and a life for themselves. The children eventually discover an old abandoned railroad boxcar that will do just nicely for their home. Using ingenuity and skill the children manage to survive as a family for quite some time while eluding a desperate search from the authorities and a mysterious figure who is offering a large reward for their safe return. The children finally face a crisis that will force them to choose to keep struggling on their own or to make a leap of faith and begin to trust others to help them. About the Author  Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in Putnam, Connecticut, on April 16, 1890 and even from an early age had dreamed of becoming and author. As Ms. Warner grew up she was able to watch the trains go by the windows in her families home. She would daydream about how life would be living on the train as she saw the inside of the caboose through its small window. Although having to drop out of high school because of ill health Ms. Warner eventually became a teacher herself during World War I when there was a shortage of teachers. She would eventually go to Yale University and take several teacher training classes. One day when she was hill and staying home from school she happened to think back on her childhood dreams of living in a railroad car. This became her inspiration for The Boxcar Children and the series of nineteen books that followed. Ms. Warner eventually wrote several other stories and lived to the age of 89. Even after her death the adventures of the Boxcar Children continues to life on through the imagination of other authors. Other Biographies of Gertrude Chandler Warner The Gertrude Warner Museum Albert Whitman & Company (publisher of The Boxcar Children) KidsReads.com (a biography for children) About the Playwright  Barbara Field has had her work produced throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. For several years she served as playwright-in-residence of the Guthrie Theatre where she adapted a number of works into plays including Great Expectations which traveled the country on an 8-month tour. Ms. Field is a founding member of The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. She has won many major theatrical awards including Best American Play by the Actor's Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota, Ms. Field makes her home in Minneapolis. Teaching Resources OCT Study Guide - this study guide from Oregon Children's Theatre includes biographies of the authors, a synopsis, major ideas of the story, a vocabulary study, and classroom activities. Highly recommended for before and after the play classroom activities. Also included on the website are additional resources for the classroom: Boxcar Children Word Study and Comprehension Pages - this internet site includes 13 lessons for word studies and 13 lessons for comprehension. The exercises are based on the book. Boxcar Children Dictionary - an exercise to strengthen dictionary skills based on keeping a chart of all the things the Boxcar Children use to substitute for real items and places. Additional Reading These titles can be used to supplement the Boxcar Children experience. Some cover the time period of the Depression while others discuss Railroads. |
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