Author, published songwriter, recording artist, and retired history teacher Mark Pennington, a.k.a. "Bronco Charlie," would love to perform The Gold Rush Musical! with your 4th grade students. The hour-long FREE interactive performance is suitable for one, two, or three grade-level classes.  

The Gold Rush Musical! includes a student-led readers' theater about the California Gold Rush, featuring standards-based history, storytelling, diaries, and plenty of humor. I join in, performing a dozen authentic Gold Rush songs, accompanied by your students playing rhythm instruments. Dress in period costumes if you wish! Make sure to invite parents, younger siblings, caregivers, and grandparents. Optional, of course, but they will love the show!

What Busy Teachers Need to Do to Prepare for The Gold Rush Musical!

1. Watch the “Bronco Charlie Rides the Pony Express” video with accompanying comic book to introduce my character. 
2. Play my 12 Gold Rush Song Videos a few times to familiarize your students with the sing-along choruses. 
3. Print and staple copies of The Gold Rush Musical! Readers' Theater Script for each student. Select five readers and two choral groups. Rehearse the 7-page script a few times.

Mark also provides FREE standards-based instructional resources to supplement your Gold Rush unit. Note that these are optional resources.

Fluency Practice... Each of the 12 Gold Rush songs includes fluency worksheets for repeated reading practice—formatted with word counts. Students record their cold and hot timings on the timing sheet to track progress.

Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary... Each of the 12 Gold Rush songs features comprehension/vocabulary worksheets with 5 embedded questions per song.

• Includes background knowledge about the song contents.
• Answers to the comprehension questions.

Songwriting Workshop... Students write their own song lyrics to one of the Gold Rush songs, and Mark records their original song. Your students are published songwriters!

"They LOVED their own song. Thank you so much for the personalization to our school. Thank you for coming and putting on such a great show and being so flexible!" 

Kayla Frame, Buckeye Elementary

To book The Gold Rush Musical! email mark@penningtonpublishing.com with suggested dates and times for your performance. Or phone Mark at 888.565.1635. 
Questions are welcomed.

Mark's program is FREE due his partnership with the Arts and Culture El Dorado Incubator Program. While certainly not necessary, your support is always appreciated! 

Interested in having Mark write and record your own completely original school songs (spirit songs, alma maters, announcement lead-ins) to build your school brand and increase school spirit? https://penningtonpublishing.com/collections/mark-pennington/products/school-songs