NORTH SALT LAKE—Kids at Foxboro Elementary are learning more than reading, writing and arithmetic. They're having the opportunity to shine on stage in theater productions led by Btsalp (Beverly Taylor Sorensen Arts Learning Program) teacher Pieter Lingen. Lingen has been helping each grade perform a show geared around what the students are learning in class.

Fourth graders perform "Treasure Island." Photo by Becky Ginos

 This week the fourth graders will be putting on “Treasure Island,” Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the school.

“This is my second year at Foxboro,” said Lingen. “I taught for 27 years in Salt Lake. I decided I wanted to try something new – elementary drama. The Btsalp was set up by the state to bring arts in schools. I had to receive my endorsement in order to be qualified to teach drama.”

Lingen said the Utah Opera Company would come in and help his class in Salt Lake. “We did that for about 15 years. We would write a story before they came and make a song.”

At Foxboro, Lingen brings in a musician to his third grade class who works with the kids in small groups then the whole class. “We break into groups and write a story then make a song to go with it,” he said. “We Zoom her in with each class and she plays for us when we perform it. It’s just the third graders that do opera.”

The plays are based on what each grade is interested in, Lingen said. “We use the CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) literacy curriculum for elementary school.

Each grade does their own thing, he said. “Third grade pulled from CKLA, fourth grade wanted to do Treasure Island because that was the story at the end of year. I found a script and added some to it.”

Lingen said he added some songs too. “Some of the songs we were familiar with like Pirates of the Caribbean and I also wrote some songs to go along with the show.”

First graders wanted to do a show about animals like hermit crabs and the red-eyed tree frog and other animal stories, he said. “We wrote a story together and they acted it out.”

In the fifth grade they based their play on Don Quixote, said Lingen. “We used shadow puppets. We worked for several weeks and then had a red carpet event where the kids had pictures taken with their parents and then we watched a movie of the shadow puppets.” 

The sixth graders performed “Dig It” to go along with their study of ancient civilizations, he said. “They acted out several scenes and we had to find costumes. It’s pretty much a miracle that it came together.”

When he’s not doing a program Lingen said he’s doing a lot of integration. “It’s amazing to be able to integrate in science, social studies, etc.”

Lingen was recently selected as a Best of Davis Elementary Teacher, an award the Davis School District (DSD) gives to outstanding educators. He is one of 15. “My principal nominated me,” he said. “My arts director is one of the ones who put in a good word too. The DSD Arts Department got the state award, that’s pretty exciting too.”

Lingen said it was his third grade teacher who inspired him to go into teaching. “I loved her. She made me want to teach. I’ve always loved working with children. My big goal is to give kids a moment to shine on stage and tell a story. It’s all about putting kids on stage. I love it.”

Foxboro Elementary School is located at 587 North Foxboro Dr., North Salt Lake.