5 Ways to Utilize the Hamilton Phenomenon in the Classroom

How does a composer, actor, writer, and rapper so perfectly embody a founding father? Lin-Manuel Miranda and the talented cast of Hamilton have created a transcendent onstage world since the play’s opening in 2015. It continues to be a popular musical that can inspire beyond the theater, in your own classroom. This article offers five suggestions to incorporate the phenomenon of Hamilton in the classroom.

About the Award-Winning Play

Although the music is extraordinarily modern, blending musical theater with rap and R&B, Hamilton is set during the birth of our country. It explores the ins and outs of founding father Alexander Hamilton's rough childhood, adventurous youth, and political adulthood. The poetic language of the songs is thrilling, and the comedic undertone of the character portrayal is unexpectedly wonderful‚ not to mention the captivating set, lights, and costumes! The soundtrack has won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and Miranda won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play has also received 11 Tony Awards.

Connecting to Hamilton in the Classroom

You might be wondering how a Broadway smash hit could help you become a better educator. Many students have been able to experience the show firsthand, either live or through a streaming service. Your students can also experience Hamilton in the classroom and capitalize on all the magic it brings. Here are five inspiring ways to connect to award-winning Hamilton in the classroom.

Perspective Taking

So often in history, people are seen as one-dimensional. Founding fathers such as Alexander Hamilton are often described through the impact they had on the country. In truth, all these American icons had many dimensions. Students today deserve opportunities to study the many characteristics of people throughout history. When teaching about historical figures, be sure to examine these individuals through multiple perspectives. Consider who impacted their life choices and what parts of their character made them especially memorable and impactful. Ponder ways that various subgroups of people at their times in history might have felt about them and what they did. Invite students to truly think about their multidimensional traits.

Unpredictability

Throughout Hamilton, Miranda chooses the unexpected. From the way the characters are cast to how they interact on the stage, nothing is as you expect it to be; everything is twisted around and exciting. This is a tactic you can try in your classroom. Turn your classroom on its head and shake things up a bit. Break a routine, try a brand-new project, or shake up classroom roles. You'll find yourself working with more engaged students.

Relevance

Before Miranda's work, few people would have thought that Broadway music and rap would be an unstoppable combination. Bringing today's music into a powerful biography was a stroke of genius. When possible, bring authentic aspects of your students' lives into their learning. Music is one great way to make this type of connection for students. You can also use young adult literature, popular movies, and television shows, or even social media—with safety measures and common sense fully in place.

Multiple Roles

In Hamilton, everyone plays multiple roles. Characters dance on and off the stage, gracefully placing props through rhythmic movements. Further, some actors play more than one main role within the play. Teachers can certainly learn from this model. Students should play more than one role within your classroom. They shouldn't be confined to the role of learners, for example. Allow students opportunities to teach others, to share with their peers, to guide their own learning, to create masterpieces, to manipulate information, and to lead others.

Character Traits

Before seeing this play, few people truly understood what motivated Alexander Hamilton. He spent his life as an incredibly driven man who persevered when others might have failed. Help students search for and study the impact that historical figures have on students today. Teachers should encourage students to search how historical people embodied various character traits. Were they persistent, flexible, inspiring, trend-setting, or ground-breaking? Were they resourceful, accepting, compassionate, bold, or brave? Dig into the qualities of the individuals and not just their deeds. Then, make connections with others through history who share these traits‚ and even with the students themselves.

The music of Hamilton is now part of popular culture, and the story has brought energy to our nation’s founding story. Use this to your advantage, and at the same time, be inspired by Miranda's creative vision for your own stage: your classroom! Just like Hamilton himself, you can "be in the room where it happens," take your "shot," and "tell a (new) story” inspired by Hamilton in the classroom.