La Bohème - San Francisco Opera

Create the menu at The Café Momus!
Summary of Activity
Students will develop, research, design and create a menu, with an option to create the
business plan for a restaurant.
Time: 1 – 3 class periods
Setting: classroom
Materials:
• Heavy construction paper
• Pens
• Crayons
• Calculators
Subjects: Reading, writing, art, math
Objectives
• Students will make collaborative decisions on menu items.
• Students will divide up creative design and production responsibilities.
• Students will execute construction of menus as part of a team.
Procedure
• Full class: Review the description of the bohemians at the Café Momus in Act II of La
bohème.
• Fold standard size construction paper in half and crease.
• Full class: Decide together on the design of the menu. Name only? A picture on the front?
• Decide on the food to be listed. These may be favorite, imaginary or "realistic" foods. Write
foods on the menus.
• Individually or in pairs: Decide on the price, and write the price next to the food.
• Make up a little story about the history of the Café Momus, and write it on the back of the
menu.
• Decorate the menus both inside and out.
• Have a class ‘dinner’ with items from your menu!
Options for further development
• Classroom decorations:
• Paper cut-out snowflakes
• Paper cut-out toys for Parpignol
• Popcorn or paper chains for the ‘Café’
• Translate the menu into French, including using French currency (or euros.)
• Historically accurate menu: Research the eating habits of the nineteenth century Parisian
bohemians, and create a historically accurate menu.
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