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Teacher Rachel Lee's first grade class wrote and performed "The Great Escape," about an evil octopus that tries to take over the undersea world.
"This is the way I teach literacy," Lee said. "You know, it's not just about reading words. It's not about decoding, but they realize once they know how to decode they have so many stories that are out there that they can read and also create on their own."
The children wrote the libretto and sang melodies to composer David Naylor, who arranged the music.
Utah Opera hired Naylor using funding from the Art Works for Kids Foundation and the Salt Lake Arts Council.
