Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Composer of the Month

                                           Composer of the Month (COM)

                                  

Each month we study a new composer and every two months we study a different time period.  During our monthly study of a composer we answer twelve questions (they were the most popular questions when we did our KWL). I try to incorporate different projects and activities, so it does not get to be too repetitive. We listen to performances played on traditional instruments and more contemporary arrangements. My kids are big fans of "The Piano Guys." Grades K-4 all do composer of the month activities; K & 1 is mostly listening and group discussions, while 2-4 includes more projects and activities.

I created a three year rotation of composers. This ensures that all the major composers are being covered (most of them twice duing their elementary career) and it makes the workload more manageable.  


12 Questions
1. Did s/he have kids?
2. Was s/he married?
3. How much music did s/he write?
4. How did s/he die?
5. What were his/her hobbies?
6. When did s/he start playing/composing music?
7. What was his/her favorite instrument?
8. What was his/her life like?
9. Was s/he famous when s/he was alive?
10. Was s/he healthy?
11. Did s/he teach music?
12. Did s/he travel?


-
Labels:

6 comments:

  1. CraftyCaroleAugust 24, 2013 at 12:06 AM

    have you heard classics for kids with Naomi Lewin? She does 4 6 minute podcasts a month about a composer or piece s/he has written or style or genre... but the first week is always a composer. They are awesome! I've started to make ppts that coincide with the podcast and I take about 10 minutes a month to do the about...(whomever) with my older kids

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 24, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    Carole, I have not heard of that podcast. It sounds very interesting though and I will be sure to look them up. Thank you for the suggestion and for taking the time to read the post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Parker HollisterAugust 28, 2014 at 7:39 PM

    Awesome Bulletin! I am also doing a composer of the month, and I started with Mozart. K-1 did marriage of figaro movement activity, while 2-4 learned solfege to his variations of twinkle, twinkle little star. Do you mind telling me your 3 year composer cycle and ideas that you used. Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownAugust 29, 2014 at 1:00 PM

    Thank you! Here is the spreadsheet I created with information on my 3 year cycle for composers.

    http://goo.gl/VHFBW

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 5, 2014 at 11:49 AM

    I'm a first year teacher and I absolutely love this! Your spreadsheet is very organized and will be so helpful! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary ManningOctober 29, 2016 at 11:41 AM

    I would really love to see your composer cycle, but for some reason google will not let me open you document! Would it be a problem for you to email it to me? mary.bryan@banks.k12.ga.us TIA!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)