Submitted by Joni Kotche, Bloomingdale, Illinois

Idea posted November 9, 2004

Here is my template for choosing "Composer Of The Month:"

August/September: I choose a composer whose name can be made into a pun
Welcome "Bach" to Erickson
Were you "Haydn" all summer?
Were you "Bizet" all summer?
October: A composer who has at least one "scary" sounding composition
Past October composers
Edvard Grieg, Franz Liszt
November: American composer
Past November composers
Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein
December: Composer who has at least one song associated with a December holiday
Past December composers
Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Irving Berlin
January: TWO composers who wrote together
Past January composers
Lennon/McCartney, Lerner/Loewe, Rodgers/Hammerstein
February: African-American (Black History Month)
Past February composers
Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder
March: Female composer (Women's History Month) rotated between present and past
Past March composers
Carole King, Fanny Mendelssohn, Carly Simon
April: Composer from Fantasia 2000
Past April composers
Stravinsky, Beethoven, Elgar
May: American composer
Past May composers
John Williams, Sousa, G.M. Cohan

It works for me! By the way, from October through May the composer is a mystery composer. The students are given clues through listening to the music. Also, beginning the second week of the month, each class can ask three questions about the composer that can be answered with "yes" or "no." I also add the names of the compositions we have heard so they can check the Internet, grandparents (that is how most found out about Duke Ellington), etc. I put visual clues on the bulletin board, including the flag of the country associated with the composer. Sometimes I do the titles of the songs as rebuses. I also try to put a clip art of the instrument associated with the composer. Finally, when someone in a class correctly guesses the composer, I put the room number of the class on the bulletin board for all to see. (The first class to guess goes on top, etc.) They get very competitive, as do the classroom teachers!

Lastly, I take a digital photo every month of the completed bulletin board. I also keep a record on Microsoft Word of the composers so I do not forget.