Submitted by Pat Price, Gwinnett County, Georgia
Idea posted September 20, 2001
I do Composer of the Week every week, and my kids LOVE it! I include 2nd - 5th grades with maybe a tiny bit more detail for the older kids. Basically I always look for a few "fun facts" or an interesting story or two about the composer (something to grab their attention). I post the name, dates, and country where he lived outside my door all week and I give bonus points to those kids who can tell me any of these facts when they come into class. Lots of competitive spirit there. I also try to use music that they will somehow recognize or relate to. For instance - for Gershwin I would definitely use the Rhapsody in Blue and relate it to being in Fantasia 2000 which most of them have seen. For Copland I would use Fanfare For The Common Man and relate it to the Navy commercials, or Hoedown and relate it to the "Beef - It's what's for dinner" commercials. This week we're studying Bizet and I have played exerpts from Carmen - and believe it or not, the kids knew them! Seems a cartoon of "Hey Arnold" used Carmen in it a while back and lots of them saw it. You get the idea..... Most of these guys' music has been used somewhere, somehow in their worlds. I just tell them that they already know it - they just don't know that they do!!