Ideas for other work

Cross-curricular connections

These are just some possibilities using ideas from the material covered about music but involving other areas of the curriculum – creative writing, geography, history etc.

1. Imagine you want to tell a friend about orchestras, the music they play and how it made you feel. Write a letter telling them about what you heard and saw the orchestra do and how the music made you feel.

2. You heard a piece called “Pizzicato Polka”
A polka is a type of dance which originated in Bohemia.
Where is Bohemia? What is this area called now?

3. The composers Mozart and Strauß both lived in the city of Vienna.
Vienna is the capital of which country?
Which language do they speak there?
Which other countries are neighbours of this country?
What are their capital cities called?

4. You heard some music by Mozart. He lived from 1756-1791.
How old was he in the year 1780? How long ago was that?
You also heard music by the brothers Johann and Josef Strauß which was written in 1870.
How many years after Mozart’s death was that?

5. Imagine that you live in the year 1800. In what ways would your life be different?

For example: How would you travel?
How would you keep in touch with a relative who lived in a different place?
How would your house be heated in the winter?
How would you get hot water to wash?
What things could you do for entertainment?

6.      Beethoven, a composer who lived from 1797-1828, gradually went completely deaf.   Despite this handicap he became one of the greatest composers of all time.
Imagine that you had to live without being able to hear anything.
How would you feel about this?   In what ways would your life change?

7.      Now imagine that by magic you get your ears back but now can’t see.
Now which things would be different about your life?
How could you find your way around?   Could you get home from school on your own?

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