Composer biography project for 2nd

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I love teaching composer of the month lessons in my music class, and my students really enjoy them as well! At the beginning of each month, they would come into class all excited to see the new music bulletin board for the composer. In order to keep up with this, I had to be organized and know where all of my posters and materials were. In this post, I will show you how I organize all of my composer of the month bulletin boards and digital music activities.

At my school, we have a composer designated for each month. There are enough composers planned out to cover a 3-year cycle, so my students will learn about a total of almost 30 composers while at the elementary building. At first, I struggled with how to organize all of my composer posters, and bulletin board organization was nonexistent for me in my classroom. But I have finally found a way to keep my posters neat and save lots of time when planning composer lessons, visuals, and activities each month. If you’re interested in hearing about what I did in my classroom, read on!

Are you looking to use composers of the month schedule in your music classroom? Then here’s some tips.

1. Make a plan and list of your composers of the month.

First, you must plan your composer lessons out well. Collaborate with your colleagues to brainstorm a list of important composers to include in your curriculum and lessons. Consider different genres of music, time periods, and countries. Also, you can use Google to find composers that may be from your home country or state. 

You can use Google Sheets to keep track of your composer schedule. Feel free to use this copy that I have created. I assign each composer to a different month. Thin

Resources for the Composer Project

Encyclopedia Britannica

Search for composers by last name

World Book Online

ramapo/mounties

Biography.com

Biographies and short videos-search by composer's last name.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Go to "Listen by Composer"

Includes: Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Copland, Debussy, Gershwin, Stravinsky

New York Philharmonic

Go to the "Composer's Gallery"

Includes: Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Copland, Debussy, Gershwin, Stravinsky, Ellington

Canadian Arts Alive

Go to "Great Composers"

Includes: Beethoven, Gershwin, Haydn, Mozart

John Philip Sousa

Encyclopedia Britannica

Marine Band Website - Sousa Biography

Classics for Kids

Go to "Composers"

Includes: Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Gershwin, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Stravinsky,Sousa, Tchaikovsky

Duke Ellington Links

Notable Biographies

Duke Ellington

In April, I introduced a series of blog posts I have been going through over the last few months, sharing some of my favorite resources we use in our homeschool using the Charlotte Mason method. These are the ones we’ve tried and have been so helpful in making our days run more smoothly. They have also engaged my kids in whatever subject we’re covering. In some cases, they’re resources that were created by other homeschooling moms or are from reputable homeschooling companies, and sometimes, they’re just different items that have been helpful to us in a specific subject.

These are by no means the only resources out there, and I will offer others in some subjects that I have heard of but haven’t had the chance to try yet, or I have friends who have used them and appreciate them. But the main list will be the resources we’ve used in our homeschool over the last six years that have been so helpful to us.

Today, I’m sharing my favorite resources for composer study! 

I have one resource to mention in this category that covers all parts of music study. A Touch of the Infinite: Studies in Music Appreciation with Charlotte Mason is a book I heard about several years ago on the Mason Jar Podcast. In it, Megan Hoyt discusses all aspects of music in a Charlotte Mason education. I have not been able to look at it, but I have heard good things about it, so I wanted to list it here.

Charlotte Mason Composer Study Overview

With Musical Appreciation the case is different; and we cannot do better than quote from an address made by Mrs. Howard Glover at the Ambleside Conference of the Parents’ Union, 1922:––

“Musical Appreciation––which is so much before the eye at the present moment––originated in the P.N.E.U. about twenty-five years ago. At that time I was playing to my little child much of the best music in which I was interested, and Miss Mason&nbs