The kids and I have been studying Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart over the past several weeks using Music Appreciation: Book 1 for the Elementary Grades from Zeezok Publishing LLC. Here are some of the interesting things we have learned about Mozart:
- When he was three years old he could play thirds on the clavier without instruction.
- He was only 5 when he and his sister started their first musical tour.
- He wrote his first true opera when he was only 11 or 12 years old.
- He performed for regular people as well as royalty.
- He had poor money management skills.
What is Included in this course?
Music Appreciation: Book 1 for the Elementary Grades includes a Student Activity Book, Music Discs, Lapbook, and the seven composer biographies. Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini and Schubert are the seven composers that are studied. The stories of these composers lives are retold in story format which draws the student in. The biographies help to show the human side of these brilliant composers.
There are five Music Discs which provide the student with many samples of each composer’s music. These five discs have all the songs that are talked about in the composer biographies, performed exactly as they were originally written. There are also thirty-five other pieces that are recorded as well. The music discs really add to the student’s experience of learning about the composer and his music.
There is a Lapbook CD which contains samples of each of the seven lapbooks, as well as, all the material needed to print off for the lapbooks. Lapbooks provide a hands-on way to learn more about the composers and their lives.
In the Student Activity Book, students learn about geography and history associated with each of the composers. They also get to complete hands-on activities such as recipes and instrument studies. They also work on timelines, character studies and facts about classical music. There are fun worksheets which feature crossword puzzles, maps and other activities.
What Do I Think of This Course?
Music Appreciation: Book 1 for the Elementary Grades is a thorough course designed for students in the first through sixth grades. The engaging activities are appealing to students of various ages. If you are looking for a Music Appreciation curriculum to use with a wide range of ages, I certainly would recommend Music Appreciation: Book 1. The Student workbook and lapbook portions of the course add so much depth to the study.
For our family, it has worked well for me to use the biography as a read-aloud. The girls enjoy working on lapbooks, so the lapbook was a great addition especially for them. I really liked how well the Student Book, Lapbook, Music Discs and composer biographies complemented each other. These different components work together to make a very thorough and engaging curriculum.
One of my favorite aspects of Music Appreciation: Book 1 for the Elementary Grades is that the kids are developing a love for classical music. They really enjoy listening to the the songs they’ve been learning about. The girls enjoy twirling around the living room with the music turned up.
It is also encouraging to me that Zeezok is not changing their curriculum to align to common core. Their official statement is that they “have not read the common core standards and don’t intend to. If the authors of the common core standards included such items as: listening to music from other countries, understanding rhythm and pacing, reading music, reading about the life of the composers, then yes we do have some correlation with common core, but it is purely coincidental.”
I encourage you to read what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about the composers they’ve been studying with their children.
Jennifer
Love the use of lapbooks and the unit study feel with this program! Great review.