Help me give my students an understanding and appreciation of Beethoven through visual DVDs, musical listening selections, and individual reading level books.
I teach in a Title One school where 100% percent of my students receive free breakfast and free lunch. My students are in the sixth to eighth grade and are all immigrants, children of immigrants or refugees who are very eager to learn English and be successful in middle school. Further, my students come to me with no exposure or understanding of classical music.
Consequently, a study by the University of London's Institute of Education found that exposing children to Beethoven's life and music can enhance their skills in the classroom.
Ludwig Van Beethoven's symphonies have influenced every generation of composers since they were first written. Beethoven more than any other composer, changed music, and the sound of music. His music continues to amaze audiences and inspire composers nearly 200 years after his death.
In fact, the skills learned in a unit on Beethoven could later even transfer across the curriculum and transfer to other content areas and improve students' ability to concentrate and attend to details in other academic courses. Further, by studying the life of Beethoven, students can learn how to persevere through difficulties and overcome obstacles, as well as, more fully appreciate individuals with learning disabilities.
My Project
I would like to create a unit on Beethoven's life, music, and achievements for my ESL students. The unit would include all four language components including reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
I envision introducing my students to Beethoven with a student friendly DVD which is an overview of Beethoven's life, music, and accomplishments.
I then would like , as a class, to have students read a biography on the composer. Later, I would like to pair up students, according to their individual reading levels, and have them read a more detailed aspect of Beethoven's life along with listening to a musical selection. Topics include his early and often traumatic childhood, his often troubled personal life, his having to cope with deafness in his late 20s, and his composing some of his most beautiful and famous selections such as the Fifth Symphony, Moonlight Sonata, Fur Elise, Erotica, and the Ninth Symphony. Other topics include what it was like living with the composer with his many pianos and his eccentricities. After his, students would be required to write a summary and critique of their individual books and orally present their findings to the class.
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