Feast of Ideas Week 8 - Ludwig von Beethoven

If you were to ask people name a famous composer, you would probably hear the name of this week’s composer a lot. Ludwig van Beethoven, born in 1770 in Germany composed over 650 pieces of music. His works included 9 Symphonies, 9 Concertos and 32 Piano Sonatas with famous pieces like Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, the 5th Symphony, and Ode to Joy. Beethoven’s influence extends beyond his personal music compositions. Artists ranging from the Beatles to Billy Joel have been inspired and influenced by the works of Beethoven. In fact, Billy Joel was once quoted as saying “I have yet to forgive myself for not being Beethoven.”

Please check out the following resources to learn more about the deaf composer….

  • Activity Packet: (CLICK HERE)

  • Click HERE to read more about Beethoven

  • German RECIPE: Black Forest Cupcakes

  • Books

    • Lives of the musicians: good times, bad times (and what the neighbors thought) by Kathleen Krull

    • Mr. Mergler, Beethoven, and me: inspired by a true story by David Gutnick and Mathilde Cing-Mars

    • Beethoven for kids: his life and music with 21 activities

  • Music: check out the following Beethoven pieces

 
 

Victor Borge, one of the best piano comedians, performing Moonlight Sonata on the Muppet Show. One of my favorite clips.

 

This Night, by Billy Joel uses Beethoven’s Pathétique ( Piano Sonata No. 8) as the melody in the chorus.

 

Looking to integrate your Music lesson with Science, Art, Literature, and History into your Homeschool week? Follow these steps

The Composer Study Activity Packet (CLICK HERE)

2) Gather needed materials such as books, food, artwork, computer links, music (This week’s recipe: German RECIPE: Black Forest Cupcakes)

3) Complete activities throughout the week (can do as many or as few as you want). Open up YouTube and search for Beethoven, have the music playing in the background as you complete the activities each day.

Day 1

  • Listen to Song while coloring the doodle page

    Eat the food from their country while reading the living book

  • Discuss & cut out the concurrent people, places, inventions, and events that occurred during the composer’s lifetime.  Paste onto Map page. 

Day 2

  • Complete the Sequencing worksheet

  • Geography

    • Locate Germany on a map; draw Germany, color in the German Flag

    • Research Germany at National Geographic for Kids

    • Draw the countries of the European continent

Day 3

  • Complete the Copywork Worksheet

  • Literature

    • Read stories from Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Day 4

  • Complete Braille Decoding worksheet

  • Science - learn more about the planet Uranus (discovered in 1781)

    • NASA Uranus Website

    • Read Aloud: Uranus by Lori Dittmer

Day 5

  • Complete the Rhythm Matching worksheet

  • History - George Washginton

    • Read alouds

      • Who was George Washington by Roberta Edwards

      • George Washington’s teeth by Deborah Chandra

      • George Washington’s rules to live by: a good manners guide from the father of our country by K. M. Kostyal

    • Ask for a narration

 
Beth Smith