Fun with

Composers
volume i
A Simple, Fun Approach to Classical music

Teacher’s Guide

Pre K – Grade 3

by Deborah Ziolkoski
 fun with composers

Foreword
Fun with Composers brings the great classics to life! The power of storytelling will draw children into the
intriguing world of classical music.
Dancing bugs, very mean ringmasters, and snobby pears are just a few of the fascinating characters
unveiled in this unique union of story and song. Children will sing, dance, act and play to the music of
Strauss, Mozart and other greats!
Our flexible guides are geared to accommodate curricula for children Pre K-Gr. 7, giving teachers the
freedom to select from a wide range of themes, music, and composers. Music and concepts have been
carefully selected to suit the developmental age and skill levels of the child.
Detailed lesson plans, reproducible pages, a cd (with lyrics sung over the music and the instrumental
accompaniment) as well as an instructional dvd of these lessons make it possible for a teacher with little or
no music background to teach the guide successfully.
Our guides are designed to enrich a curriculum and nurture the many ways in which children learn. The
lessons are sequential, each beginning with an introduction to the composer. Stories, music, movement, and
instrumental play are then woven into subsequent lessons. Although non-pitched percussion instruments
enhance the child’s learning experience, they are not essential to teach the lessons.
To reinforce and enrich the child’s experience, Fun with Composers has developed “Just for Kids” guides
(cds included). We encourage teacher librarians to keep a few copies of these guides in the school library.
Then, every child will be able to share what they learned in class with family and friends at home.
Thank you in advance for helping create fun, enjoyable experiences with classical music for children
everywhere. Enjoy!
All the Best,

Deborah Ziolkoski
Author/Creator of Fun with Composers

iv
 pre k– grade 3

Fun with Composer

Teaching Tools Guarantee Success!
Reproducible pages – Finally a guide that is truly teacher friendly!
Fun with Composers encourages teachers to reproduce materials for classroom use and their students.
Composer images, biographies, music maps and activity pages are designed to enrich children’s learning
experience.

Music Maps
Our music maps provide a simple visual arrangement of the form (order) of the music. The purpose of the
maps is to place the music in a structured, organized format so children have a better understanding of
its sequence. Children of all ages benefit from the maps, for they help children “make sense” of the music.
Children are thrilled when they can instantly take home these maps and share them with their parents.
Teachers are encouraged to provide copies of the maps for the students for these purposes!

CDs and Instructional DVDs

Our cds have fun lyrics that encourage the children to sing along, and assist parents as they help their
children follow the music maps. The children will also enjoy the orchestral arrangement which immediately
follows.
On our instructional dvd, the lessons taped were a condensed version of our Teacher’s Guides instructed
to non-auditioned students in one 50-minute class. Real students in a real setting! The dvds demonstrate the
teaching process and the key teaching strategies, as well as the final outcome of each piece.

Introductory Forms to Parents

Letters to parents have been developed to inform parents/guardians of what their child is learning in music.
The letters introduce parents to the musical selection, concepts studied, the composer and even a small
biography of the composer’s life. They are available under “teacher forms” on the website. Teachers may
like to send an introductory letter home along with the music map and composer image after the lesson is
completed.

Just for Kids Guides (CDs included)

Our children’s guides are filled with intriguing stories, music maps, composer images, activity pages and a
cd which brings the pages to life. Our cds include two recordings of each selection. The first version will have
lyrics sung over the music so children can easily sing along, and parents can help guide their children when
conducting through the music maps.
The second version is an authentic orchestral recording. This gives children the opportunity to internalize
the lyrics and appreciate the music as it was originally written.

“Just for Kids” Guides – for your School Library!

Ask your school to carry a few copies of the children’s books in their library. Then, every child can share the
stories and music with their families.

How to order the “Just for Kids” Guides

Visit our website at www.funwithcomposers.com to order or visit your nearest music retailer.

v
 Let’s Warm Up! in. Once you are in try to keep enough distance
from others that your bubbles won’t burst. Try
“painting” your bubbles on the inside. Not only
To be a child is to move. Movement is one of
will this help children explore space around
the most natural ways for children to express
them but will also “define” their space.
themselves. Running, jumping, hopping, skipping
3. Hands to yourselves: No touching objects or
and marching are just a few of the ways how
furniture which surround the periphery of the
children move when they play or simply express
room.
themselves.
Incorporating these movements into fun, simple
Movement Ideas and Suggestions
exercises warms up their bodies for the movements
• Use terms like “music detective ears” (to
in the lessons while priming their minds to help
encourage students to listen carefully and
children stay focused and on task. As many children
quickly respond to stimuli). Use imagery to
are kinesthetic learners, adding movement to your
stimulate their imaginations. For example: Grow
lesson helps pave one more pathway to the brain.
like a flower, glide like a fish or ooze like oil.
This volume features an introduction to the
• Use stick figure drawings on cards to add
Laban Movement Efforts presented by dance and
variation to movement combinations. After the
movement specialist Susie Green. Refer to the
students have moved to a few different sound
Laban Movement introduction and the dvd for more
cues hold up a stick figure card asking students
information.
to freeze in this position as you all count to five.
Having a wide variety of cards to choose from
keeps it fun and exciting for children.
Hand Drum Stimuli:
• Challenge children by having them move
Having children warm up with some basic loco-
to a small, repetitive movement pattern a
motor movements is a great way to begin any lesson.
few times, and then signal them to stop.
Single movements or combinations may be used
Invite children to verbalize what combination
depending on what extent you would like to use
of movements they were doing and then
movement in your teaching.
demonstrate them to the class. Notate a few
Basic loco-motor movement stimulus is
simple rhythm patterns on the whiteboard. Can
introduced on the hand drum using a mallet. Begin
they identify the rhythm pattern to which they
with the simplest stimuli (marching), and slowly
moved? Can they clap out this pattern?
add on when your students are comfortable moving
• Ask children to work in small groups to
to the sound of your drum. Encourage students to
create their own combinations of movements.
move using different levels (high, medium and low)
Have them perform these for the class. Take
as well as different directions (sideways, backwards,
this a step further and ask students to make
diagonal, etc.).
up an accompaniment for their movement
For a visual reference to movement introduced
combinations on non-pitched percussion
with the hand drum, click on the “lesson” button of
instruments.
William Tell Overture on your instructional dvd.

Three Magic Rules of Movement

1. Listening: When moving on the floor there
should be no talking. Children who are talking
make it difficult for themselves and others to
hear directions.
2. Respecting each other’s space: Blow an
imaginary bubble large enough for you to step
 Basic Loco-motor Movements Hand Drum Stimuli

Walk/March
s s s s

Run
s s s s s s s s

Hop (one foot)

• • • •
r r r r

Jump (two feet)

> >
s s

Leap
>
s s s s

Skip
s r s r

Gallop
> >
s s s s

Polka > >

s s s s s s

When playing, use a mallet for precision. On the hop stimulus, let children know that a quick tap on
the skin indicates a change of feet.
s: indicates a tapping of the drum skin.
r: indicates the drum rim.

vii
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viii
 pre k– grade 3
Fun with Composers:
Perfect for a School
Assembly or Production!
Are you tired of the same type of musical
productions year after year? Fun with Composers
pieces are great to present to parents either in an
assembly, or as a school production! Parents love
seeing all the children engaged with the classics as
they sing, dance, act and play to Mozart, Strauss and
other great composers.
Cappuccino Classics!
Create an evening to remember for parents and
friends as they enjoy being served coffee, tea and
special dainties as the children from the school
entertain them with some of the greatest classical
music of all time!
Set up your gym with café styled tables (black
or red/white checked tablecloths), menus (which
include all the pieces performed that evening),
and the oldest students of your school acting as
the servers. (Coffee and tea tables can even be
self-serve with students only delivering the tasty
treats.) Have each class present a different Fun with
Composers selection. Choose two students per class
to introduce the music with a brief summary of the
story, introduce the composer and presto! This will
be a night to remember!
ix
When do I introduce
the composers?
I suggest to make a brief mention of the composer
and show students an image of what he or she looks
like when you first introduce a piece. The final lesson
is a great place to present the composer’s biography.
Children seem to be much more interested in
the composers after they have had a meaningful
experience and have connected with his/her music.
Teachers can also further enhance students
learning with the activity sheets provided at
the back of the book. While students work, play
orchestral music from that composer(s) softly in the
background.
“Maestro du Jour”
Keep a conductor’s baton and a black suit jacket
(available at your local thrift shop) available for students
who wish to conduct along to the music or follow the
lines, squiggles or images on the music maps.
Sparkly wands work well with the younger
students while the older students appreciate the look
and feel of a real “baton”. Practice the conducting
patterns with students so they can conduct along
with you to pieces like Haydn’s “Symphony No. 94”.