I am using this opportunity to help give the students a historical basis on which to build their own understanding of why such a piece continues to touch lives, like theirs, today. The project could be used at a younger or older grade level with some teacher modifications. Although focused in the fine arts, the lesson could be co-taught with a multidisciplinary approach including language arts and social science as well. This project was designed with my middle school students in mind. We meet every day, and their instrumental experience ranges from 0-4 years of playing.
Students come from elementary schools where general music instruction is given once a week.
The lesson will take multiple class periods. An in class introduction can be done over a period of days or weeks, doing auditory presentations of enduring music at the beginning or end of rehearsals. Because of the nature of a performance oriented class, the project itself can be done in a few weeks, with no interruptions, or can be spread out over a school quarter. Addressed Fine Arts 27.B.3 Know and describe how artists and their works shape culture and increase understanding of societies, past and present. Language Arts 1.C.3d Summarize and make generalizations from content and relate them to the purpose of the material.