Here's a story a student wrote after listening to Peter and the Wolf
To say Ms. Serena is a busy music teacher in New York City is quite an understatement. She's the music director at a large public junior high school located in the outskirts of Queens, and teaches everything from music history, theory, musicianship, instrumental instruction and band to hundreds of students each week. A friend of Maestro Classics, Ms. Serena has been using our recordings to help introduce kids (the majority of whom are only familiar with current pop and hip hop artists) to the many styles of period music that encompass the classical music genre. Ms. Serena is constantly coming up with creative lesson plans to help make classical music accessible to her students, and she was kind enough to share this one with us. This past year all her students listened to the Maestro Classics recordings of The Sorcerer's Apprentice & Peter and the Wolf. After listening to the music, both with and without the story, Ms. Serena had her students write their own stories to the music. We've picked out a couple of our favorites to share, and encourage you to try this fun activity in your own home or classroom.
Here's one from The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Maestro Classics CDs & MP3s can be used to teach a variety of subjects beyond ways we have yet to think of. If you've been using our recordings for educational purposes and have come up with your own lesson plans, we would love to hear about them! Please share your ideas by commenting below.