Download Erika Baer Classroom Lesson Plan JP McCaskey High School: IB

Erika Baer
Classroom Lesson Plan
JP McCaskey High School: IB/SL
Clara Schumann 2/7/12
Overall Goals of the Lesson
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Students will learn the background information of Clara Schumann, including her
personal life and musical accomplishments.
Learn what makes Clara Schumann a Romantic composer.
Listen to and analyze “Romance in G minor for Violin”.
Materials Needed
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Textbook, “Music: An Appreciation” by Roger Kamien
CD: “Romance in G minor for Violin”
Handout
Blackboard
Behavioral Objectives
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Students will write as many words as they can about the Romantic period.
Students will listen to “Romance”.
Students will complete a short activity at the end of the lesson.
Students will describe characteristics of “Romance”.
Procedural Steps
Introduction
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Discuss characteristics of the Romantic period and list them on the
blackboard.
o List as many words as possible on a sheet of paper.
o Go around the room, read off the students’ responses, and write them
on the board.
Review what the students know about Robert Schumann.
Transition
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Robert Schumann’s wife, Clara, was a performer and composer, as well.
While she was more of a performer, her compositions were some of the first
to be recognized as a woman’s.
Core Activities
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Background Information about Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
o Personal Life (1819-1896)
 Learned to play from her father, Friedrich Wieck
 Spoke her first words between the ages of 4 and 5
 Married Robert Schumann, her father was opposed
 Robert was psychologically sick
 Sacrificed her personal aspirations to support him
 After he died in 1856 she wore mourning clothes
 Had 7 children, an eighth died in childbirth
 Died in 1896 due to complications from a stroke
o Professional Life
 One of the most prominent pianists of the Romantic era
 Toured with her husband, she made Robert’s pieces
famous in Europe
o Johannes Brahms
o Joseph Joachim
 Refined the tastes of audiences by performing Bach,
Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms
 Took responsibility for finances because of Robert’s
instability
o Generated income by performing
o She wanted to tour, Robert wanted to stay at
home
 When Robert died, she interpreted her husband’s works
 Teacher of the piano at the Hoch Conservatorium and Frankfurt
am Main,1878-1892
 One of the first women to be recognized as a composer
 First composition was a Piano Concerto in A minor
o Began at 14, finished at 16
 Played with Liepzig Gewandhaus orchestra
o Conducted by Felix Mendelssohn
 Didn’t compose after age 36
 Prevalent negative opinions about women composing
o “I once believed that I possessed creative talent,
but I have given up this idea; a woman must not
desire to compose—there has never yet been one
able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?”

Today her pieces are increasingly performed and
recorded
o Songs, piano pieces, a piano concerto, a piano trio
with violin and cello, choral pieces, 3 romances for
violin and piano
Transition
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One of Clara’s most famous pieces was “Romance in G minor for Violin”.
Closure
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Listen to and analyze “Romance”
o What makes the piece Romantic?
Ticket out the door:
o 5 question activity
 Who was Clara’s first piano teacher?
 What did Clara spend most of her life performing?
 Name three types of pieces Clara composed.
 Name one fellow performer or composer Clara became close
with.
 Why did Clara doubt her composing abilities?
Assessment Plan
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In order to assess the students I will:
o Have students write down words that describe the Romantic period.
o Have students identify chord progressions in “Romance”
o Have students identify why the piece is Romantic
o Have students complete a “ticket out the door” activity that recaps the
day’s lesson.
Musical and Pedagogical Preparation
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Listening to and analyzing Clara Schumann’s “Romance”
Researching details of Clara Schumann’s life
Oral/ Aural, Visual, Kinesthetic Components
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Oral/ Aural
o Listening to “Romance”
o Discussing previous knowledge of Robert Schumann
o Discussing why “Romance” is Romantic
Visual
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o Read and analyze “Romance”
Kinesthetic
o Writing chord progressions of “Romance”
National Standards of Music
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5. Reading and Notating Music
o Reading the score of “Romance”
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
o Listening to “Romance”
o Describing the Romantic characteristics of “Romance”
o Analyzing chord progressions of “Romance”
7. Evaluating music and music performances
o Evaluating the performance of “Romance”
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts
o Discuss what famous writers and artists influenced Schumann.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture
o Discuss what was happening in the world during the Romantic period.
o Discuss where Clara Schumann lived and what life was like for women
during that time.
Logistical Concerns
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Make sure the sound system is available for use
Addressing Activities
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Critical Thinking
o Describing the Romantic characteristics of “Romance”
o Analyzing chord progressions
o Ticket out the door exercise
Listening
o Listening to “Romance”
Cultural Stewardship
o Understanding Clara Schumann’s life in relation to history and culture
Creativity
o Completing a list of what each student considers to be Romantic
characteristics