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The Romantic Times
A WebQuest for Instrumental Music/Music History
Image from pianosociety.com
Based on a template from The WebQuest Page
Introduction
Congratulations!! All of your work has finally paid off! For the longest
time you have been working hard to make your way up the ladder and
you have finally done it. You have been a journalist for one of the
nation’s largest newspapers for 15 years and your editor has finally
asked you to do a front page cover story! He has asked you to do an
article on a famous Romantic composer who recently finished and
premiered a work during the Romantic time period. Research the
composer and write a newspaper article/music review on them and the
influence of their piece on the Romantic time period.
The Task
Your editor has asked you to write this article, where do you start?! You
will create a professional looking front page newspaper article
discussing your composer and their work. To do this you must gather
research on your composer by:
- Researching biographical information.
- Researching information on their most influential pieces
- Researching information on the piece that you chose to
write about.
- Researching the styles in which the piece was written
(Concerto, Symphony, Sonata, etc…) and its components.
Make sure your newspaper looks professional and realistic including a
font section, titles, side article teasers, DATE (relevant to the time you
are in) and your name as writer for the article. Have fun and learn!! Be
sure to ask your editor (Me) questions if needed.
At the end of the project the final product will be shown and presented to the
class. You will read other newspaper findings and share yours as well.
The Process
Each student will pick a Robert or Clara Schumann composition from the list below (or if there is another
piece you’d like to do, clear it with Mrs. Thurston). Research the composer’s background information and
gather relevant biographical information. Information should include date written, why written (background on
the process and reasoning behind writing the piece), was there anything that influenced the writing of the
piece (historical, economical, etc…), and why this impacted the Romantic time period and was such a
popular piece.
After gathering this information, write an article for your newspaper about the composer and this work.
Include biographical information, the piece you chose, information about the piece, how it impacted this time
period and any other information you feel contributes to your article. Also include what your personal opinion
is on the piece. Did you like it? Do you think it will become a hit? Do you recommend it to your readers? Think
of it as a music review (remember the New Zeitschrift?)
Your final product should look like an official newspaper cover. Be sure to include a newspaper title (New
York Times, Coloradoan, etc…), an article title, date (relevant to time period your in, and include in the article
the dates of your composer and piece), editor name, your name, and anything else you wish to decorate it
with (side teasers, weather, etc…). Be creative in your presentation of the article and the paper.
Robert Schumann
Papillons
Dichterliebe
Symphony No. 3
Vom Pagen und die Konichstochter
Symphony No. 4
Clara Schumann
Piano Trio in Gm
Scherzo, Op. 10
Drei Gemitsche Chore, 1-3
Evaluation
*Carefully study the rubric and make
sure you satisfy all areas. 
Topic
Participation
Grading Guidelines
- Directions Followed Completely – 5 pts
Points
Possible 100
10 points
- Project Completed On Time – 5 pts
Research
- Useful Biographical Information – 10 pts
25 points
- Impact/Importance of Piece – 10 pts
-Time Period Correct – 5 pts
Final Product
- Title of Newspaper – 5 pts
- Title of Article – 5pts
- Dates – 5 pts
- Professional Looking – 5 pts
- Names (You and Editor) – 5 pts
- Biographical Information – 10 pts
- Information on Musical Work – 10 pts
-Influence/Importance of Piece– 10 pts
-Musical review/your opinion-5 pnts
- Creativity – 5 pts
65 points
Points Received
Conclusion
Congratulations!! You have just finished your first front page cover
story and your information is out to the world. Through your
research you have learned about a very important influential
Romantic composer. You have learned about their life and how
they compose their music. You can now say you know about one of
the most popular works coming from the Romantic time. And by
knowing the information that you have learned you can now
incorporate your knowledge into your playing and interpretation of
pieces you play, not to mention informing all the people who read
your article. You have made your big break in your writing, and
you’re smarter because of it.
Credits & References
This WebQuest was created by Chris Krueger, student at Colorado State University
studying in the department of Music and the department of Education. It was
completed during the spring semester of 2008 as a project for the class Educational
Technology and Assessment
Images courtesy of Cyberbass.
Animations and background courtesy of WebWeaver
Created with the use of The WebQuest Page Template and The WebQuest Slideshare Group
so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials.
*Note: This presentation was downloaded from slideshare.net and tweaked by me, Brittany
Thurston for use in the classroom. Most of the credit belongs to Chris Krueger. Most of the
tweaking involved changing the content to fit my lessons.