Grade Levels: K-3

These classroom activities are designed to complement the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart topic on BrainPOP Jr.

Music and Art

Remind students that music can evoke feelings. Have students listen to a piece of music and create a piece of artwork to go along with it. Students can discuss how the music made them feel. What makes the music happy or sad? Then have students describe how their artwork communicates the mood of the music. What colors communicate happiness or sadness? You may wish to show theColors movie to students to help them choose colors that evoke specific moods.

Opera

Review with students that an opera tells a story through music. You may want to show a few clips or examples, along with synopses of the operas and lyric translations. Then have small groups write their own operas! They can use instrumental music and sing over it, or make up their own tunes. Have students come up with a scene or a story and write lyrics together. Remember, lyrics don’t have to rhyme! Later, invite groups to share their operas with the class or invite parents and friends to a performance. Encourage students to talk about the story they tried to convey through music. You may even want to record students’ performances and explanations and share them digitally.