The Great Composer Quiz Show

Last week, students in Grades 3 - 5 got to play the Great G.F. Handel Quiz Show.  This is a engaging activity that could be reconstructed for any composer and various other music topics.  I

Materials Needed:

• Biographies of Handel (or composer of your choice).  MakingMusicFun.net has great options!
• Index Cards
• Writing Utensils
• 4 Envelopes: Labeled with Categories (Life Facts, Music, Famous Friends, Jobs, etc.)

Students entered the room and were given brief instructions.  They were given 10 minutes to read a biography of G. F. Handel.  As they read, they looked for an interesting fact.  On their index card, students wrote their fact in the form of a question.  One side of their index card had the question and on the back side they wrote the answer.  Students then placed their card in the envelope labeled with appropriate category for their question.  They could then choose to keep reading and write more questions.

After 10 minutes, materials were collected.  Students were allowed to keep their biography papers.

Students were divided into 2 teams.  A students from Team 1 would select a category.  The teacher drew the first index card and read the question.  The student was given 10 seconds to answer without help from their team.  At 10 seconds, the teacher would say "Team."  Students on Team 1 can raise their hand to answer.  If they answered right, they earned a point.  If they answered wrong, the question went to Team 2.

Everytime a student got the question correct, a student would push play on my iPod so that  "The Hallelujah Chorus" would be heard for a few seconds.  Students got a kick out of this and it allowed them to hear Handel's music a few more times.