Meet Ludwig van Beethoven

Grade level

Grades 3–5

Time

About 20 minutes

Topic

Composers

Answer key

Yes, page 2 of the PDF

Kids practice

Reading for information, Recalling facts from a passage, Placing composers in time, Connecting a composer to their music

What kids do

Printed on the sheet:

1. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He was a gifted piano player as a boy, and as a young man he moved to Vienna, a city famous for its music. In his late twenties Beethoven began to lose his hearing. It got worse over the years until he was almost completely deaf, but he never stopped composing. He could hear the music in his mind. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. His Fifth Symphony begins with four of the most famous notes in music: short, short, short, long. He also wrote a wellloved piano piece called Für Elise. Beethoven died in 1827.
2. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.
3. Beethoven stopped writing music when he lost his hearing.
4. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.
5. Für Elise is a piece for the trumpet.
6. How does the Fifth Symphony begin?
7. Which city did Beethoven move to as a young man?
8. What does Beethoven’s story teach you about not giving up?

Teacher tip

Play the first few seconds of the Fifth Symphony and have the class tap the four famous notes on their desks: short, short, short, long.

How to use it

• Play a minute of the composer’s music before reading.
• Read the passage aloud once, then let kids reread it on their own.
• Let kids work in pairs and check each other before you show the answer key.

Watch for

Answering from memory. Send kids back to the passage for proof.

Talk about it

• What surprised you about this composer?
• How did you figure that out?

Take it further

Listen to one full piece and draw while it plays.

US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.