Students will love being exposed to a variety of composers, and there is none more important than J.S. Bach for learning about the Baroque Era. This is just an excerpt of the materials found in our Great composers series of printable music lesson plans.

Design a Facebook profile for J.S. Bach. You’ll want to include some basic information like when his birthday is, his relationship status and Relgious Views, “Personal Information” (Contact details, Education and Work), “Friends” (any significant people who lived at the same time as Bach) and finally you’ll want to add some “groups” that Bach may have belonged in. Find a photo on the internet to finish off the project. Students not familiar with Facebook could design a passport.

Have a class discussion about what you would say if you could invite J.S. Bach to your house for a cup of tea. Make a list of three questions you would like to ask him about his life or the time in history that he lived. Have a class discussion on what the answers would be or choose a student to be Bach and ask them some of the questions. The class could even bring in some traditional german food such as gingerbread to share to complete this activity.

Find a work of art on the internet that was created around the same time that Bach was alive. Do some research to find some of the ways that the art work reflects the same Baroque style that Bach’s music does.