Carnival of the Animals

Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835 – 1921

When Camille Saint-Saëns was just a toddler, his mother and his great-aunt began teaching him music. He was only five years old when he gave his first public piano performance. When he was seven, he began to study with other teachers, and he had already begun composing his own music. He became one of the most famous French composers.

First Grade students were immersed into the world of Camille Saint-Saën’s Carnival of the Animals.  
We read poetry set to the music of Saint-Saën’s compositions and used our bodies to explore sounds through animal gestures and movement.  We carried this lesson into art where students learned and applied basic animal drawing techniques.  Using these skills, the first grade students created a train car containing their favorite animal.  The train is currently traveling down the main hallway as it makes it way to the Carnival!

One of Saint-Saëns’ most well known compositions, The Carnival of the Animals, is enjoyed by children all over the world for the pictures it paints of animals. (www.dsokids.com)