"Our Mr Beethoven",
an integrated approach.



Source: BBC Schools WWI resources

Teacher: Alison Kelly
School: Southview Junior School Language Unit
Ages: 18 pupils, Y3 - 6
Piece: Beethoven’s 5th (1st movement)

This school have been clever to utilise a mixture of pupils throughout the school and woven the piece through a curriculum project using music, song and dance!
 

 

 

 

 

 

"We have been working on a school project about Walter Tull...

He was the 2nd professional mixed race footballer in this country to play in the top division of the football league playing for Spurs and Northampton Town. His football career was curtailed by the outbreak of WW1.

 He became the 1st infantry officer of mixed race to be commissioned in the British army and was greatly loved by his men. Sadly he was killed in the war and history has not served him kindly. He was never honoured for his bravery.

 

Having listened to the music for several weeks before the launch, when we watched the video the children exclaimed, on hearing the Beethoven “that is our music”.
Subsequently, he has become known as “our Mr Beethoven”

 I felt that the Beethoven would give a good basis for writing fanfares for a ceremony to award him with a posthumous honour. With the agreement of the class teacher, we have extended this project in music for 2 terms. [Music:] We started by learning to play the 1^st 2 bars of Beethoven’s 5^th. The children then wrote and learnt to play their own compositions using its famous rhythm and the pentatonic scale. 

[Song:] I then chose 8 of these 2 bar tunes and put them together in the best order to create a song tune. As a class, the children wrote the words of the Walter Tull song.

[Dance:] This term, after watching the 2 dance master classes on the BBC website we have created a dance to the piece (greatly slowed down) that depicts elements of his story. To finish off our project, the children are going to write fanfares for our ceremony.
At Southview this year Martin Garrod is teaching Brass L2M for the whole year. In conjunction, with him, and to finish off our project, the children are going to write fanfares for our ceremony, which his brass players will learn to play for us.

In the summer we will have his award ceremony featuring our song, dance and fanfare and invite an audience. Martin, who is a Spurs supporter has also suggested that we let Spurs and Northampton Town know what we have been doing as he believes that they will be very interested.

The children have REALLY enjoyed this work and are so excited by the BBC website and its supporting material. What a terrific success!"

 

The Walter Tull Song   

 

I’m Walter Tull, this is my song.

Enjoy it please and sing along.

I’m Folkstone born, in eighty-eight

I’m 1of 6, but my mum died

 

My dad’s new wife was called Clara.

When I was nine my dad died, too.

My step mum tried to care for us

But it was hard, so orphanage.

 

Brother Edward left for Glasgow.

Printing for me, didn’t like it.

Still loved football, played in spare time.

Spotted by Spurs, I signed for them.

 

Then war started, nineteen fourteen

We had to go, my team signed up.

Fight for England was our duty.

Because of this – no more football.

 

Officer Tull in no man’s land

Led men to fight but he got shot

My body’s lost somewhere on France.

Militr’y cross not yet for me.