For many years, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf has been an engaging and effective way to teach students about the instruments of the orchestra.
I grew up listening to Peter and the Wolf on record (yes – the vinyl kind!) and my own children now enjoy it on CD.
There are countless excellent resources available online, so I’ve gathered a curated selection for you here – all free and classroom-friendly.
You can also join the Midnight Music Community to access even more music tech tips, creative lesson ideas, and ready-to-use teaching materials.
Background Information
1. The Wikipedia article contains a history of the work, the plot outline, a list of recordings and adaptations and some useful links to other resources
2. There’sadetailed biography of Prokofiev on the Encyclopedia website here
3. And a brief kid-friendly version for young students on the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids’ site
4. Also of interest is this fact gallery on the Classic FM website which shares 15 interesting facts (and photos) about the composer
Recordings
There are far too many recordings of Peter and the Wolf to list here, but here are a few highlights:
5. If you’re an Australian teacher looking for a local recording, ABC Classics releaseda version with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, narrated by Miram Margolyes
6. Dame Edna Everage narrated this version performance by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
7. I’m a big fan of Spotify (life-changing!!) and they have many recordings available, including this one narrated by the late David Bowie
8. There is a free Creative Commons licensed recording on the Internet Archive website
9. Here is a Peter and the Wolf album with narration by Alice Cooper (!).
Videos
10. On Youtube, you can find the classic Disney cartoon version with the original music, narrated by Sterling Holloway
11. There’s also a short film in which Walt Disney describes what it was like to meet Prokofiev and you can see Prokofiev himself playing the Peter and the Wolf themes on the piano
12. Then there’s the slightly odd puppet version narrated by Sting and conducted by Claudio Abbado
13. And an interesting “up close” video of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra which shows orchestral musicians with a bunch of Go Pro cameras attached to their instruments (see below)
14. In 2006, Breakthru Films made an award-winning claymation movie version of Peter and the Wolf. I haven’t managed to see if myself yet, but the (incredibly short) trailers and videos of behind-the-scenes footage look amazing. You can view the trailer here
15. Here is a wonderful version, narrated by the incomparable Boris Karloff
Lesson Plans, Story Outlines and Other Resources
16. The DSO Kids website has a Peter and the Wolf resource pack for teachers which includes the story, printable pictures, general information about watching concerts, and activities you can do with students. To download the resource pack, go to the Lesson Plan database here.
24. Music@Malling has a downloadable PDF resource with different tasks, activities and examples of Russian Folk Art
Images
25. The gorgeous clipart used used on this page, created by Philip Martin can be found here and is free to use in an educational setting. Right-click on the image and choose “Save image as”. You might also like to take a look at the rest of his large collection of images – it’s worth it!
26. I found this beautiful wolf image amongst the Creative Commons licensed images on Flickr.
Powerpoint Presentations
27. On SlideShare, there are a set of links to powerpoint presentations made by teachers that are free to download and there are some other useful links for Peter and the Wolf resources.
Interactive Resources
28. Here is a free Google Slides “escape room”–style assessment that runs entirely in the browser.
29. This Seesaw activity – “Instruments and Characters” provides simple drag-and-drop matching plus a short audio response task for reflection.
30. The PBS LearningMedia Peter & the Wolf collection (American Classical Orchestra) bundles performance videos with instrument features and teacher supports.
Printable Story Masks
31. If you’re looking for a craft activity, you might like to make these masks and act out the story with your students
32. These are very interesting printable silhouette puppets from the blog, Past Times.
Any others?
I hope you find these useful.
Have you discovered other great Peter and the Wolf activities online? Or perhaps you’ve created your own classroom materials that you’d be happy to share with other teachers?
Let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!
If you’re looking for more simple, effective ways to use technology in music education, I’d love to help you inside the Midnight Music Community.
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Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my businessMidnight Music. Yes – I’m a qualified teacher but I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through theMidnight Music Membership Community– a go-to online hub for tech-focussed professional development.
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7 Comments
Have you seen ‘Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood’ narrated by Alice Cooper?
Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG-Y7nmkkEo
There is even an app for it.
Thanks for all your tips.
[…] Jeux musicaux. Banque de Karaokés. Flûte à bec. Maternelle. Recettes. Musique instruments. Challengeu. Voyage. Pierre Et Le Loup – Walt Disney (1946) Percussions corporelles. 31+ Fantastic Peter and the Wolf Resources | Midnight Music. […]
Most of these links no longer work. Perhaps a new update?
I also like the extra Peter and the Wolf resources on the Maestro Classics website: https://www.maestroclassics.com/peter-and-the-wolf.html
Thanks Jennifer!
Number 9 video is labeled as private and is unable to be viewed 🙁
Unfortunately they change all the time (!). Thanks for letting me know. We try to update the post every 6 months or so to fix up any broken links.