V is for von Trapp A Musical Family Alphabet
Author: William Anderson Illustrator: Linda Dockey Graves
Guide written by Cheryl Grinn
This guide may be reproduced for use with this express written consent of Sleeping Bear Press
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The ABCs of the von Trapp Children
The von Trapps were a large family, with a total of ten children! Let’s have some fun with the children’s names.
Hedwig Eleanor Johanna Rosmarie
Agathe Werner Johannes
Maria Rupert Martina
Put the children’s names in alphabetical order.
1. ______6. ______
2. ______7. ______
3. ______8. ______
4. ______9. ______
5. ______10. ______
FRACTIONS ARE PARTS OF A WHOLE!
Solve these von Trapp fraction problems.
1. The von Trapp family enjoyed raising chickens on their farm. They had 25 chickens; four were roosters and the rest were hens. Write the fraction showing the number of hens______Write the fraction showing the number of roosters______
2. There are 10 von Trapp family children. Write the fraction of boys ______girls ______
3. Fifty-six adults and twenty-three children came to the von Trapp music camp one week. Write the fraction of adults who attended ______Write the fraction of the children who attended ______
4. Three hundred people attended a music concert given by the von Trapps. There were 132 women, 17 girls, 79 men and 72 boys. Write the fraction of males attending ______Write the fraction of the females attending ______Write the fraction of men and women attending ______Write the fraction of girls and boys attending ______
MIGHTY MOUNTAINS
The von Trapp family loved living in Austria and being surrounded by mountains. Mountains can be found throughout the world.
Use an atlas to help you match each set of mountains in the box below with the continent on which it can be found.
Alps Mt. McKinley Kilimanjaro
Rocky Mountains Mt. Kosciusko
Mt. Everest Mt. Kenya Mt. Vesuvius
Cotopaxi Mt. Fuji
North America South America Europe
Africa Australia Asia
Use multiplication to find the answer to each of these problems. Write the equation with the answer.
1. Multiply the number of von Trapp boys times the number of von Trapp girls (children only). ______
2. How many total toes did the children have (no one was missing a toe!)
______
3. Each child had four cookies before going to bed. How many total cookies were eaten? ______
4. Each boy needed a new baseball. Each ball cost $2.50. What was the total amount paid for the balls? ______
5. New hair ribbons for the girls were 25 cents each. Each girl got 3 ribbons. What was the total cost of all of the ribbons? ______
Timeline
Search throughout V is for von Trapp to find the dates needed to answer these questions.
1. In which year did the family move to Salzburg? ______2. In which year was Captain von Trapp born? ______3. In which year did Georg and Agathe marry? ______4. In which year did Germany invade Austria? ______5. In which year did the von Trapps move to Stowe, Vermont? ______6. In which year did Maria (mother) die? ______7. In which year did Maria and Georg marry? ______
Complete this time line showing each of these events in the order they happened.
Event
______
Year
SEEK AND FIND THE VON TRAPPS
Look high and low to find the answers to these questions in V is for von Trapp. Be a good detective.
1. Name the author of the book. ______
2. Name the mountains in Austria. ______
3. Who was Austria’s most popular composer? ______
4. Why could the Captain no longer sail after WWII? ______
5. What did Maria plan to become before she was sent to tutor? ______
6. What does it mean to sing “a cappella”? ______
7. Name the city where the von Trapps won their first singing competition. ______8. Who was the leader of the Nazi Party? ______
9. After they left Italy where did the von Trapps go? ______
10. What type of schooling did the children have in America? ______
von Trapp Crossword
Find the answers to this crossword as you read the wonderful story of the von Trapp family.
1. V ______2. O ______3. N ______
4. T ______5. R ______6. A ______7. P ______8. P ______
1. A small town ______2. The von Trapps grew fruit in their ______3. Group that invaded Austria ______4. The family did their musical ______in Europe. 5. A flute–like instrument ______6. Name the country the von Trapps were from ______7. The family’s story became a musical ______on Broadway. 8. What the von Trapp children called their father ______
The Family of Instruments—Play On!
An orchestra includes many different types of instruments. They play together to create beautiful and exciting music. The von Trapp family used several different instruments when they performed.
In the box below are instruments used in an orchestra. Place each instrument in the correct category.
drum flute bass oboe clarinet
harp French horn cymbals
tuba violin cello trumpet
Woodwinds Brass Percussion String
Can you play an instrument? Which instrument do you play or would you like to play? ______
Mountains, water, and trees are beautiful to look at and fun to recreate on paper. Imagine you are looking at a scene much like the von Trapps did daily.
Create your own mountain scene using only torn paper and glue! You need to tear your paper so that it doesn’t have smooth edges. You want it to have irregular edges. That will make it look more realistic! NO SCISSORS!
Materials Construction paper in various colors Glue Large sheet of white construction paper on which to make your picture
Directions 1. Sketch your picture on the bottom of this page. 2. Tear construction paper into the shapes you will need. 3. Place the entire scene on the white paper; change it around until you have a picture you like. 4. Glue down the torn paper.
My Family Tree
Did you ever wonder who your ancestors were and what they did? Genealogy is the study of your family history. You can see an example of the von Trapp family tree in V is for von Trapp: A Musical Family Alphabet. Have a parent help you research your family.
Use the space below to do a rough-draft of your family tree. Make a final copy on an 8-inch X 10-inch sheet of paper. Have fun exploring your family.
Eins, Zwei, Drei COUNTING IN GERMAN
It’s fun to learn numbers and words in different languages. In Austria they speak German. Practice pronouncing these numbers and phrases with a friend. It always helps to have a partner. Surprise your teacher by greeting her/him in German.
English German
One eins Two zwei Three drei Four vier Five funf Six sechs Seven sieben Eight acht Nine neun Ten zehn
Good day Guten Tag Good bye Auf Wiedersehen Please Bitte Thank you Danke Happy Birthday Alles Gute zum Geburtstag
CAMPING, SAILING, HIKING Survey and Graph
The von Trapp family children liked to spend their time in the beautiful outdoors. They enjoyed camping, hiking, and sailing. Do you enjoy any of these activities?
Survey 20 people and ask each person which of these activities he or she enjoys the most.
CAMPING HIKING SAILING
Use the data you collected to make a circle graph showing the results. (Remember circle graphs show percentages.)
HOMESCHOOLING
The von Trapp children went to public school in Austria and were home- schooled in America because of their concert schedule. There are advantages and disadvantages to both forms of education.
Make a list showing what you think are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of schooling.
Homeschool advantages 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Homeschool disadvantages 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Public school advantages 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Public school disadvantages 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
In the book V is for von Trapp you will learn how a young woman named Maria Kutschera became a tutor to Maria von Trapp and how it changed her life forever!
Pretend you are a live-in tutor and nanny. Write a letter back to your family or to a friend describing your life with the von Trapp family. How do you feel about being away from home? What is it like living with seven children?
Dear Family/Friend,
______
One of everyone’s favorite songs from The Sound of Music is “My Favorite Things.” (raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, etc.)
Write a song about YOUR favorite things. You can either use the melody of “My Favorite Things” and write your own words or choose another tune. You might even want to compose your own song and music. Perhaps you’d even like to write it as a rap. It’s all up to you.
______
Music and poetry go hand-in-hand. Many poems have been set to music and have made wonderful songs. Choose something you read about in V is for von Trapp and write a cinquain poem about that person or object. Example– Maria, edelweiss, the Alps, the children, etc.
Follow the pattern below to write a cinquain poem. Cinquain poems have 5 lines following this pattern.
Line 1- Noun (1 word) Line 2- Adjective- Adjective (2 words) Line 3- Action verb- Action verb- Action verb (3 words) Line 4- A four word phrase (4 words) Line 5- Synonym for the noun in line 1 (1 word)
Write your cinquain poem below. ______
Now try a second poem.
______
YUMMY RASPBERRY COOKIES
The Austrians are known for their wonderful cookies. Try your hand at making these cookies with the help of an adult.
Ingredients
½ cup butter ½ cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg yolk (the yellow part) 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup chopped almonds 2/3 cup raspberry jam
Directions
1. Cream sugar and butter together. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix it all together until fluffy. Stir in flour. Cover bowl and refrigerate for two hours. 2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease cookie sheets. 3. Take dough by the teaspoonful and roll into balls. 4. Dip the balls into the chopped almonds and place on a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. 5. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the top of each ball. 6. Use a teaspoon to put raspberry jam into the dent in each cookie. 7. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 8. Let cool on a rack. 9. Eat these yummy treats with a tall glass of milk! ENJOY!
VERMONT — AUSTRIA VENN DIAGRAM
During the Nazi takeover of Austria the von Trapp family fled their home and came to America. They settled in Vermont and built a music camp there.
Make a Venn diagram showing how their lives in Austria and Vermont were alike and how they were different. (There are many ways.)
AUSTRIA BOTH VERMONT
“VOICES OF GOLD” TOUR
The von Trapp family did a “Voices of Gold” concert tour in Europe. They visited France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, and England. Use a map of Europe to find each of these countries. Choose one of these countries to research. Find the following information for the country you choose.
______Country name
1. capital ______
2. population ______
3. 3 major cities ______
4. language spoken ______
5. currency ______
6. physical features ______
7. 3 famous places or things ______
Write a paragraph describing if you would like to visit this country, why, or why not. ______
Answer Key V is for von Trapp
The ABCs of the von Trapp Children: 1) Agathe 2) Eleanor 3) Hedwig 4) Johanna 5) Johannes 6) Maria 7) Martina 8) Rosmarie 9) Rupert 10) Werner
Fractions are Parts of a Whole: 1) 21/25, 4/25 2) boys 3/10 girls 7/10 3) adults 56/79, children 23/79 4) males 151/300, females 149/300 men and women 211/300, girls and boys 89/300
Mighty Mountains: North America—Mt. McKinley, Rocky Mts. South America—Cotopaxi Europe—Alps, Mt. Vesuvius Africa—Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya Australia—Mt. Kosciusko Asia—Mt. Everest, Mt. Fuji
Multiplying Math: 1) 3 x 7= 21 2) 10 x 10 = 100 3) 10 x 4 = 40 4) $ 7.50 5) $ 5.25
When Did it Happen: 1) 1925 2) 1880 3) 1911 4) 1938 5) 1942 6) 1987 7) 1927
Seek and Find the von Trapps: 1) William Anderson 2) Alps 3) Amadeus Mozart 4) Austria lost its ships 5) nun 6) no instrument 7) Salzburg 8) Adolph Hitler 9) America 10) homeschooling von Trapp Crossword:1) village 2) orchard 3) Nazis 4) tour 5) recorder 6) Austria 7) play 8) papa
The Family of Instruments: Woodwinds—clarinet, flute, oboe Brass—trumpet, French horn, tuba Percussion—drum, cymbals String—violin, harp, bass, cello