Through the Lens of the Wild: A Photographic Journey Through The Carnival of the Animals | Carnival of Animals Lesson Plan

Lesson Overview

In this interdisciplinary lesson, students connect music and photography by exploring how tone and mood are communicated across artistic mediums. After listening to movements from The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns, students will select an animal represented in the suite and research a photographer known for capturing that animal or similar wildlife subjects. Students will analyze how both composers and photographers convey mood, movement, and character through artistic choices. Working individually or in pairs, students will create a Google Slides presentation that includes a biography of the photographer, examples of their work, and an explanation of how the selected photographs reflect the tone and personality of the musical movement. Presentations will be shared with the class while the corresponding musical excerpt plays, encouraging students to make connections between visual imagery, music, and artistic interpretation.