Introduce pupils to a different composer every day throughout May with this collection of 31 music reading comprehension activities for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.

Designed to develop reading, listening and musical understanding, each activity combines an engaging non-fiction text with structured comprehension questions and a listening activity. Ideal for music lessons, English, tutor time, cover work and cross-curricular learning.

What’s Included

This downloadable PDF contains 31 daily composer activities. Each activity includes:

• A short, age-appropriate composer biography (recommended for ages 8–14)
• Five reading comprehension questions covering:

1. Retrieval
2. Vocabulary
3. Inference
4. Explanation
5. Summarising

• Full answer sheets
• QR codes linking to carefully selected listening examples
• Print-ready layouts suitable for classroom or digital use

Featured Composers

Pupils explore composers and musicians from a wide variety of musical styles, cultures and historical periods, including:

Antonín Dvořák, Alessandro Scarlatti, Katie Moss, Bartolomeo Cristofori, Ola Gjeilo, Ernest MacMillan, Gareth Coker, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Robert Miles, Debbie Wiseman, Judith Weir, Gabriel Fauré, Arthur Sullivan, Fanny Mendelssohn, Brian Eno, Django Reinhardt, Erik Satie, Maddalena Laura Sirmen, Yiannis Papaioannou, Helen Hopekirk, Christopher Tin, Richard Wagner, Ignaz Moscheles, Aram Khachaturian, Mike Oldfield, Miles Davis, Thea Musgrave, György Ligeti, Mily Balakirev, Marcel Dupré and Joseph Haydn.

The collection introduces pupils to classical, romantic, jazz, film, electronic, contemporary and popular music, helping them develop a broad understanding of composers, musical styles and cultural traditions from around the world.

Perfect For

• KS2 and KS3 Music lessons
• Reading comprehension activities
• Daily May starter tasks
• Cover lessons
• Tutor time
• Independent learning
• Homework
• Cross-curricular English and Music

Learning Outcomes

Pupils will develop:

• Reading comprehension skills
• Musical knowledge and cultural awareness
• Subject-specific vocabulary
• Listening and discussion skills
• Inference and explanation
• Confidence when analysing non-fiction texts

Supplied as a single PDF containing all 31 activities and answer sheets. No preparation is required, making it ideal for daily classroom use throughout May.