#08-322: Rothschild's Fiddle

Painting of an old violin (Wikimedia)

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Note: Anton Chekhov is usually better known for his plays, but he also wrote hundreds of excellent short stories. This is one of the best.

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Get Ready: How can terrible change misfortune affect a person?

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#08-320: Swan Lake

Prince Siegfried and Odette (Wikimedia)

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Note: Few works of ballet have penetrated the popular consciousness like Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Here's the story it depicts.

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Get Ready: Have you ever been to a ballet, or watched one on a video? What's your impression?

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#08-309: Ivan the Fool

Left to right: Simeon, Ivan, and
Tarras "the fat" (Gutenberg)

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Note: This moral tale, itself simple, teaches the virtues of simplicity. It's also fun to read!

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Get Ready: If you could have one wish at this very moment, what would it be?

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#08-264: The Overcoat

A stamp depicting "The Overcoat" issued on the 200th
birth anniversary of Gogol (2009) (Wikipedia)

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Note: In Gogol's short story, a simple tale of a piece of clothing takes us into the world of an impoverished Russian clerk and the influence a possession can come to have over us.

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Get Ready: Do you agree that, if we're not careful, our possessions can come to possess us?

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#08-016: Peter and the Wolf

Peter, the Wolf, and the others in a short Disney cartoon
(Wikipedia)

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Note: In 1936, Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev debuted an unusual "symphonic fairy tale for children" that has delighted youngsters--and their elders--ever since. The piece, called Peter and the Wolf, features a narrator telling the story of a boy named Peter and what happens when he disobeys his grandfather.

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Get Ready: Have you ever heard Peter and the Wolf? Do you enjoy classical music? Why or why not?

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#05-032: May Potpourri

A Cinco de Mayo celebration in the U.S.
(Wikipedia)

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Note: May plays host to everything from the Mexican fiesta of Cinco de Mayo to the silly Star Wars Day, as well as Russia's end-of-school  celebration, "The Last Bell."

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Get Ready: How do you (or did you) celebrate the end of the school year?

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#04-024: Count Leo Tolstoy

Count Leo Tolstoy
(Wikipedia)

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Note: A Russian nobleman who took up the cause of the poor, Leo Tolstoy was a literary giant. Follow his spiritual journey in this lesson.

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Get Ready: What is the reputation of the book War and Peace?

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#04-023: The Tragic Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(Wikipedia)

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Note: From the charming dances of the Nutcracker Suite to the bombastic 1812 Overture, Tchaikovsky's music has entertained us for well over a century.

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Get Ready: Can you hum anything by Tchaikovsky? (I'll bet you can--and you don't even know it!)

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#04-022: Mendeleev and the Periodic Table

Dmitri Mendeleev
(Wikipedia)

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Note: If you've ever studied chemistry, you've benefited from the efforts of Mendeleev, a great (and largely unsung) Russian scientist.

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Get Ready: Have you ever studied chemistry? If so, did you use the "Periodic Table of the Elements"? What is it used for?

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