Peter and the Wolf character cards
Free Peter and the Wolf cards to print: seven character cards and seven instrument cards to match, hold up, and put in order while you listen.
In Peter and the Wolf, each character has its own instrument. A narrator tells the story while the orchestra plays the characters. Page one has a card for each of the seven characters. Page two has a card for each instrument, plus an answer key.
How to use them
Print both pages on card stock and cut along the dashed lines. Many recordings introduce each instrument before the story begins. Play that part first and lay each character card beside its instrument card.
Then play the story one scene at a time. Give your child the character cards. Each time a character's music plays, your child holds up its card. Start with the bird and the wolf. The flute and the horns are the easiest to tell apart.
More games
Mix up the character cards and put them in the order they come into the story. Or turn all fourteen cards face down and play a memory game. A match is a character and its instrument. Keep the answer key card out of the game until the end.
Only the sheet below prints. It fits letter and A4 paper. For a clean page, turn off headers and footers in the print window.
Peter and the Wolf: the characters
Cut along the dashed lines.
A story with music
Peter and the Wolf
By Sergei Prokofiev, 1936. A narrator tells the story. The orchestra plays the characters.
Character
Peter
Listen for
A bright, bouncy tune that comes back many times.
Character
The bird
Listen for
High, quick notes that flutter.
Character
The duck
Listen for
A slow, waddling tune with a reedy, nasal sound.
Character
The cat
Listen for
Low, smooth, soft notes that creep along.
Character
The grandfather
Listen for
A deep, grumbly, slow tune.
Character
The wolf
Listen for
A dark, rough sound. The mood changes at once.
Character
The hunters
Listen for
A marching tune. Drums play the gunshots.
Peter and the Wolf character cards, page 1kidsclassicalmusic.com
Peter and the Wolf: the instruments
Cut along the dashed lines. Match each instrument to its character.
Instrument
The strings
Violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.
Instrument
Flute
A woodwind with no reed. The player blows across a hole.
Instrument
Oboe
A woodwind with a double reed.
Instrument
Clarinet
A woodwind with a single reed.
Instrument
Bassoon
The lowest of the four main woodwinds.
Instrument
French horns
Brass. Three horns play together.
Instrument
Woodwinds and drums
The timpani and the bass drum play the gunshots.
Answer key
- Peter: the strings
- The bird: flute
- The duck: oboe
- The cat: clarinet
- The grandfather: bassoon
- The wolf: three French horns
- The hunters: woodwinds and drums
Peter and the Wolf character cards, page 2kidsclassicalmusic.com
Goes well with
- Peter and the Wolf instruments: who plays each character
- Prokofiev for kids
- Woodwind instruments for kids
- Instrument families listening chart
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