Elementary General Music Education

General Music Values

• I believe that general music students must have a safe learning environment which is inclusive to students of any and all backgrounds.

  • I want every student to feel like my class is a safe-space. Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic background, or anything else, I hope that all of my students will feel accepted, included, and supported in my class. Music class should never be a place where students feel afraid; rather, I believe it should be a joyful escape from the other stresses of life. I will strive to promote and embrace diversity in my classroom so that no student is left out.

• I believe that general music students should have many different opportunities to participate in music-making as much as possible.

  • General music class is not about me; it is 100% about the students. That being said, my goal is to have the students be as active as possible throughout all of class. This means giving them as many opportunities as possible to participate in some form of music-making, and avoiding simply lecturing or explaining while students passively listen. Every student learns differently, so getting every student to be involved means that there need to be opportunities consisting of many different forms of music-making, including aural, visual, and kinesthetic exercises to engage all types of learners.

• I believe that general music students should be provided with a diverse curriculum that exposes them to the beauty of music from a variety of cultures and time periods.

  • I hope for my students to leave my class with a greater appreciation for all types of music. The music we learn will span beyond traditional western music to include music from all over the world, as well as from many different time periods. We will explore the backgrounds of different cultures as related to their music, and we will use those discussions to make the students' experience more personal by relating to the diverse cultural backgrounds of the individuals in the class. My aim is to open students' eyes to the vast and inspiring world of music, and to foster interest and curiosity in all music.

• I believe that above all, music students should come out of their experience in class instilled with a love for music.

  • Nothing is more important than my students having a safe and positive music-making experience. My goal is not to turn them into perfect virtuosos, but simply to share enriching musical experiences with them that get them to love music. I am not concerned with following a rigid curriculum or requiring a specific set of achievements. Regardless of their skill set, I want every student to enjoy their time in music class and have fun making music. I believe that every student should come out of general music class with a smile on their face.

Reading a Children's Book

Teaching a Song

Final Lesson Plan

Video of the Asynchronous Portion of the Lesson: https://youtu.be/qjY43-nNs90

Song Title: Tortillitas (Little Tortillas)

Briefly describe why this piece is meaningful to you: My mom is from Nicaragua & she used to sing this Spanish nursery rhyme with me when I was very young!

Grade Level: 2nd Grade

Musical Objectives:

• Students will move with flow while listening to a song in duple meter.

• Students will identify and clap the beat and the rhythm of the song.

• Students will sing in a new language (Spanish) in major tonality.

Assessment for Objectives: Students will submit a video of them singing their favorite song, alternating between clapping the beat and clapping the rhythm for each line.

Materials: Recording device for assessment

Procedure:

Introduction (Synchronous)

Hello class! Are you ready to make music today? Before we begin, let's share our favorite songs with our classmates. Would some of you like to raise your hand & tell the class your favorite song? (student answers)

Scaffolded Activities (Synchronous)

Those are all awesome songs! Now, I'm going to sing you my favorite song. Please clap along with me & listen as I sing to you!

• Establish major tonality on neutral syllable (SLSFMRTD)

• Begin clapping the beat & allow students to join clapping before singing

• Sing entire song

Great! Now, this time, I am going to clap something different while singing. After the song, I will ask you what you think I clapped differently. Please move with flow & listen attentively to how I clap this time!

• Sing entire song while clapping the rhythm

Thank you for moving with flow & listening! Does anyone know what was different about how I clapped this time? (student answers) That's right! The first time, I clapped the beat of the song, & the second time, I clapped the rhythm of the song. Do you think we can all practice the beat & the rhythm? I am going to sing the song two times while you listen; the first time, please clap the beat, & the second time, please clap the rhythm.

• Count off 1, 2, rea-dy go!

• Sing entire song while clapping the beat

• Sing entire song while clapping the rhythm

Wow, you all did such a wonderful job! You are really getting the hang of the beat and the rhythm. Can anyone tell me what language that song is in? (student answers) Yes, that's right, it's in Spanish! This song is very special to me, because my mother is from a Spanish-speaking country called Nicaragua which is in Central America, & she used to sing this Spanish nursery rhyme with me when I was very young. I am so excited to share this song with you! In the asynchronous part of our class this week, I will teach you how to say and sing the words to this song. Please stay safe & healthy, & enjoy our asynchronous lesson!

Scaffolded Activities (Asynchronous)

Hello class, I am so glad you are here viewing the asynchronous part of our lesson! In this video, we will be learning how to sing the song "Tortillitas." Please repeat after me as I say each of these words.

• Break down each line of the song in syllables, then words, then lines

  • Tor tor ti ti lli lli tas tas; torti torti llitas llitas; tortillitas tortillitas

  • Pa pa ra ra; para para

  • Ma Ma má má; Mamá Mamá

  • Tortillitas para Mamá tortillitas para Mamá

  • This means, "little tortillas for Mama"

  • Tortillitas tortillitas

  • Para para

  • Pa Pa pá pá; Papá Papá

  • Tortillitas para Papá tortillitas para Papá

  • This means, "little tortillas for Papa"

  • Las las

  • Que que ma ma di di tas tas; quema quema ditas ditas; quemaditas quemaditas

  • Para Mamá para Mamá

  • Las quemaditas para Mamá las quemaditas para Mamá

  • This means, "the burned ones for Mama"

  • Las las

  • Bo bo ni ni tas tas; bonitas bonitas

  • Para Papá para Papá

  • Las bonitas para Papá las bonitas para Papá

  • This means, "the good ones for Papa"

Great job everyone! Now that we learned how to say all of the words, let's learn how to sing them! When I point at myself, please listen to me sing; then, when I point at you, please repeat what I sang in your beautiful singing voice!

• Sing each line of the song, then two lines at a time, then the whole song

  • Tortillitas para Mamá (echo)

  • Tortillitas para Papá (echo)

  • Las quemaditas para Mamá (echo)

  • Las bonitas para Papá (echo)

  • Tortillitas para Mamá, tortillitas para Papá (echo)

  • Las quemaditas para Mamá, las bonitas para Papá (echo)

  • Tortillitas para Mamá, tortillitas para Papá, las quemaditas para Mamá, las bonitas para Papá (echo)

Amazing job! Now, let's think back to what we learned in the beginning of our lesson. Do you remember the difference between clapping the beat & the rhythm of the song? (wait several seconds to let them think) Here is a reminder: when we clap the beat of the song, we clap the constant pulse that is the heartbeat of the song; when we clap the rhythm of the song, we clap along with the words we are singing, & those are sometimes faster or slower than the heartbeat of the song. In class, you all did a really good job of clapping the beat the first time I sang the song & clapping the rhythm the second time I sang the song. Since you all did so well, let's try something a little bit trickier: this time when we sing the song, we will clap the beat on the first line, the rhythm on the second line, the beat on the third line, & the rhythm on the last line. Now that you know the words, please sing too!

• Count off on starting pitch A 1, 2, rea-dy sing!

• Sing entire song alternating between clapping beat & rhythm each line

Wow, that was really excellent! I am so glad that you all understand beat and rhythm; you are so smart! Since you are learning this song at home, I would like to show you something fun you can sing with the names of your family members & pets. Please clap the beat & the rhythm in the same way we just did, & listen to me sing!

• Sing entire song while clapping the beat/rhythm on alternating lines

  • Use the names "sister" & "brother"

• Sing entire song while clapping the beat/rhythm on alternating lines

  • Use the names "my dog" & "my cat"

Thank you for clapping & listening while I sang! That was an example of how you can be creative & replace "Mamá" & "Papá" with the names of your siblings, pets, or other friends & family members.

Closing Activity (Asynchronous)

For your homework this week, please submit a video of you singing your favorite song! Please clap while you sing, switching between the beat and the rhythm; that is, clapping the beat on the first line, then the rhythm on the next line, then the beat, then the rhythm, and switching back and forth, just like we did in this video. I hope you enjoyed this lesson, and I can't wait to hear you all clap the beat and rhythm while singing your favorite song! Goodbye, class!