African Music Lesson Plan Rachel Steiner Setting: Northfield Elementary 3rd Grade General Music 9:15 a.m.

-10:00 a.m. National and State Standards: 2.0 Students will perform on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 2.1 Play rhythmic patterns on non-pitched instruments. 2.1.2 Perform basic rhythmic patterns (half notes, quarter notes, paired eighth notes, quarter rests) in duple meter on non-pitched instruments using proper technique. 6.0 Students will listen to, analyze and describe music. 6.4 Identify various styles and/or genres (vocal and instrumental) of music. 6.4.2 Describe stylistic characteristics of selected regional, national, and/or global styles and/or genres of music experienced through teacher-given parameters. 8.0 Students will understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. 8.1 Experience and recognize elements of music as they relate to other arts disciplines. 8.1.1 Discuss how music shares similarities with dance (e.g., movement). 8.2 Examine ways in which music interrelates with other academic disciplines. 8.2.2 Demonstrate ability to enhance a story with the addition of singing, vocal, or instrumental sounds looking for commonalities between music and literature. 9.0 Students will understand music in relation to history and culture. 9.1 Recognize, describe, and perform music of various cultures and historical periods. 9.1.3 Discuss characteristics of a selected culture within a musical and/or historical context. Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. CCSS Social Studies Culture.1.02 Discuss cultures and human patterns of places and regions of the world. Preparation: Teacher must lay out enough instruments for each student to have an African instrument. Teacher must put the stereo system together and play Sango. Make sure the video works with a projector for the African Guinean tribe video

Objectives: The learner will: listen to a story about West African culture be able to understand the purpose of music in an Africans life be able to discuss how music and storytelling were important to the history of Africans discuss the history of Africans in the context of African-American history summarize the story The Singing Man understand and apply the storys moral to the students lives be able to perform on different African instruments with correct technique be able to name the different African instruments in the drum circle perform simple rhythms on the different instruments Materials Needed: Djembes Rattles and hooves A go-go bells (metal) The Singing Man: Adapted from a West African Folktale by Angela Shelf Medearis Stereo system with speakers Computer with Sango Projector screen video of West African culture Procedures: 1) INTRODUCTION: Students will listen to African music, Sango (God of Thunder and Lightening) as they come into the classroom. 2) SET-UP: The teacher will tell students the order of things to be done for the lesson: o Students will name the different African instruments o Teacher will read the story of The Singing Man, with the instruments accompanying o Students will watch a video over West African drumming 3) REVIEW: Teacher will ask students to review what we learned from last class period. 4) LESSON: Students will be shown Africa on a map (Mickey Mouse is pointing to it), and we will discuss the country of Guinea, Africa. 5) Teacher will explain the three important components to the culture of an Africans life in the 1500s Poetry/Storytelling, Music, and Dancing. Write these on the board for visual learners. 6) MUSIC: Teacher will name the different African instruments: o Djembe o A-go-go Bells o Shakere and Hooves 7) Teacher will demonstrate how to play each instrument with correct technique: o Djembe will be played in the center of the head so the students will not hurt their hands on the rim. o A-go-go bells will be played with sticks. Show students how to hold sticks as a review.

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o Shakers and Hooves will be shown how to play the different instruments with the correct technique. Teacher will teach everyone to say sha-ke-re when they hear the word old man in the story. The shakere and hooves players will then tap the shakers with their dominant hands to this rhythm. Teacher will teach everyone to say I-love a-go-go-bells when they hear the word flute in the story. The a-go-go bells will then say it two times and then play the rhythm two times. Teacher will finally teach everyone to say I-love to-play-the-drums when they hear the word drum in the story. The drums will say it two times and then play the rhythm two times. POETRY/STORYTELLING: Teacher will read the story of The Singing Man while students play the different calls throughout the book. Throughout the reading of the story, the teacher will constantly ask Level One questions about the content of the story. Teacher will state the Moral Lesson of the story: Yams fill the belly and trade fills the pockets, but music fills the heart. Ask students what the moral of a story is. Students will then give some examples of how music can fill the heart from their own perspective. DANCING: Students will watch a video from 7:20-10:00 about West African drumming and dancing. This will synopsize all that the students learned today. CLOSING REVIEW: Teacher will have students do a summary of the things the students learned about Black Music History today on the board. Teacher will discuss how the next class period will involve taking the African culture we learned about today over to America where these Africans were enslaved and could not play the instruments or sing the songs of their native land. Students will line up and leave the classroom quietly while listening to Sango again.

Assessment: The teacher will do an informal assessment as the students play the various rhythms associated with their specific instruments. The teacher will recognize which individual students have trouble playing the instruments and the rhythms associated with their particular instruments. (Rubric Attached)

General Music 3rd Grade Rubric Skill Assessed: Ability to Play Correct Rhythms on African Instruments + Correctly chanted all rhythms Kept a steady beat with others with the other like instruments Correctly played rhythms Correctly chanted some the rhythms Sometimes kept a steady beat with the other like instruments Correctly played some rhythms Chanted none of the rhythms correctly Did not keep a steady beat with the other like instruments Played none of the rhythms

Spoken Rhythms

Playing with Others

Played Rhythms

Skill Assessed:

Ability to Use Correct Technique on Instruments Yes No

Sticks/Hands are Used Correctly Instrument is Held Correctly Instrument is Played at a Correct Volume