Lesson Summary

This is also included in the Overview section of this website. The Curriculum Connections bullet points were obtained from the EGRPS document on my websites Overview page.
Lesson

Big Ideas Using body, mind, spirit, and voice to engage in the music of Nigeria, West Africa while developing the voice and the complexity of rhythmic patterns. Experience one example of the different uses of music in West African culture while improving steady beat skills and improvising or creating rhythms. Through the learning of another song from Nigeria, West Africa, another use of music is discovered, while at the same time, ostinato and steady beat are reinforced and experienced. Students discover that West Africa has vegetation that ranges from desert to rainforest.

Student Connections The book contains pictures of Nigerian children and their families in their town welcoming people. This is a beautiful illustration of what the song shows about many Nigerian people. The students move in welcome motions and chant joyfully and connect this to West African culture. This lesson gives meaning to music class. The students discuss and practice the uses of music, such as joy, comfort, fellowship, energy, an expressive outlet, and a sense of belonging and community. The students in the class relate to the West African people by finding that they share many reasons for music. For the third time in the unit, the students connect to the people of West Africa. Eh Soom Boo Kawaya is the song of fisherman. Students may suspect at first that the Africans sing because theyre always sad. In this lesson, they are guided to understand that West Africans have jobs to provide for their families and they sing to be more efficient and successful in their business. A common misconception among young learners is that Africa is a big desert. In this lesson, the students learn that there is also much rainforest in Africa, and they are able to actually hear the sounds of

Curriculum Connections Demonstrate proper vocal tone production and pitch matching Respond to a beat Experience creative movement in question/answer Demonstrate locomotor and nonlocomotor movements to a strong & weak beat in a given form. Develop a repertoire of songs/literature Perform folk dances Echo-singing Create patterns in duple and triple meters using these note values: quarter, eighth, half Respond to a beat Perform do-mi-sol-la-do intervals Experience re Play questions/answers Develop a repertoire of songs/literature Speaking/singing Solo/group Echo-singing Songs from diverse cultures Perform do-mi-sol-la-do intervals Experience re Perform songs using a proper attack and cut-off Demonstrate proper vocal tone production and pitch matching Echo-singing and Sing high/low Correct mallet technique Play melodic ostinati and song accompaniment. Beat/rhythm on instruments Demonstrate locomotor and nonlocomotor movements Pitched/unpitched percussion instruments and body percussion. Listening exercises Body percussion Vocal timbre Choose instrument for sound story Instrument/beat/rhythm on instruments Play unpitched percussion/mallet instruments

Suitability The rhythms and melodies of Funga Alafia are above the third grade notation level, but this provides them with rote-before- note learning. The students learn complex patterns in performance to prepare them to learn the notation in the future. The ideas in the lesson can be grasped by most students at the third grade level. There are also challenging aspects to the lesson, such as the creation of a rhythm to go along with a beat on the spot. Improvisation is vulnerable and difficult, but not so much to cause discouragement. This song is at an appropriate level for learning, yet it is simple enough that it can be learned in time to add melodic ostinati and not lose the vocals while the students play. Many students will find playing the ostinato to be very challenging, especially playing along with the beat while the singers press on, even without the xylophone. The rhythms used in this lesson are actually second grade rhythms, but that is because the focus of this lesson is to take what has already been learned and use it as a foundation for the

Lesson Summary
This is also included in the Overview section of this website. The Curriculum Connections bullet points were obtained from the EGRPS document on my websites Overview page.

They associate natural timbres with the timbre of different instruments, while solidifying and expanding rhythmic notation and reading skills in their own composition.

the rainforest in West Africa. So far in the unit, the focus has been more on the people, but this introduces the students to nature in this area of the continent. When a student is able to practice a rhythm they created themselves, it has a lot more meaning and gains more interest, especially when they are allowed to make animal sounds and play interesting instruments. The students will observe real West African children playing the games they do and having fun without all the video games and expensive toys that many kids in the US have. The game the students play in this lesson is very similar to a game played in the U.S., rock, paper, scissors. In this way, the students relate and see themselves on the same level as the children in West Africa.

Partner activities Evaluate various recorded performances Participate in the recording of rehearsals/performances Create two-measure patterns in duple meter using these note values: quarter, eighth, half Perform in 2/4, 4/4, and 6/8 meters Chanting Score construction

The students feel a sense of completion in the unit by playing a game from West Africa that helps reinforce steady beat and concurrently perform a rhythm with physical movement and chanting.

Movement activities Speaking/singing Beat awareness games Three level body percussion Partner activities Cultural arts activities Songs, chants, dances from diverse cultures. Song types: spirituals, singing games, cumulative, patriotic, seasonal, canons/rounds, and ballads

study of timbre and the sounds of the rainforest. The class will also discuss the debate about whether animal sounds are music. In the rainforest listening example, they will have to determine if they think the organized sounds of the rainforest are music. This helps them begin to form musical opinions rd appropriate for 3 grade. This is a challenging game for third graders to play, especially if some students are physically incapable of participating at the same speed. This provides opportunities for students to help and encourage each other. If the game proves to be too challenging, it can be adapted to become a circle game in which the partners are across from each other in the circle.