…..another concert possibility…..
Last year, my first graders added sound to “The Napping House” by Audrey Wood. Each child or group of children were assigned a character and played their chosen instrument when that character’s name was mentioned. It was a lot of fun and was a fantastic last-minute addition to a spring concert!
I decided to adapt this idea to a winter theme and used the book “The Mitten” by Jan Brett. This is a wonderful story of a lost mitten that provides a cozy place to relax for some woodland animals. As each animal finds a spot within the mitten…… or as they push their way in a bit…. the mitten grows larger and larger until a little mouse (like the flee in The Napping House”) creates chaos and they all exit!
Creating music to accompany this book is a simple way to bring the story to life! Each animal gets its own 2 measure composition and is played after each is introduced. For a next step, your class can put all of the 2 measure compositions together and create a stand-alone piece ~ making decisions about the order, tempo and/ or dynamics! What a blast!!
The Mitten by Jan Brett
- This is a modified Ukrainian folk tale
- What is a folk tale?
- While the boy has his journey, the mitten is experiencing its own adventure accommodating more and more animals
- Just like folk tales, there are folk songs
- Sing examples of folk songs you are singing in class
- What does Ukrainian folk music sound like? (Popular Ukrainian Folk Songs | Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (si.edu)) What does Ukrainian folk dancing look like? ( HOPAK: Traditional Ukrainian Folk Dance – YouTube )
- Let’s add our own take to this story by giving the animals sounds
- Process ~
- Paying attention to what the author writes, what do you think each animal sounds like? (Use your voice first)
- Do you think the animals’ actions are a series of short sounds or long sounds? …or are they using one long sound? (For example: scurrying = lots of short sounds, hopping = eighths, owl swooping = half note)
- Assign an instrument to each animal
- There are 8 animals total, so you can do the first 3 animals as a group, then divide the class into 5 small groups.
- Each group gets 1-2 sentence strips depending on how many measures you assigned, a set of Note Knacks and crayons
- The Task: Create a 1 – 2 mm composition to illustrate a particular animal / what would that animal sound like? (Build on what was discussed)
- Click HERE for a detailed lesson plan on how to do this
- Can use a 4/4 frame or have it played without meter
- Play composition after each animal is mentioned
- Put compositions together to create a stand-alone piece (have kids decide order, dynamics, tempo, etc.…) If there isn’t a meter, put 4 beats of rest in-between.
- Paying attention to what the author writes, what do you think each animal sounds like? (Use your voice first)
We would love to hear how this lesson worked for you in the comments below!
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