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I love holidays and themes, but am not the best at integrating them in my own classroom. Following my curriculum map with a pinch of seasonal joy can switch things up for my students and help them feel involved with the calendar holidays they are learning about.
Note: My grade-level suggestions are just that - suggestions. I am not a grade level expert and do not teach all of the levels listed. Do what is best for your kids! 😊
Down in the Meadow
Grades 1-3
Sheet Music from Kodály Center for Music Education
Sing: Open with the singing of this Appalachian folk tune. If you wanted, it could be paired with a dance like the Virginia Reel where there is a twoset and head couple, but that is not mandatory. We explore what movements and sounds animals make through the lyrics.
Cross-Curricular [ELA]: Brainstorm a T-chart of animals and descriptions of their sounds (or animals and descriptions of their movements). Use these to create a short narrative about the animals in the meadow in the form of a paragraph or scripted play.
For younger kids, encourage them to draw illustrations of animals acting out their movements or sound. Then, act out the movements and sounds.
Buy it: The Elementary Teacher's Big Book of Graphic Organizers has some cute themed organizers if you want to get more involved with the T-chart side of this activity.
Charlie Over the Ocean
Grades 1-4
Sheet Music from Kodály Center for Music Education
Demonstration of the circle game from Singing Games on YouTube.
Purchase an ocean drum to play or read on to create your own.
Play & Sing: Encourage singing, play, and introduce the oceanic theme with this favorite circle game. Meet the Create standard by allowing students to come up with their own "thing" that Charlie can catch and the Perform standard by getting kids to sing solo and in large groups (call and echo).
Create: Make an ocean drum! If you can use recycled objects, you get bonus points. Get a small container such as a cereal box or empty plastic butter container. Fill it with small items that will make a sound you like: beads, can tabs, or small beans are all good options. Then, decorate your container to remind you of your favorite beach or water scene.
Buy it: Hand2Mind sells a DIY instrument kit that includes an ocean drum, pan flutes, and box guitar.
Big Yellow Taxi
Grades 4-6
The original recording by Joni Mitchell.
Illinois State University's Fell Arboretum Website.
Listen: Use this activity to explore vocal timbre, types of pop ensembles, or the way a song is presented affects its meaning. Ask students to analyze some of the bigger topics in the song: What is a tree museum? (You can show them an arboretum, like Illinois State University's, to see what one really looks like.) What is more interesting - a paradise or a parking lot? Compare some of the recordings to address vocal timbre. Create a chart of timbre describing words, including what kids voices can sound like!
Experience: Go on a virtual field trip using Google Earth or other maps (like the Fell Arboretum map above) in order to experience some of the most "paradise" like places on earth. Brainstorm the good and bad of turning these paradises into commercial entities. Or, go backwards and choose historical maps showing pre-construction New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago. How do things change? Then show some pictures of abandoned locations (think "Life after People," the History Channel show!) and how nature takes over again. The cycle of life!
Buy it: For you, "Walk With Me: Discover Hoyt Arboretum" is a neat book about turning this arboretum into an AirBnB experience. For your kids, create a Timbre anchor chart like the one in this pack. I wish they sold the Timbre poster with the smaller elements of music pack, so keep your eye out for that!
I hope you get a chance to do some cross-curricular Earth Day activities in your music room. What activities did you love for Earth Day this year?
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