Submitted by Connie Herbon, Iowa
Idea posted September 3, 2004
I decided I'd accept the challenge of finding something useful in Philadelphia Chickens, so I'll share what I've come up with so far.
Level: primary (K-1)Time: One class period (30 min.)
Materials needed:
- Philadelphia Chickens by Sandra Boynton, pp. 33, 35
Track 14: "Those Dinosaur Blues" / Track 15: "Dinosaur" / Track 16: "Jump Rope Jive"
- Illustration or toy T. Rex
- Board or chart paper and marker for teacher to record student input
- Dinosaur coloring sheet (opt.), jump ropes (opt.)
- (opt.) "T. Rex in the Neighborhood" from Music K-8, Vol. 8, No. 1
Objectives:
- Compare and contrast three performances (especially high/low, slow/fast, and man's/woman's children's voices
- Perform movement in simultaneous imitation (imitate movements as they are being done)
- Show steady beat with movement
Process:
- Brief discussion of students' knowledge of Tyrannosaurus Rex. If T. Rex had feelings, how would we expect him to feel? Maybe he would feel like this....(start recording of "Those Dinosaur Blues") OR introduce lesson with recording of "T. Rex In The Neighborhood," especially if previously learned by students. (Movements for the refrain are in the MusicK8.com Idea Bank.)
- Invite students to join in movement to fit music. (Teacher can perform easy, repeated movements that students can mirror, keeping each change going for 8 or 16 beats.)
- Discuss what the class heard and teacher can begin charting. Include such things as theme (dinosaurs), low sound, man singing, slow tempo, etc.
- "Let's listen to another dinosaur piece and compare it to 'Dinosaur Blues.'" Play "Dinosaur, Dinosaur" and discuss/chart class input. (Same theme, speech instead of singing, mostly children's voices, etc.)
- Practice speaking with recording, clapping/jumping rope to beat as space, abilities, time, and materials permit.
- "Let's compare one more piece." Play "Jump Rope Jive" and continue comparisons. (Same theme, higher voices, several women singing, faster tempo, same words as last piece, etc.)
- Lead students in more mirrored steady-beat movements, work together to create simple choreographed movements, or let students work in small groups to create movements.
- (opt.) Distribute dinosaur sheet for students to color while listening to all pieces or to take home and color.
I hope someone finds this useful or is inspired to share further ways to make use of this cute book with our students.