Retell a Familiar Story Using Elements of Music

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Arts Education

Grade(s)

K

Overview

Students will use elements of music such as tempo, dynamics, and vocal exploration to retell a familiar story, including key details. The students will use music to show expression of the characters in the story. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): KG

ELA21.K.27

Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

UP:ELA21.K.27

Vocabulary

  • Identify
  • Describe
  • Characters
  • Settings
  • Important events
  • Literary text

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Main story elements in a literary text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the main story elements (characters, settings, and important events) in a literary text.
  • Describe the main story elements (characters, settings, and important events) in a literary text.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Identifying the characters, setting, and important events in a text help them better understand the overall meaning of the text.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): KG - Music

AE17.MU.K.9

Demonstrate awareness of expressive qualities that support the creators’ expressive intent.

UP:AE17.MU.K.9

Vocabulary

Rhythm
  • Steady beat
  • Long/ Short
  • One and two sounds per beat
  • Silent beat
Melody
  • High and low
  • Pitch set: So, Mi
  • Musical alphabet
Harmony
  • Accompaniment/ no accompaniment
Form
  • Like and unlike phrases
  • Echo
Expression
  • Speak, sing, shout, whisper
  • Solo/ Group
  • Unpitched percussion
  • Flute, trumpet, violin, piano
  • Loud/ Soft
  • Fast/ Slow
Other
  • Age-appropriate audience and performer etiquette

Essential Questions

EU: Performers make interpretive decisions based on their understanding of context and expressive intent
EQ: How do performers interpret musical works?

Skills Examples

Performing
  • Demonstrate same and different (e.g., fast/slow, loud/soft, high/low and long/short).
  • Demonstrate a steady beat and maintain it while performing.
  • Sing using head voice and appropriate posture.
  • Play a variety of classroom instruments, alone and with others, and demonstrate proper technique.
Creating
  • Create a wide variety of vocal and instrumental sounds.
Reading/ Writing
  • Explore connections between sound and its visual representation.
Responding/ Evaluating
  • Move to music of various and contrasting styles, composers and cultures.
  • Demonstrate audience behavior appropriate for the context and style of music performed.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.

Learning Objectives

The students will retell familiar stories using expressive qualities found in music.

Activity Details

  1. Students will retell a familiar story that they have previously studied using expressive movement and body percussion. Examples of body percussion are: stomping, patting thighs with hands, clapping, and snapping. 
  2. Students will rehearse in small groups to retell the story with movement before performing.
  3. The teacher will observe the students rehearsing and will ask the students if they have thought about the expressive intent of the characters. What is the voice quality of their characters, what about the tempo and dynamics of their movement to retell the story?
  4. The teacher will make anecdotal notes of students using create expressive movement and retell of the story as assessment when the groups of students perform for the class.

Assessment Strategies

Below you will find a link to the assessment.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j41ljclOyVfx0-TOO0rUVKMevU7ZxXiB/view?usp=sharing

Background / Preparation

You will need to pick a story the students are familiar with and have read at least 3 times prior to this lesson. 

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

ctayl0r
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